"Submersible" UV lamps

HKfshkpr1 · Dec 14, 2018

I ran accross some cheap "submersible" UV lamps for the aquarium and got some. They have "no" outter cylinder (similar to common submersible heaters) and must be placed inside a filter box so fish are not exposed to them.
I see no problem using them because I have room in the sump where I plan to keep them between filter pads. However, 3 different sellers suggest using them for 2 hours a day max, and only 4-5 times a week. I asked why not 24 hrs a day and was told that would be bad for the fish and the lamps. I can see it'll shorten the lamps' life, but bad for the fish ??? Can't understand.

Flippers4pups · Dec 14, 2018

UV radiation can be harmful to your eyes, for one.

Can you post a picture of the unit?

saltyfilmfolks · Dec 14, 2018

What spectrum of uv?

nritter69 · Dec 14, 2018

Ha. Lol. Ya u don't want to give Ultra Violet light to much room to roam. I've installed multiple lamps in my life an burnt my eyes 3 times. Think of them as a sanitizer it kills anything it comes in contact with. I've seen it burn through paper filters and even rubber coatings of wires given enough time. When manufacturers build the models for aquarium use they're sure to put thick black plastic between living things an the bulb for good reason. Putting in your sump u will sanitize everything the light touches. Good bacteria or bad. Watch ur nitrates spike as u do it to. Speaking from experience on that point.

nritter69 · Dec 14, 2018

Didn't mean to be such a downer, lol . It's just uv lights are tough. On one hand they worked great for me killing of iche, velvet, and any parasite that tried to take hold in my tank. I was not afraid to put any fish in my tank I had so much UV but I also couldn't get a hold on my nitrate levels cause I was killing so many good bacteria at the same time. Good luck. But first take a look at how many guys are selling their uv Lights 1st.

HKfshkpr1 · Dec 16, 2018

I don't care about my eyes. They're merely 13W's and I love my fish more than myself( just kidding, haha!).
I certainly know the effect of the light. Here's what I'll do: I'll place them in PVC pipes making sure the pipes are big enough for water flow. I'll also use a timer to turn them on 1 hour at a time for 6-8 hours a day. Sounds like a good plan?

Here I'll try to attach a link. They have both 110V and 220V. up to 13 W.

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Wat...lgo_pvid=6fa7fff0-4cca-4458-9531-38676eef68e6

nritter69 · Dec 16, 2018

Sounds like you got er' all figured out. [emoji38] The only thing I can recommend is to try and keep water flow as slow as possible going through the light. A big reason why uv lights dont work well, sometimes, is because there is so much bacteria, parasites, detritus, an everything else that it moves to quickly through the light and only a portion of those come in contact with the uv light. Imagine a big guy walks past a camera with his wife an kids at his side, the camera sees the man in its line of site but not the wife and kids, they sneak by unseen. If possible have slow water movement and if u really want to get hardcore coat the inside of whatever container u use with a reflective material. Good luck.

HKfshkpr1 · Dec 16, 2018

nritter69 said:
Didn't mean to be such a downer, lol . It's just uv lights are tough. On one hand they worked great for me killing of iche, velvet, and any parasite that tried to take hold in my tank. I was not afraid to put any fish in my tank I had so much UV but I also couldn't get a hold on my nitrate levels cause I was killing so many good bacteria at the same time. Good luck. But first take a look at how many guys are selling their uv Lights 1st.

I don't understand. As far as I know, good bacteria only turn ammonia first into nitrite and then finally into nitrate. "No" beneficial bacteria would reduce "nitrate". That's why we use skimmers to remove waste before it turns into nitrate eventually. We also use refugiums and live rocks and water change to reduce nitrate. Killing the good bacteria would result in high ammonia and possibly "nitrite", wouldn't it???( how can they change to nitrate without the bacteria?)

nritter69 · Dec 16, 2018

There are good bacteria that reduce nitrate levels in your reef tank. A lot of folks like myself included use media reactor's as well as NO3 PO4X, or even vodka to provide as source of carbons in order to cultivate these bacteria. This is why u might see threads on vodka dosing to reduce nitrates. It's not actually the vodka that's reducing the nitrates but rather the bacteria that are feeding off the vodka an being cultivated. Use of a UV light will diminish these bacteria levels an u will see ur nitrate levels begin to rise. I THINK lol [emoji4]

HKfshkpr1 · Dec 16, 2018

nritter69 said:
There are good bacteria that reduce nitrate levels in your reef tank. A lot of folks like myself included use media reactor's as well as NO3 PO4X, or even vodka to provide as source of carbons in order to cultivate these bacteria. This is why u might see threads on vodka dosing to reduce nitrates. It's not actually the vodka that's reducing the nitrates but rather the bacteria that are feeding off the vodka an being cultivated. Use of a UV light will diminish these bacteria levels an u will see ur nitrate levels begin to rise. I THINK lol [emoji4]

Pretty "high tech" for me as I have fish only but I'll look into it. Thank you!

nritter69 · Dec 16, 2018

Uuughfff I know , it starts out simple then as u want ur tank to look like the pictures u see it starts to get more an more complicated lol. I never thought I would have to any of that when started this "hobby" thanks though

HKfshkpr1 · Dec 28, 2018

Got those 13W. lamps and installed them. They're 10 in. long like a small thin heater with a 1 in. long rubber cap on both ends. They have US plugs and an on/off swithch on the transformer.

I placed them in 1 in. dia. PVC pipes and secured the "electric cable" with cable ties, in a way that the lamp would not move but sit "crooked" inside the pipe. I did this so the water would flow more evenly around the lamps and would not just lay on the pipes and possibly burn them.

I placed one end near the intake of the sump pump to assure water flow through the lamps. There's "no" instruction that says that they cannot be run 24 hours a day. But I still use a timer to run them 12 hrs a day only( 1 hr. on and then 1 hr. off). I'll play with the distance from the pump intake to achieve an ideal flow rate through the pipes.