Uv sterilizer?

[colesjensen]

I have a 220 gallon tank with a 75 gallon sump that am currently setting up. I am going to start plumbing it. When I bought the tank it came a uv sterilizer. Should I plumb this into it or leave it out? I've heard mixed opinions about them.

 

[Brandon42]

I have one and love it, when i first put up my tank i had a crazy algae bloom. all the water turned green, hooked up a uv and it was crystal clear in like 2 days. they do wonders for water clarity. if your doing a reef though you dont want it too powerful or to slow of flow going through it because they can kill pods and other good stuff. i have a 25w on my 125 and its never harmed anything good in my tank

 

[Brew12]

I have a 220 gallon tank with a 75 gallon sump that am currently setting up. I am going to start plumbing it. When I bought the tank it came a uv sterilizer. Should I plumb this into it or leave it out? I've heard mixed opinions about them.

I would plumb it in using unions. That way it is easy to do maintenance on and you can create a blank if you ever decide not to use it. Or, you can start out with your blank and add the UV easily if you decide to.

 

[colesjensen]

I would plumb it in using unions. That way it is easy to do maintenance on and you can create a blank if you ever decide not to use it. Or, you can start out with your blank and add the UV easily if you decide to.

Good idea!

 

[brandon429]

I would not own a tank that large without such a cheat, that's for sure. Id have two UV's in line ready to flick on to cheat as needed. Id aim for not having to run them though in the tank design...fine backups. could've saved many a tank if avail.

 

[jent]

While initially very skeptical about them, I will now never run a tank without one again. They helped me with some algae / dino's issues. But the water clarity alone is reason to run one. You don't realize how cloudy your water is till after you have a UV. Even with carbon always running in a reactor with frequent replacements, the difference is amazing!

 

[stunreefer]

When I bought the tank it came a uv sterilizer.

What brand/model is it, and what return pump are you using? Unfortunately the hobby is littered with useless U/V units.

if your doing a reef though you dont want it too powerful or to slow of flow going through it because they can kill pods and other good stuff.

This is a very common thing I read, yet, there's no basis for it. Pods that go through return pumps are in pretty rough shape. If they survive the trip to the tank, fishes are delighted by a random pod shooting out of the return line and make a quick snack out of them.

Most of our systems are not producing any significant amount of "good things" that an ultraviolet sterilizer would sterilize.

If you're not trying to control parasites (which require an intensity of 90,000 µw/cm2), then you can run much faster flow through a U/V which would not likely do anything to the mangled pods besides a sun tan.

 

[mtraylor]

plumb it in and don't look back. A must on big aquariums in my opinion.

 

[Brandon42]

What brand/model is it, and what return pump are you using? Unfortunately the hobby is littered with useless U/V units.
This is a very common thing I read, yet, there's no basis for it. Pods that go through return pumps are in pretty rough shape. If they survive the trip to the tank, fishes are delighted by a random pod shooting out of the return line and make a quick snack out of them.

Most of our systems are not producing any significant amount of "good things" that an ultraviolet sterilizer would sterilize.

If you're not trying to control parasites (which require an intensity of 90,000 µw/cm2), then you can run much faster flow through a U/V which would not likely do anything to the mangled pods besides a sun tan.

I can totally see what you're saying for sure, I got that information out of the book that came with my aqua uv. It has a guide for flow dependent on the type of aquarium you are running and it suggests to kick up the flow to a reef to avoid killing beneficial bacteria and pods and what not.

 

[Brew12]

I can totally see what you're saying for sure, I got that information out of the book that came with my aqua uv. It has a guide for flow dependent on the type of aquarium you are running and it suggests to kick up the flow to a reef to avoid killing beneficial bacteria and pods and what not.

As long as you don't plumb it in between your refugium and your display, I wouldn't worry about it killing pods. I run filter socks so any pods that take the trip down to my sump are being removed anyway. One big benefit from running a UV is that it will kill parasites and help mitigate risk from Ich or Velvet.
I would also point out that there is little bacteria in the water of our tanks. Most of the beneficial bacteria are going to be attached to the live rock and sand. So while a UV filter may kill some bacteria in the water column it should have a minimal impact on the total bacteria load. Just remember to turn it off if you are adding a bacteria product or while you are carbon dosing.

 

[boozeman27]

. Just remember to turn it off if you are adding a bacteria product or while you are carbon dosing.

Why do you want it off while carbon dosing? And how long do you want it off for after dosing? An hour or less or more?

 

[Brew12]

Why do you want it off while carbon dosing? And how long do you want it off for after dosing? An hour or less or more?

A UV filter can kill bacteria in the water column. I would definitely turn it off while adding a bacteria in a bottle product for at least a few hours. As for turning it off during carbon dosing, the more I think about it the more likely it is to be ok. While it will kill some of the bacteria you are trying to grow through the carbon dosing, the net impact is that it will take longer for the carbon to be consumed. This probably isn't a bad thing.

 

[boozeman27]

Thanks for the reply!

 

[Gabaghoul]

UV Sterlizer - Yes. Get an Emperor Aquatics (now Pentair) big enough for your system. The positives outweigh any negatives.

 

[Heath Biggers]

I’ve been running one of the large Pentair units on an 800 gallon system for about 8 months. I did something stupid and introduced some fish that I did not quarentine and had an ick ourbreak that killed a few fish. I put in the UV sterilizer and have been running it ever since. The ick want away in a matter of weeks and I have not seen it again. I have not seen any negative effects from running the unit at all. My system is bacteria driven using bio pellets and it certainly has not hurt that process. I was concerned about this at first but like others have said that bacteria is not in the water column, for the most part

 

[HB AL]

I would hook it up, positives out weigh the negatives, I have 2 return pumps in my sump and the smaller pump is hooked up inline with the uv sterilizer.

 

[JoelSolid]

I second the large Pentair units. I have a 200 gallon tank and run the HO 80 watt. It might be overkill but I really like the work it does for my system.

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/emperor-aquatics-smart-high-output-uv-80-watt.html

 

[Jakepen]

Are they best plumber to a manifold, or driven by a pump?

 

[mitch91175]

Are they best plumber to a manifold, or driven by a pump?

I have mine plumbed to a manifold and am getting 400 gph through mine. It is a Aqua UV 57W. Water is always crystal clear. Matter of fact I run everything with my 1 Reeflo Hammerhead pump.

 

[Gogoggansgo]

While initially very skeptical about them, I will now never run a tank without one again. They helped me with some algae / dino's issues. But the water clarity alone is reason to run one. You don't realize how cloudy your water is till after you have a UV. Even with carbon always running in a reactor with frequent replacements, the difference is amazing!

I’m with you there i had a huge bacteria bloom after QTing a fish, and i just went and bought one of those all in one units. Holy crap my water is like a mirror