Uv Sterilizers

[john401]

What do you guys think of the wisdom of these?

 

[Jeff Lange]

What do you guys think of the wisdom of these?

I have a UV and a Heater built into my Teco Chiller that runs through a Rena XP4 on my 90 gallon freshwater. I have had a UV for over 1 year. I'm sure it helps and is probably a good idea if you can afford it.

 

[nmonks]

No particular value. UV sterilisers reduce (but do not eliminate) the spread of swimming parasites like whitespot, and they usually eliminate quite effectively algal blooms. They are primarily of use in marine tanks (where diatom blooms can be troublesome) and in ponds (where "green water" chlorophyte blooms are a problem.

Do remember you need to replace the UV tube regularly, typically every 12 months. The "sleeve" may need cleaning more often than that. If the glass between the water flow and the UV bulb is even slightly dirty, it will block the UV, rendering the unit useless. Like carbon in filters, I suspect a lot of people have these devices but maintain them so poorly they don't do anything at all. Also like carbon, no harm comes from that because neither carbon nor UV does much of any value.

So by all means by one if you want, but there are dozen more useful things you can spend your money on: additional filters, better lights, external heaters, reverse-flow filter plates, etc., etc.

Cheers, Neale

What do you guys think of the wisdom of these?

 

[T1KARMANN]

A UV is a very important part on any set up

i wouldn't run a tank without a UV

 

[bitteraspects]

Contrary to an earlier post, UV filters can absolutely eliminate parisites. The amount and type of filtration/ sterilization you get from your UV filter is solely dependent on the flow rate. The slower the flow, the more you get out of your UV. for this reason its better to go with a stand alone unit rather than a canister with a built in UV. most stand alone units will have a chart of flow rates for different levels of filtration.

IME you can't go wrong with a Turbo Twist. They can be a bit pricey, but absolutely worth the money.