uv sterilizer

waxer1986

hi im lookin for information on uv sterilizer s if there any good or what..
iv heard that anything over 15 watt bulb will kill parasites like ich
and will prevent outbreaks in the future,is this true or what??..
so any information will be well appreciated.and also if ye have any recommendations on a certain uv sterilizer..my tank is 180 liter

thanks

F-Stop

UV sterlizers will help to control the amount of water borne parasites, bacteria, and also some algae. But they won't completely remove them, also the subtrate, plants, ornaments, etc can still hold them as it's only the water that flows through the UV that gets treated. The thing is a lot of those nasty things won't have a bad effect on a healthy fish, but if your fish are stressed because, for example, water quality is poor then the UV will help to some degree. I use one and it's fixed to the outlet of an external filter, if I was to set one up tomorrow I'd have it on it's own return pump as it can be a pain to prime the filter when cleaning - then again, if I wasn't lazy I could sort that out tomorrow. I use a 39w on a 300 litre, 15w on 180 sounds fine to me. Some people say you should not have it on all the time - like with antibiotics - as the fish immune system drops. I suppose a 3 week on, 3 week off rotation might make sense. Some only use them when introducing new fish. I keep mine on all the time.

waxer1986

F-Stop wrote: »

UV sterlizers will help to control the amount of water borne parasites, bacteria, and also some algae. But they won't completely remove them, also the subtrate, plants, ornaments, etc can still hold them as it's only the water that flows through the UV that gets treated. The thing is a lot of those nasty things won't have a bad effect on a healthy fish, but if your fish are stressed because, for example, water quality is poor then the UV will help to some degree. I use one and it's fixed to the outlet of an external filter, if I was to set one up tomorrow I'd have it on it's own return pump as it can be a pain to prime the filter when cleaning - then again, if I wasn't lazy I could sort that out tomorrow. I use a 39w on a 300 litre, 15w on 180 sounds fine to me. Some people say you should not have it on all the time - like with antibiotics - as the fish immune system drops. I suppose a 3 week on, 3 week off rotation might make sense. Some only use them when introducing new fish. I keep mine on all the time.

ya was thinking it wouldent get rid off everything..
so is it worth getten one,and can you recommend one

F-Stop

If you've had problems like ich it will help - let it run for a few weeks and churn up the substrate every couple of days as the sporse can sit there and won't get zapped. It won't erradicate it, but it should keep it controllable.

To be honest all brands do the exact same thing as it's just a tube that the water passes through with a UV bulb to zap it. I haven't heard of any that cause any trouble, and leaky fittings would be your only worry. Bargain second hand ones come up on sites like irishfishkeepers and irishfishforum, could try adverts.ie too.

waxer1986

F-Stop wrote: »

If you've had problems like ich it will help - let it run for a few weeks and churn up the substrate every couple of days as the sporse can sit there and won't get zapped. It won't erradicate it, but it should keep it controllable.

To be honest all brands do the exact same thing as it's just a tube that the water passes through with a UV bulb to zap it. I haven't heard of any that cause any trouble, and leaky fittings would be your only worry. Bargain second hand ones come up on sites like irishfishkeepers and irishfishforum, could try adverts.ie too.

ok thanks

waxer1986

waxer1986 wrote: »

ya was thinking it wouldent get rid off everything..
so is it worth getten one,and can you recommend one

sorry one more question..on e bay there is cheap ones from hong kong
should i stay away from theses ?

F-Stop

Ha! My gut feeling would be no, but I really don't know about them to be honest. My only concern, if it was me, would be that anything you attach to your tank can potentially cause it to leak. So it's probably worth paying a little extra for better quality, than covering the cost of 180 litres of water on your carpet after a weeks holiday :eek: Also it's worth having a warranty you can claim on if it ends up being faulty. The other thing is that you do need to replace the bulbs every so often, so check how available the replacement bulbs would be.

waxer1986

ok so i bought a vecton 300 have it all set up now..
got the timer working and all after awhile..
but before i got the timer working properly there was
a faint fluorescent light flashing only seen on low light..
but now its not flashing at all...does this mean the uv light
aint working...any one know anything about this thanks:D

waxer1986

F-Stop wrote: »

Ha! My gut feeling would be no, but I really don't know about them to be honest. My only concern, if it was me, would be that anything you attach to your tank can potentially cause it to leak. So it's probably worth paying a little extra for better quality, than covering the cost of 180 litres of water on your carpet after a weeks holiday :eek: Also it's worth having a warranty you can claim on if it ends up being faulty. The other thing is that you do need to replace the bulbs every so often, so check how available the replacement bulbs would be.

ok so i bought a vecton 300 have it all set up now..
got the timer working and all after awhile..
but before i got the timer working properly there was
a faint fluorescent light flashing only seen on low light..
but now its not flashing at all...does this mean the uv light
aint working...any one know anything about this thanks
its bein running a few days now and the water dont seem to be clearing its still a bit green
any help would be brill ty