Questions about UV Sterilizers

I may go with either the Coralife Turbo-Twist 3x or the 6x. I hear these are very good units. A guy at Coralife suggested the 6x-18 watt model because it will kill bacteria,algae and parasites at the GPH flow rate of my canister filter better than the 3x model.
 
They are good. My daughter has the 3x in her 60 gal coldwater tank. The only problem she has is that it has a small leak from the housing. She lives in another state and I gave her the unit for Christmas. She discovered the leak over there after she installed it, and does not want to remove it to return/exchange it. On the good side, it keeps her goldfish ich-free and her water crystal clear.
 
ragc said:
They are good. My daughter has the 3x in her 60 gal coldwater tank. The only problem she has is that it has a small leak from the housing. She lives in another state and I gave her the unit for Christmas. She discovered the leak over there after she installed it, and does not want to remove it to return/exchange it. On the good side, it keeps her goldfish ich-free and her water crystal clear.

Does She have it inline with a canister filter? Do you know what the flow is thru her 3x? Thans so much for the help.
 
No, she has it set up like mine. I will e-mail and ask her the flow question. We are going over there for graduation this week, so I will have a chance to check it out in person. I will let you know what I find.
 
We have the Coralife 3x 9 watt on our 75 gallon attached inline being run by a powerhead. I would highly recommend it.

We run the Tetratec 5 watt on our 37 gallon. I wouldn't recommend that brand as much.
 
UV for cloudiness of water

I have really cloudy water (white possibly a tint of green, hard to tell, but mostly white). I have tried lots of stuff. Currently running an extra filter. Tank is 12g. Would a UV sterilizer, kind of expensive as it is, at least get the job done of giving me some clear water (all I want is some clear water).
 
Tman: My daughters Coralife 3X is rted at between 100 and 200 gph. She runs it with a 200 gph power head and does a fine job (except for the leak). Of course, run at 100 gph it would kill more bad stuff.

ggrowney: Yes, what you have is bacterial bloom. It will not filter out no matter how many precipitants (Aqua-Clear, etc.) you use, or how many filters. The bacteria are simply too small to be trapped even by a 100 micron filter. Reduce feeding and remove dead plants, etc. and the bacteria will starve and die off in about two week's time. A UV sterilizer will clear them out in 3-4 days, and it won't happen again as long as you run it.
 
ejk0799 said:
We have the Coralife 3x 9 watt on our 75 gallon attached inline being run by a powerhead. I would highly recommend it.

We run the Tetratec 5 watt on our 37 gallon. I wouldn't recommend that brand as much.

What is the GPH output of the powerhead you are running the UV unit on?
I am leaning towards either the Coralife or an AquaUV Classic 8 watt unit with a built in wiper. The only thing is I hate to crowd my 30 gallon tank by adding a powerhead. I will probably place my UV unit inline with my Eheim canister filter and pray my filters output is not reduced too much.
Thanks so much for the helpful input. Take care.
 
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ggrowney said:
I have really cloudy water (white possibly a tint of green, hard to tell, but mostly white). I have tried lots of stuff. Currently running an extra filter. Tank is 12g. Would a UV sterilizer, kind of expensive as it is, at least get the job done of giving me some clear water (all I want is some clear water).

White water sounds like a bacterial bloom. How long has the tank been set up and do you add bacteria to your water? Too much ammonia before a tank cycles can cause a bacterial bloom which will cloud the water a white color.
If you are not already doing so have someone test your water to see how your ammonia,nitrite and nitrate levels are doing.
 
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Tman said:
White water sounds like a bacterial bloom. How long has the tank been set up and do you add bacteria to your water? Too much ammonia before a tank cycles can cause a bacterial bloom which will cloud the water a white color.
If you are not already doing so have someone test your water to see how your ammonia,nitrite and nitrate levels are doing.

I am in 5 weeks. Ammonia, nitrite and nitrate have been zero for about 10 days straight. no bacterial additives. 100% natural. Will the UV sterilizer guarantee clarity? On another post, someone said no.
 
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