UV... any down sides???

[MaloK]

I never used UV besides maintaining a water holding tank sane.

 

[anewbie]

A very simple question I have a fluval ufc in line clarifier, I was told it can help keeping your water clear, after reading all in this uv subject, I feel like just switching it off.

lower power UV can be good for killing off small bits of ?micro? algae in the water which makes the water look clearer and if you have a bad case of green water it can be quite effective. It begs the question if you should kill all the algae in the water but htat is another debate...

 

[Country joe]

How many watts does your uv bulb have?

3 watts

 

[Country joe]

I have it on 6 hours, should I increase it,

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

I'll throw in my 2 cents. UV works, depending on what your trying to accomplish.
Given the proper bulb wattage and flow rates it will eliminate green water.

Aquatop SP7-UV Submersible UV Filter

I have just received this product and I can't say how well it works yet. This is my second attempt at a UV clarifier, I ordered one previously from a different manufacturer and it arrived non functional, so I returned it and ordered an Aquatop. I was initially impressed with their customer...

www.fishforums.net

Will it eliminate pathogens in the water? Maybe. I haven't had any so I can't say. Opinions on the interwebs say no, perhaps I will get to experience this for myself some day.
Before I purchased my UV I did A LOT of research on the subject and I ended up getting a unit that was a little over sized for my tank. Stronger bulb and the ability to control flow were key for me.

I think there are people getting confused with commercial UV versus aquarium UV.
The units used in commercial water sterilization have high powered bulbs. This is because the water only makes one pass through the system, so there is only one opportunity to kill anything in the water.
Our aquarium units operate differently. Our tank water is making repeated passes through the UV light. So even if initial exposure doesn't kill a pathogen or algae cell, it will make several passes through the UV unit over the course of hours or days.
Also while I/we say "kill" a pathogen or algae that's not what's really happening either. The UV light actually mutates the algae/pathogens DNA so it can't reproduce. This is why if you use a UV on green water after a few days the water isn't green anymore but it's still hazy. The dead algae are still in the water and must be removed via filtration or water changes.

 

[anewbie]

I have it on 6 hours, should I increase it,

I dont' see the piont at 3 watts the only thing it might kill is green algae in the water column.

 

[TwoTankAmin]

It took me many hours of reading to understand exactly how UV worked and then how to calculate the needed size bulb and the pproper flow rate. Not all UV is equal. If you actually want to understand it all you should read here:
https://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/sterilization.html

This is one of the best information resources I have found on the net. I was impressed by it that I bought m small unit from Carl who founder the cite but now ha a staff doing the work. There is a lot of good information on the site. I had a friendly disagreement with him many years ago in regards to the nitrifying bacteria. In the end, he agreed I was .likely correct.

 

[anewbie]

It took me many hours of reading to understand exactly how UV worked and then how to calculate the needed size bulb and the pproper flow rate. Not all UV is equal. If you actually want to understand it all you should read here:
https://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/sterilization.html

This is one of the best information resources I have found on the net. I was impressed by it that I bought m small unit from Carl who founder the cite but now ha a staff doing the work. There is a lot of good information on the site. I had a friendly disagreement with him many years ago in regards to the nitrifying bacteria. In the end, he agreed I was .likely correct.

Sadly he doesn't seem to define the terms like level 1 in the actual article - or maybe i missed it.... there were interesting terms and factor. I know our local pet store got an experimentation 'purfication' system the past year which includes a 100+ watt uv system (all their tanks share the same water but runs through a common filteration unit and they've had some problems in the past with cross containimation so this is suppose to help with that).