UV Sterilizer

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Glenc

Aquarium Advice Addict
Joined
Jan 18, 2006
Messages
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Location
Ontario, Canada
Hey guys, what do you think of these? I know Zezmo and Glitch use one, as does Travis. I read that UV's are a nice addition to a planted tank, in fact, I just picked up a coralife 9wt turbo twist. My water was sparkling clean in 2 days, not that it was bad to begin with. Once in a while I'll get a whitish haze that sticks around for a few days, nothing magor. Makes for healthier fish as well. I've heard UV's can zap traces from your water, also that you don't or shouldn't run it all the time. Some run them opposite to the lights, on when lights are off, off when lights are on. Some do run it constantly. I was thinking of running it constantly and dosing more traces if needed. How do you guys run yours? Thanks for any replies. :)
 
I've been running mine 24/7. Never read anything bout offseting them with the lights.
But that may explain why I'm having some clouding issues now.
I've heard that too about them "zapping" the traces.......now ya got me thinkin.......I am gonna turn mine completely off for a while and see how things go.

BTW I have the turbo twist also.
 
UV Kills bacteria aswell doesn't it?

Wouldn't running it all the time have a bad effect on your good bacteria too?
 
Esra said:
UV Kills bacteria aswell doesn't it?

Wouldn't running it all the time have a bad effect on your good bacteria too?

the plants use the NH3/NH4 so killing some of the bacteria isn't really that bad.
 
Thanks for the replies guys. I probably should have done somemore research on UV's before I bought one. I got one cause some of the people with the nicest tanks I've seen use them, and, I am Mr. impulse buyer. :) Must say I am very happy with mine so far, water is crystal clear. I was also thinking about a diatom filter, but thought it would be to much of a pain to set up and put away each time you use it. The UV is inline with my canister, if I want to shut it off, I can just turn off the bulb, the unit stays put. Seemed easier to me. Now, just got to figure out which is the best way to use it.
 
where did u pick it up? and how much did u pay? i was looking at getting one but i also need to pick up a small cannister for my tank aswell. i was looking at the xp1 for my 20 gal but i will be upgrading it to a 46gal bowfront after christmas and i want to run an xp3 on it. i will probabaly just hold out for now.
 
If memory serves, Travis runs his UV every night and doses traces every morning. That is a perfect system if you ask me.

How do people fight ick in a planted tank? Heat salt and medications are all bad for your plants. A UV sterilizer could be a HUGE benefit in a planted tank. I would not question your purchase.

I have not seen a definate answer on UV zapping out the traces. Some say it does others say it doesn't. It may only mean that you have to add 2mL of TMG every week instead of only 1.
 
hashbaz said:
How do people fight ick in a planted tank? Heat salt and medications are all bad for your plants. A UV sterilizer could be a HUGE benefit in a planted tank. I would not question your purchase.
.

Heat? you only have to turn it up to 86 degrees for a couple of weeks. So are you saying any plant south of Ohio dies during summer? :p

There is no need to add salt. and it there was, that shouldn't kill them depending on how much you add. (read Barr Report Volume 2, Issue 7)
 
Thanks hashbaz, the tank looks healthier and the fish are very active and happy. I figure I've gone this far, I love doing this planted tank thing. If there is any device that can help I am going to get it sooner or later. I'll keep an eye on the plants, if they pale up I'll up the trace dosing. the UV has been running 24-7 since Sun, no problems so far.

Mr funk, I got the Coralife 9wt turbo twist at BA. It ain't cheap, cost 180 bucks plus tax. A quick 200 bucks. Been looking at these for a while, saw that Zezmo and Glitch both use the same one, both those guys have some of the nicest tanks around, anywhere. Travis also uses a UV, only he uses a different one, an Aqua 25 wt. I jumped in! I've seen the turbo twist as cheap as 100 bucks on line but nobody ships to Canada. It will be the last big money purchase for a while... Christmas is coming, and apparently I'm hard to buy for. BA does gift certificates! Guess what I want for christmas!
Here is a quick shot of the set-up, piped onto the output of my cannister.
 
I've used UV's off and on etc over the decades.
They do not seem to hurt anything near as anyone can tell, although a lot is said.
I just do not have any observatons that suggest they do .....though.

They are useful I suppose for getting rid of spores and floatign algae after you scrape them off, or sporulation events, or green water blooms etc.

I think I would simply run the UV 48 hours after a water change or only during the day etc.

I have one, a cheapy 9 w Via Aqua I got for 28$ on ebay.
Kills GW fast if you are interested and is about 3x cheaper than the other brands and is better than the Jebo brand.

Via Aqua brand has impressed me with the cost/quality mix, good on both which is rare, that goes for the Skimmer/canister filter, and UV's.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
Hmmmmm.....I just passed on one of those Coralife units (barely used), plus a Aquarium Systems protein skimmer for $50usd total! The guy selling them was just trying to get rid of the stuff, but I didn't think I would use it. I guess I thought wrong...

He was getting out of the hobby (SW aquariums) and making room for a new baby. I think I may have to call him back to grab those 2 items. I originally went to pick up 2 Eheim canisters (2217 and 2215) that he was getting rid of for a great price.
 
Plantbrain said:
I have one, a cheapy 9 w Via Aqua I got for 28$ on ebay.
Kills GW fast if you are interested and is about 3x cheaper than the other brands and is better than the Jebo brand.

Via Aqua brand has impressed me with the cost/quality mix, good on both which is rare, that goes for the Skimmer/canister filter, and UV's.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Good stuff, Tom. I have read that Via Aqua makes some pretty highly regarded canister filters as well...
 
Thanks for all the info guys, I think I'll throw the UV on a timer and run it with the lights. I'll keep an eye on the plants to see if the traces are being affected.
Thanks mr. funk!!!LOL, I knew there would be better deals out there, just to impatient to look around or wait, plus, as said I am Mr. impulse buyer. I was in BA, the unit was right in front of me... I am also a firm believer in you get what you pay for, not knowing enough about UV's, I wanted to be sure I was getting a good one.
maxwell1295, grab that stuff!
 
actually glen that site has everything cheaper than big als. there are alot of sites that ship to canada. THIS site has it for 79.99 then shipping is only 15 so big als would also pricematch that. shipping only takes 2 days in out area from big als. i know u are mr impulse but if u impulsed on the net instead of in the store u could have also gotten a new HYDOR ETH heater to complete the tank. and maybe a few other things aswell lol. there are soo many places online u can get stuff for 1/2 or even 1/4 of the price. i think when i go with my 46 gal after christmas i am going full blown with cannister, UV, pressurized co2, inline reactor and heater. i can get everything for under 300 bucks after pricematching online to big als. and shippping is free from them aswell and takes 2 days max. i am really tempted to order qall this stuff now but i know my parents are buying me the tank, stand and canopy for christmas so i gotta wait :(
 
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