Best way to hook up UV light sterilizers

[Nismo]

I just ordered one and I'm just wondering for you guys that have one which is the best way to go about hooking one up?

I want to use my canister filter. Would it be best to hook it up on the inlet or
outlet side?

[mlw]

I used mine wiht an Eheim 2215. Outlet from filter into inlet of UV. It didn't seem to make much of a difference though fish still got ich hardscape still got covered in algae (beard, green, brown). Never had a green water or cyano outbreak though.

[Nismo]

I'm having a green water outbreak. I never had that proplem until I started messing around with a planted tank. I'm all out of ideas. If this doesn't help with the green problem I might have to just do a complete blackout of my tank and start over with the
plants. On the bright side I'm learning a lot from trial and error. I forgot to close my lid the other night and one of my discus jumped to his death. He was a red pigeon blood with barely any peppering at all. 4" I'm still pretty new to keeping discuss also. Its going to be an expensive learning experience.

[Wahter]

I think it would be better hooking it out on the filter's outflow side (back to the tank) - you want to minimize the amount of gunk that could build up on the UV light (which would reduce it's effectiveness).

They do work well in getting rid of green water. A diatom filter works well for getting rid of green water too.


Walter

[mlw]

I'm having a green water outbreak. I never had that proplem until I started messing around with a planted tank. I'm all out of ideas. If this doesn't help with the green problem I might have to just do a complete blackout of my tank and start over with the
plants. On the bright side I'm learning a lot from trial and error. I forgot to close my lid the other night and one of my discus jumped to his death. He was a red pigeon blood with barely any peppering at all. 4" I'm still pretty new to keeping discuss also. Its going to be an expensive learning experience.

It will help with the green water. Within a couple of days you will be green water free.

[Harriett]

The issue is not whether you hook it up on one side or the other of the filter, the problem is that a UV will not work if just hooked up to your filtration system! The ability of a UV to destroy bacteria or algae is dependent on DWELL TIME. The water has to stay in the UV canister long enough to zap the water clean. Your regular tank filtration goes WAY too fast to do any thing in the UV. It is a waste of time to bother. All you need to do is to set up the UV with it's own water moving source so you can control how fast the water moves through it--look at your paperwork for your UV to determine what the dwell time needs to be for your equipment and you can work it out.
Best regards,
Harriett

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

The issue is not whether you hook it up on one side or the other of the filter, the problem is that a UV will not work if just hooked up to your filtration system! The ability of a UV to destroy bacteria or algae is dependent on DWELL TIME. The water has to stay in the UV canister long enough to zap the water clean. Your regular tank filtration goes WAY too fast to do any thing in the UV. It is a waste of time to bother. All you need to do is to set up the UV with it's own water moving source so you can control how fast the water moves through it--look at your paperwork for your UV to determine what the dwell time needs to be for your equipment and you can work it out.
Best regards,
Harriett

Amen! The slower flow through the unit, the more effective kill rate it will have. It sounds like you only have a canister filter(s) for your filtration. What I would recommend is splitting the return water (to the tank) into 2 lines coming off the canister filter. One line as the normal tank return, the other as the UV feed line. Have valves on both lines to control flow....both lines lead back to tank. This way you can control exactly how much water flows through the UV unit.

What wattage and brand did you purchase?

-Ryan

[zamboniMan]

Depending on what UV unit you bought you can hook up a low flow power head to it from directly inside the tank.

[exv152]

It doesn't really matter where you hook it up, as long as you get the right exposure time to the uv, and you put it in an area where there's less organic matter that can get into it and clog it up. It will definitely help with the green water.

[Nismo]

It hasn't came in yet but I ordered the coral life turbo twist 3x @ 9w. it says it needs a water flow rate 100-200 gph. My canister is a fluval 405 that I can adjust the flow of the outlet on. the uv light can treat tanks as large as 125 gallon but my tank is a 75 gallon.

lots of great suggestions. thanks guys.

[Nismo]

my uv light arrived today. I probably won't be able to hook it up till saturday moring. Funny thing is the green water is starting to clear up a lot. I read through the manual.
I'm hoping what they say is true about moving water through the tank.
This light is supposed to have 8000 hour life.
They suggest
55gph kills parasites
121gph kill algae
200 gph kill bacteria.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

my uv light arrived today. I probably won't be able to hook it up till saturday moring. Funny thing is the green water is starting to clear up a lot. I read through the manual.
I'm hoping what they say is true about moving water through the tank.
This light is supposed to have 8000 hour life.
They suggest
55gph kills parasites
121gph kill algae
200 gph kill bacteria.

It is recommended to change out the UV bulbs every 9-12 months of continuous use, based on performance requirements. As for the suggested kill ratings....it is highly variable as to the clarity of water entering into the UV unit itself as well as the exact type of parasites/algae/bacteria they speak of. IMO, on the small hobbyist scale, a UV is only good for greenwater and minor fungal issues at best. Anything more requires a hefty unit.

-Ryan

[seanyuki]

Hi Ryan......thinking of getting a 125 acrylic tank and planning to run it with Ehiem Pro 3 2080 & Eheim Wet/Dry Filter System model 2229 plus Aqua IV 120 watts clarifier/sterilizer....do you think there is enough for filtration & sterilization?......gonna buy the stuffs step by step.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Hi Ryan......thinking of getting a 125 acrylic tank and planning to run it with Ehiem Pro 3 2080 & Eheim Wet/Dry Filter System model 2229 plus Aqua IV 120 watts clarifier/sterilizer....do you think there is enough for filtration & sterilization?......gonna buy the stuffs step by step.

120W of UV is a lot for a 125 (insert Tim Allen manly grunt here). What filtration you run is entirely dependent upon how heavy of a bio-load you plan for the system. To me, it sounds like good enough filtration for a decent load. Just be sure to run supplemental air in the tank itself (can never have too much).

I know this will turn into a slightly side tracked moment, but here it goes: If the units come with those ceramic rings, toss those out right away and go with the sponges instead. The ceramic rings, while having insane surface area are highly flawed when used as a filter media. Due to the tiny pores of the ceramic rings, the outside surface area becomes clogged very quickly. This of course leads to them becoming slimey after a while. Well the active biological bacteria are only active on the first few layers of this bio-film (think microns). Anything deeper is cut off from oxygen in the water due to the bio-film being too thick (no active oxygen transport...just too thick). Any kind of media can be like this however, just depends on how well it is maintained....biological filter media isnt a "set it and forget it" type thing. It must be actively maintained for peak performance. Even the sponge media I suggested will require frequent cleaning every 1-2 weeks to maintain efficient performance.

Look at fluidized sand filters. They perform so well at removing ammonia/nitrite from the water because the bio-film is so thin. This thin bio-film allows for proper oxygen transport to allow the bacteria to work properly and to their best. The active movement of the media keeps the bio-film thin due to the sheering effect of the motion the sand has in the filter unit itself (sand on sand action...). By keeping the sponges/ceramic rings clean, they are able to perform their best because of the thinner bio-film present.

As for the UV...120W is more than enough to even kill parasites. Read this to understand more: http://www.aquaticeco.com/pages/full_width/133/Ultraviolet-Sterilizers

-Ryan

[seanyuki]

Thanks Ryan.......much appreciated for all the information provided:)......I will do everything slowly and have a display tank.

[Dkarc@Aol.com]

Not a problem...please feel free to PM me anytime if you have any questions.

-Ryan

[seanyuki]

Thanks Ryan....will do:)



Not a problem...please feel free to PM me anytime if you have any questions.

-Ryan

[Nismo]

Its been a week since I installed the uv light. What a world of difference it makes. My water has never been this clear. It literally looks like the fish are just swimming in thin air.
I don't think I could ever go back to not having uv light again even if I never get green water.