Usefulness of UV Sterilizer

[Chrisk-K]

Besides killing algae, what do you a UV sterilizer for?

That is, can it kill free floating parasites or harmful bacteria? I'd be interested in buying one if I could use it as a disease prevention measure.

[CWO4GUNNER]

A UV sterilizer only works when precisely tuned with a pump otherwise it is a complete waste of money. It like at Quiznos when they send your sandwich through the toaster conveyor if the speed of the conveyor (pump GHP) is not match with the heat of the oven (UV intensity), and the sandwich is not the right height from the heat source (proximity of water to UV), the sandwich will not cook right and neither will the DNA chromosomes be cooked correctly. In the case of dna chromosomes their bones get broken so they (the cells) cannot reproduce and multiply whether they be algae, bacterial, or parasites, even people why the UV us shielded on not visible.

Packaged correctly it is a very effective tool against all sorts of suspended pathogens. I use a tuned system called the "Green Killing Machine 24W" and it work great, I even have direct sunlight hitting my aquarium. Well worth the money IF its tuned.
http://www.petsmart.com/product/index.jsp?productId=2750628

[Chrisk-K]

Wow, that's cheap! I was looking at the JBJ and the Twist Turbo and thought about spending more than $100. I'll check out reviews of that unit.

[CWO4GUNNER]

Unless your tank is 60G or less I would get the 24W. However I use the 9W on my 60 on a wall timer 12 hours per day at night and it works great and my 60 tank faces a northern window across the room. All my other 24W (4) work great on my larger tank all on 12 hour wall timers. Only occasionally will I have to turn them on 24/7 if I know in advance a bloom is about to be triggered by some medications or new sand.

The only down side is they are not portable like some can be made and again if tuned properly, but who want to be playing musical chairs with tank equipment?

[Chrisk-K]

I have two 40 g tanks but I'm getting a 24W one. I'm more concerned about killing parasites, so 24W + 100 gph seems perfect according to the information at DR Foster.
I've also found that many people at another forum prefer the Green Killing Machine over more expensive ones.

[clb2196]

Did you end up getting this? I just saw the 9w one at petsmart, but thought I'd check before buying it. It's for a 36 gallon tank. I have some fish with ich- I can't treat with salt or meds because of kuhli loaches, and I'm having trouble getting the temp up high enough and stable. The sterilizer would be great if it worked.

[DavidZ]

get the bigger size, works great!

[fishorama]

They only kill parasites etc that pass through them, not a reliable treatment for ich. It will help.

clb- you can use meds with kuhlis, just start with half dose of a malachite green med to see how they do. Lots of vacuuming before redosing. If they seem ok gradually increase the dose. Lights off.

[DrgRcr]

I have a turbo twist 9w in my 72g. I won't get into the specifics as far as flow gph vs. wattage, but in checking with their and several other recommended ratios, I'm almost perfect as far as the flow req.'s go for parasite and algae removal. And I did a quick check of the flow on my can to be sure. I haven't had any illness in that tank since. I can't say if the UV definitively helped with that because I try to do proper maintainance regularly, but one thing I can say with 100% certainty is that the water in that tank is crystal clear, and I thought it was clear before I added it.

[barbarossa4122]

Unless your tank is 60G or less I would get the 24W. However I use the 9W on my 60 on a wall timer 12 hours per day at night and it works great and my 60 tank faces a northern window across the room. All my other 24W (4) work great on my larger tank all on 12 hour wall timers. Only occasionally will I have to turn them on 24/7 if I know in advance a bloom is about to be triggered by some medications or new sand.

The only down side is they are not portable like some can be made and again if tuned properly, but who want to be playing musical chairs with tank equipment?

Hi,

I am thinking of getting 2 9w for my 55g and 30g tanks. Can you explain what "tune properly" means. Thank you.

Ps. Looks like I found the post I was looking for.:)

[austinpetemo]

what size do you use for a 10g, because im thinking of turning my 10g into a hatchery for african cichlids and plan to fill it with egg tumblers. i plan to use it to cut down algae and disease so they dont mess with the tumbling eggs and wrigglers.

[Bonne46]

Do you guys have any pics of this thing? I'd like to see what it looks like in the tank.

[foolishfish]

I haven't tried any of these yet, but I just ordered some after searching out the cheapest wattage I could find for the bucks.

http://cgi.ebay.com/36W-UV-Sterilizer-Clarifier-36-watt-Pond-Light-w-Bulb_W0QQitemZ290385227326QQcategoryZ117434QQcmdZV iewItemQQ_trksidZp4340.m503QQ_trkparmsZalgo%3DRCSI %26its%3DI%26itu%3DUCI%26otn%3D10%26ps%3D63

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=380183747649&view=all&tid=145027111025

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemVersion&item=110464773958&view=all&tid=469764401001

I started out at a local fluorescent lighting specialty shop that makes their own fixtures but then realized that all everybody does now is assemble or re-sell Red Chinese components, so I figured I might as well give the cheapo imports a whirl. I mean, my Nikon's imported, and probably made there too. Besides, forced labor camp comrades need to buy their kids shoes too.

I had a big one on one of my ponds for early season algae control that I appropriated for indoor use and even though it was running at way too high a volume for pathogen control it turned "clean" water into invisible water. I also just ordered a microscope so that I can verify the effects of my tuning attempts. I figure the same people that tell me I can filter a 75g. tank with a qt. sized HOB are probably the same optimistic marketing and ad people that determined the capacity for the sterilizers. While shopping around I quickly realized that there is no consensus among the manufacturers.

So, just to be safe I figure to oversize my U.V. unit and under drive the circulation. A lot of these were rated at about 145 gph, so after allowing for head pressure etc. I have an assortment of mag drive pumps and a couple of flow meters so I can dial the flow down to about 2/3 of what they claim. Might even go half.

Maybe I'm just slow but it seems to me that if you run the entire contents of a 75g. tank through an 18-24w. sterilizer every hour for 8-12 hrs. everything in that water should be dealt with, so why run it again the very next day? The bulbs require replacing every 6 mths. to a year, so why burn 'em out any quicker than you have to. Maybe you can get away with a real thorough zap job every 3-4 days? That's another excuse for buying the scope.

As for "tuned" systems. Again, there's a lot of optimistic marketing coming out of the manufacturers but no real consensus. If the system has a self contained pump that's tuned to a specific flow matched to the exposure to a given wattage bulb, what happens when you install that unit in a tall tank vs. a long tank. There's more pressure at the bottom of the deeper tank of the same volume, so the unit would flow slower right? Also, the box gives the same flow/effectiveness rate for fresh and salt water. Salt water is a heck of a lot denser, higher specific gravity and all of that, so how is it that the U.V. light waves aren't effected at all by this differential. Salt water's got, well...salt in it, so light can't possibly travel the same through the two differing mediums.

Call me a cynic, but I've had serious trust issues ever since the President told us that he was going to get us out of a war by first getting us deeper into it...I just can't remember which war or President that was...Obama, Bush, Nixon, Johnson, Kennedy,...well you get the point.

If these things end up working half as good as I'm hoping I think I want to try cleaning my water the way they want to clean our meat...with radiation. Hey! It could work! A little lead shielding, a little cooling tower, and look at all of the money we could save on heaters! Imagine the look of iridescent scales with a little added radium glow... :screwy:

[leoslizards]

I'd like to see pics also. How big is it? I don't like the idea of it being an internal system using up valuable swimming space. I have an 8 watt Pentair Aquatics Rainbow Lifegard canister type uv system but have yet to use it.

[foolishfish]

I should have mine in a few days and I'll psot some scaled pics when they get here. I also ordered an in tank 9w. that I believe is about the size of the Pentair, but to be honest I never really looked at the sizes of any of them. Great point, especially since I had planned on moving the submersible around in some of my smaller tanks...Duh...what if it don't fit?

[leoslizards]

I should have mine in a few days and I'll psot some scaled pics when they get here. I also ordered an in tank 9w. that I believe is about the size of the Pentair, but to be honest I never really looked at the sizes of any of them. Great point, especially since I had planned on moving the submersible around in some of my smaller tanks...Duh...what if it don't fit?

Did you order the green killing machine? Either way it looks like it could easily be modded to be used externally if need be. It looks like it only has one squared inlet hole that could probably be sealed with plexi glass and silicone. A hose adapter could then be attached to it.

[foolishfish]

Nah, but it looks pretty close. They probably all come out of the same communist forced labor camps. Just recvd. a pile of the external units and they go together pretty easily. Hooked one up on a planted 72 that's been an algae pain and I'm not sure what's working better, the (6) new mollies or the 18w. U.V.

[CWO4GUNNER]

All the GKM is are a two part unit. The bulb housing that has crisscross passages that pass along a very large U-shape folded bulb which is about 24" long. Then there is the detachable power head which has a low 70 GPH matched to the bulb for performance. So there is no guess work as the formula for Bulb/water moment has already been worked out at a great price I might add considering its a complete matched system. This is why the performance reviews are always good and consistent. No custom guesswork.

[AngeloG]

Just got the smaller unit for my 55gal. I found a code online for a discount. Paid $35.99 plus shipping. Easy to install. Thats it on the left.

[Chrisk-K]

Did you end up getting this? I just saw the 9w one at petsmart, but thought I'd check before buying it. It's for a 36 gallon tank.

I got a 9w Green Killing Machine. Since I got it, I have never seen an iota of algae in my 40 g tank. The tank water is so clear than fish appear to swim in liquid air. I'm sold!

I plan to buy a Gamma 15W or a Lifegard 15W and a small pump, though (I'll use the GKM as a backup) because (1) the GKM's just too ugly, (2) I could use a higher GPH to accelerate the cleansing process, and (3) I'd like to place the UV sterilizer outside the tank. With a 15w UV bulb, I can have 250 GPH to kill diatoms and 100 GHP to kill parasites.

Not everyone needs a UV sterilizer, but if you have $$, it's a great investment.

[barbarossa4122]

Just got the smaller unit for my 55gal. I found a code online for a discount. Paid $35.99 plus shipping. Easy to install. Thats it on the left.

I just got mine today, 2 of them 9w( $ 39.99 each=$ 93.00 tax & shipping) for my 55g and 30g. I sure hope they 'll work.

[AngeloG]

Kool! I jus read here on another post that if u feel u need the 24 watt version u can jus buy the 24w bulb when your 9w dies out. All the other stuff it comes with are the same in both models.

[barbarossa4122]

Kool! I jus read here on another post that if u feel u need the 24 watt version u can jus buy the 24w bulb when your 9w dies out. All the other stuff it comes with are the same in both models.

Yep, I did read that post also. I'll follow CWO4GUNNER advice and stick with the 9W for my tanks. Lol, I was in DC today and my wife installed them. I have to admit, she's very handy.

[AngeloG]

CWO4GUNNER should get paid for being the official spokesperson for it. ...Nice wife....Gotta a sister? ha ha.... I dont have green water but my tank does get hazy once in awhile for some reason. I also had a fish get ick after not seeing ick in my tank for a few months. Hope it helps.

[barbarossa4122]

CWO4GUNNER should get paid for being the official spokesperson for it. ...Nice wife....Gotta a sister? ha ha.... I dont have green water but my tank does get hazy once in awhile for some reason. I also had a fish get ick after not seeing ick in my tank for a few months. Hope it helps.

She does but she lives in Lucernce, Switzerland.

[CWO4GUNNER]

Kool! I jus read here on another post that if u feel u need the 24 watt version u can jus buy the 24w bulb when your 9w dies out. All the other stuff it comes with are the same in both models.

In fact I just ordered a 9W GKM and a 24 replacement bulb from VetSmart on line for about the same price as buying the 24W GKM alone. I was planning on buying it at my local VetSmart but the head fish lady told me the store stopped stocking the 9W GKM and now only stocks the 2W GKM, apparently for this very reason that only the bulbs are different. I know becasue I bought both for other tanks and all the parts except for the bulb size are absolutely identical in size, shape, rating, output, and performance.

[AngeloG]

After runnin my new GKM for a few days I can honestly say it works..My tank was never this clear for this long. Since I changed it to FW it would get clear but then turn hazy. When it was clear it would still be hazy when looked at from the side. Not now! Its clear from the side and front. Im very happy with my investment.Well worth the money.

[CWO4GUNNER]

After runnin my new GKM for a few days I can honestly say it works..My tank was never this clear for this long. Since I changed it to FW it would get clear but then turn hazy. When it was clear it would still be hazy when looked at from the side. Not now! Its clear from the side and front. Im very happy with my investment.Well worth the money.
If you have a spare plug in timer laying around not being utilized as most households do, try setting the GKM for 12 hours at night and 12 hours off and you will find that your bulb last more then double the life expectancy with no change in performance. Once the tank is sterilized 12 hours a day with the GKM is more then enough. Because the bulbs are not cheap ($24) and only last abou 3-4 month 24/7.

[Bonne46]

Hey guys I got a 125g turtle tank housing a female RES 7" big ad a female RES turtle that is 4" big. Water in the tank is ok I don't get much algae but I do here and there on the tank glass. What size would you recommend? Or should I go the route of a UV sterlizer?

[CWO4GUNNER]

Hey guys I got a 125g turtle tank housing a female RES 7" big ad a female RES turtle that is 4" big. Water in the tank is ok I don't get much algae but I do here and there on the tank glass. What size would you recommend? Or should I go the route of a UV sterlizer?
I use the 24W GKM on my 244 tanks only 12/7 and it works great. I still get the tiny bit algae on the glass but it takes months to make even a tiny spot the size of a quarter. The big performance is in keeping floating algae, diatoms, bacteria blooms, and floating pathogens at bay.

[foolishfish]

Having now run my GKM look-a-likes for a week or so, as well as my chi-com in lines I can say that they all work well, on algae. The GKM knock offs are an efficient little pkg. though. Started them in a 52 and a 55 with great and almost immediate results. Incredibly polished water in 24 hrs.

I can see where the size issue may be of concern in a smaller tank but I'm hoping to keep them moving instead of making them a permanent fixture. The tanks look like I just filled them with R/O water...nothin' there.

Still don't have my 'scope yet but I'm interested in seeing what the microbial life looks like after these things do their magic. For the time being I'm comfortable in saying that they all make a visible and significant improvement even on what you may have previously thought was clean water.

[kevinp]

Waste of money. Keep your tank clean by vacumming and water changes. You have to do that anyways once a week or bi weekly and that should be good enouph. I owned one for years and never saw a difference and they also kill the good things for your tank. I got ride of mine when the bulb went on me. Always have good water movement at the top of your tank.

[CWO4GUNNER]

Waste of money. Keep your tank clean by vacumming and water changes. You have to do that anyways once a week or bi weekly and that should be good enouph. I owned one for years and never saw a difference and they also kill the good things for your tank. I got ride of mine when the bulb went on me. Always have good water movement at the top of your tank.
Allot of folks have had your experiences don't feel alone. This occurs when they improperly match up a separate UV sterilizer with a separate source pump water flow which in almost all cases the flow is way to high, yielding 0 results.

With a little research you'll find that GPH relative to bulb length is one of the most important aspects of effective UV sterilization and requires opposite thinking. 50-100 GPH using a 24" UV bulb (GKM) is more then enough to remarkably keep a 400 gallon aquarium free of algae, pathogens, and bacteria blooms which is not good. A UV sterilizer that has a performance matched pump and bulb combination removes all that guesswork. This isn't a euphemism its a fact.:thumbsup:

[kevinp]

Allot of folks have had your experiences don't feel alone. This occurs when they improperly match up a separate UV sterilizer with a separate source pump water flow which in almost all cases the flow is way to high, yielding 0 results.

With a little research you'll find that GPH relative to bulb length is one of the most important aspects of effective UV sterilization and requires opposite thinking. 50-100 GPH using a 24" UV bulb (GKM) is more then enough to remarkably keep a 400 gallon aquarium free of algae, pathogens, and bacteria blooms which is not good. A UV sterilizer that has a performance matched pump and bulb combination removes all that guesswork. This isn't a euphemism its a fact.:thumbsup:

Thank you for the response,
So what would you recomment for a Pentair Aquatics Aquastep UV Sterilizer - 15 Watt?? Mine came with a maxi jet 1200. I thought about it and it looked a little fast so I put on a maxi jet 900. neither gave me great results but I have also never had a problem with algae with it running or without it running so when the bulb blew I never bothered hooking it up again. Thank you very much

[CWO4GUNNER]

Thank you for the response,
So what would you recomment for a Pentair Aquatics Aquastep UV Sterilizer - 15 Watt?? Mine came with a maxi jet 1200. I thought about it and it looked a little fast so I put on a maxi jet 900. neither gave me great results but I have also never had a problem with algae with it running or without it running so when the bulb blew I never bothered hooking it up again. Thank you very much
Well the maxi jet 900 has 230 GPH so I would recommend instead of placing it inline try placing it in parallel or on a split hose with a valve or DIY restricter going to the UV. The key with UV exposure is that although GPH can be too fast like running your hand through flames quickly and not getting burned, once you have reached the burning point GPH it can never be too slow, again like running your had too slowly through flames it just gets more burned.
The key is to find the optimum exposure point. I would start with flow so slow you can barly feel it coming out of the UV exit port. On my GKM for my 244 tank like my other 4 tank dedicated GKM's, the water just drabbles out or falls out without any real force slow. Again this is a way of thinking that has to be changed when it comes to UV/ GPH exposure. 50 -80 GPH may not seem like much but if it that slow exposure allows proper chromosome destruction in an organism, then 50 GPH actually covers allot of ground, my 244 tank potentially gets turned over 5 times a day but after initial sterilization I placed my GKM on a 12 hour timer (12/7) and it is more then enough.

[CWO4GUNNER]

In fact I just ordered a 9W GKM and a 24 replacement bulb from VetSmart on line for about the same price as buying the 24W GKM alone. I was planning on buying it at my local VetSmart but the head fish lady told me the store stopped stocking the 9W GKM and now only stocks the 2W GKM, apparently for this very reason that only the bulbs are different. I know becasue I bought both for other tanks and all the parts except for the bulb size are absolutely identical in size, shape, rating, output, and performance.
Ooops! Guess what folks I just got my order in and that factory has apparently made changes, guess they must have gotten wise to that fact that people like me were buying the 9W GKM to interchange the more powerful 24W bulb. As soon as I opened the box I noticed the transformer and the control box are now smaller on the 9W and in fact the power rating is also lower. Ok for me as this was for my 60 tank anyway and the extra 24W bulb can just be a replacement for one of my other 24W units.

Anyway belay my last and buy the GLM becasue its a great UV setup 9w or 24W but don't buy them with the expectation of mixing parts because they have all changed in the 9W model even the pump is smaller!!!!

[barbarossa4122]

[QUOTE=CWO4GUNNER;2234444].I would start with flow so slow you can barly feel it coming out of the UV exit port. On my GKM for my 244 tank like my other 4 tank dedicated GKM's, the water just drabbles out or falls out without any real force slow/QUOTE]

I installed my 2 9w gkm and that is exactly how the water looks and feels coming out of them.

[CWO4GUNNER]

My old 9W controller box with the 3 plugs that is 3.5X2.5" and says AAUV24W control box and the new style 9W controller box is only 3X1.75" and says AAUV9W. The carton is also different then the old and not like the advertisement.

The parts fit together much more snugly and deeper so that now the pump and bulb no longer have a tendency to detach from one another when moved. The suction cups on the power head are no longer on a removable bracket but clip into the power head body which is also nice becasue it also stays put and does not derail when moved.

The power head is definitely smaller on the 9W now and the flow out of the 9W is noticeably less but still flows well. This make sense since the looped bulb is smaller, a 12" loop instead of a 24" loop for the 24W bulb, the shorter the bulb the slower the water must be to be effective otherwise nothing gets exposed to the UV long enough to kill or damage chromosomes.

So if you have a chance to examine the content of a new 9W UV before buying examine outside of the box which will look completely different from advertisement, and inside the box if the control box face says AAUV24W, you have the older style that can run 24W bulbs.

[barbarossa4122]

CWO4GUNNER;2236010] So if you have a chance to examine the content of a new 9W UV before buying examine outside of the box which will look completely different from advertisement, and inside the box if the control box face says AAUV24W, you have the older style that can run 24W bulbs.

I just checked, I got the new models. Thanks for the info.

[AngeloG]

Mine says 9w.... Oh well! I did find a Psmart that stocks the bulb tho so i dont have to order online....Thanx for the heads up.

[barbarossa4122]

Hi,

As I wrote before I have 2 9w GKM. A few days ago I noticed that one of the led 's indicator light from one of the sterilizer got much dimmer than the other one. Do you guys have an idea why? I only used them for about 6 weeks 24/7 but now they are on a timer for 15hrs/day. Thank you.

[CWO4GUNNER]

I only know that when that red diode goes out, the bulb is dead and needs replacing. Diods can look dim or bright depending on the ambient lighting, I would compare them with the room lights out and if still dim switch bulbs to see if there is a difference. If the light goes dim on the other box after swapping the light then the bulb must be dieing out and a new one is needed. If nothing changes then its probubly the diode.

[barbarossa4122]

I only know that when that red diode goes out, the bulb is dead and needs replacing. Diods can look dim or bright depending on the ambient lighting, I would compare them with the room lights out and if still dim switch bulbs to see if there is a difference. If the light goes dim on the other box after swapping the light then the bulb must be dieing out and a new one is needed. If nothing changes then its probubly the diode.

Thank you. I did what you said and it's the bulb, is dying. I guess one of the bulbs was a lemon. I'll buy a new one but, should I run the "lemon" until the red diode goes off completely? Btw, can the diode be replaced?

Thanks again CWO4GUNNER.

[CWO4GUNNER]

If you have a thin blade screw driver you can disassemble the old housing later and take a look at the bulb to see if its blackened. Also its pretty interesting to see how they snail-shelled the water channel surrounding the bulb for max exposure.

My tanks have been doing so well on only 12 hours per day that Im thinking of reducing the timer on all but my 244 tank to 6 hours per-day just to see what happends then come back up if necessary.

[barbarossa4122]

If you have a thin blade screw driver you can disassemble the old housing later and take a look at the bulb to see if its blackened. Also its pretty interesting to see how they snail-shelled the water channel surrounding the bulb for max exposure.

My tanks have been doing so well on only 12 hours per day that Im thinking of reducing the timer on all but my 244 tank to 6 hours per-day just to see what happends then come back up if necessary.

This is strange, it's working OK now. Both diodes have a strong red light. I did ordered the bulb but, I called back and cancel it. I'll keep an eye on them.

[Fishfiles1]

not to side track but does a uv stairalizer really kill algae like on rocks and all over the tank

[barbarossa4122]

not to side track but does a uv stairalizer really kill algae like on rocks and all over the tank

Only what's in the water column.