Automaticboy6 Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I have a 90 RR tank that has just finished it's cycle. It is a new upgrade from my previous 55 which I learned a lot with. I have never used a UV sterilizer, but am looking into getting one. How important is a UV sterilizer? And what brand, and wattage should I be looking into for a 90 gallon, with a 20 gallon sump. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subsea Posted December 13, 2011 Share Posted December 13, 2011 I do not think UV is important for a reef display. With the exception of larvae food and zooplankton cultures requiring sterile water, I see little application. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myvirtue Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Your going to hear alot of personal opinions when it comes to UV sterilizers. I have one and it helped alot. To make it effective... I think it has alot to do with placement, brand, wattage and flow. Ill find out what brand i have later but its amazing. Timfish helped me with my purchase and I dont regret it! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted December 14, 2011 Share Posted December 14, 2011 Myyitue is certainly right and I'm not in complete disagreement with Subsea. I think a properly sized UV is the most reliable way to control ick in a display tank. I would argue it's much better to use it on a quarantine system though. Don't believe the marketing hype some manufacturers use for sizing a UV to a tank. For example I've seen manufacturers say a UV will work on 120 gal. but it's based on dealing with green water algae blooms, ick is much harder to kill and when turnover/kill rate and bulb aging is taken into account the the same UV wouldn't be effective on anything larger than a 30 or 40 gal. tank. I like to size UVs so I have 1 or 2 turnovers an hour with a 100% single pass kill rate, more is better but UV's also act as heaters and heat is usually an issue in most tanks. I've also found them to be more effective if set up to take water directly from the main tank then return it back to the main tank than if set up between a sump/refugium and the main tank. (Since the larval are hatching out in the tank with the fish it seems to do a better job of killing the larval before they find a host and I've seen multi tank systems where a sterilizer was protecting part of the system but ick was surviving in one tank). There are differences in design and quality obviously, the designs that allow for permanent installation are typically more robust than most hang on designs and tubing fittings can be used to allow relatively easy removal for servicing. As always the simpler access is the better. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Hydro Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 I always run a uv, if I turn if off I get algae all over the glass in just a couple days. Even if you don't run it all the time its great insurance if you have a problem. In my 440 gallon tank I actually have 360 gallons of water. My sterilizer is a 5gpm sterilight sterilizer that I run at 4gpm just to make sure its really effective. So every 1.5 hrs it turns over my entire tank if that helps you size yours. I found the best deal for them on Ebay, I think mine was $250. The flowrate is critical, I installed a dwyer flow meter inline with a ball valve so I can get it exactly right. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Myvirtue Posted December 16, 2011 Share Posted December 16, 2011 (edited) I bought the Ultralife Ultra-V VHO UV Sterilizer (40 watt) very nice and easy to use. Everything seems well made and ive had it over 7 months now and nothing has worn down or started leaking. I got it at marinedepot and i think you can only buy replacements like the bulb from the manufacture. Edited December 16, 2011 by Myvirtue Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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