Properly sizing UV Sterilizers
- Thread starter mojo
- Start date
75 gal. 20 gal sump, RO 2000 bubbleblaster skimmer, run gfo and carbon. MH and t5's.
My numbers are great. Since Spring the sun does hit part of the tank in the afternoon.
Just want my Tangs to be safe.......No problem cleaning the front of the tank....but was looking for the "Pristine" water conditions. Still love my tank, Bubba
My numbers are great. Since Spring the sun does hit part of the tank in the afternoon.
Just want my Tangs to be safe.......No problem cleaning the front of the tank....but was looking for the "Pristine" water conditions. Still love my tank, Bubba
Is a Aqua Viper 400 over kill for my 700 gallon system?
In order for it to kill ich it needs to have 1563 gallons per hour so that would be basically turning my system over twice per hour. But the problem is the Viper has a low flow shut off of 95 gallon per min. (5700 gallons per hour) which is a kill rating of 90,000 uw/cm2, so does anyone know if the low flow cut off can be bypassed? I have a Aquanetics 360watt that im running on a 500 gallon system at 2200 gallons per hour which is only a kill rate of about 90,000 uw/cm2. and it for sure does not kill ich (of course).
It's crazy how the old Aquanetics 360 has to be run at 500 gallons per hour to kill ich but the newer Viper can be run at 1563 GPH to kill ich. I guess the older Aquanetics isnt as efficient.
In order for it to kill ich it needs to have 1563 gallons per hour so that would be basically turning my system over twice per hour. But the problem is the Viper has a low flow shut off of 95 gallon per min. (5700 gallons per hour) which is a kill rating of 90,000 uw/cm2, so does anyone know if the low flow cut off can be bypassed? I have a Aquanetics 360watt that im running on a 500 gallon system at 2200 gallons per hour which is only a kill rate of about 90,000 uw/cm2. and it for sure does not kill ich (of course).
It's crazy how the old Aquanetics 360 has to be run at 500 gallons per hour to kill ich but the newer Viper can be run at 1563 GPH to kill ich. I guess the older Aquanetics isnt as efficient.
- Messages
- 193
- Reaction score
- 0
Can anyone tell me if my 18 watt coral life turbo twist uv sterilizer is good enough for my 50 gallon tank I have the flow rate at about 30 gallons per hour coral life's chart does not go to that low of the flow rate is it okay to run at that level of a flow rate
i think on the main post it said that part is a little fuzzy...even though cora life ddoesnt have it in their chart thats how slow itd have to go to kill ich...but it also doesnt apply the 1x rule of flow which would be 50 gph for ur tank...but i think itd prob do the job..just have to fidn a pump that only does 30 gph...or you could get something else like an Aqua UV sterilizer that has much higher radiation levels...i have a 15w that has more than the 11,400 the cora life 18w has...and it actually needs 50 gph to kill ich..i guess it depends on the manufacuter etc...my UV is for sale by the way 
Odd question... In the doc you posted, it mentioned LR. If you went 300+ to kill ich, what would that do the the live rock? I currently have a new 55g tank with LR and fish only right now. (5w uv running about 200gph) Would that slow down the LR ?
It's impossible to know without some kind of meter, but figure 6 months to a year. I tried to replace mine yearly.
They're like any other bulb, where they continue to function for a long while, but the output slowly deteriorates, and they'll need to be replaced to remain effective.
I have never used UV, is this really a thing for you guys? I think while it helps protecting against free floating parasites and whatnot, it isn't really a necessity...
I might include one on my next build!
It also helps with water clarity like ozone does. It's neutralizes the yellow tinge from organic waste. That really helps with light penetration to the corals.
I only run mine 12hrs a day, from 9am to 9pm. Night time is when I dose phyto and it's also when juvenile pods and other small organisms get into the water column.
I only run mine 12hrs a day, from 9am to 9pm. Night time is when I dose phyto and it's also when juvenile pods and other small organisms get into the water column.
This was a very good read on UV’s it is a lot to read but wry in-depth
