UV sterilization (1 Viewer)

[GWSS]

Hi All:

So in my quest to get my tank to clear up , aside from my usual stuff of water changes and tinkering with filtration, bio balls, refugium's and what not my next item is to think about Carbon/UV filtration

I don't want to plumb it in , but truly have it as a put in and out as needed kind of thing (so cannister ? ) ....or submersible in the pump area....as I do want to clear it up but not to kill all my good bacteria along the way

Any thoughts on this?

I used to have , way back when (20 years or so) my good old trusted Eheim cannister filters...I would just run them in between my water changes ( I did every 2 weeks a water change and had a wet/dry filter mind you)...
They would run me a total of say 20 days and I would change out all things (except the media ) so mechanical pads and the carbon ...(which was a pain!...clean, wash reactivate ) ....

As I do have a heavy work load I am looking for ease , not afraid of the work but not the excessive one i have as of late....
Any input as always appreciated

found this online but have no idea if anyone has any experience or opinions about this

AQUATOP FZ13 FORZA 550 GPH Canister Filter w/ 13W UV

Check out the deal on AQUATOP FZ13 FORZA 550 GPH Canister Filter w/ 13W UV at Aquatop

www.aquatop.com

likewise from same brand the submersible one

AQUATOP SP13-UV 395 GPH Internal Filter w/ 13W UV Sterilizer

Check out the deal on AQUATOP SP13-UV 395 GPH Internal Filter w/ 13W UV Sterilizer at Aquatop

www.aquatop.com

Regards
Glenn

 

[soymilk]

neither

what size tank is it going on?

 

[GWSS]

Here some examples cube (looking pretty as always and its about 2 months older in set up than my big one, both same rocks. i do basically water changes and maintenance on both of them using same things. my 'large' tank is a Red sea 650 Peninsula btw.


I removed media and cleared out socks and the aquapad for a fresh mechanical filter at end here is how that looks including a side view of the haziness , mind you am not overfeeding (if i dare saw even a bit underfeeding) , PH, Salt, Temp, Nitrate, Nitrites all within parameters and cycling nicely , Ammonia zero , My refugium seems ok, my animals and my leathers all also ok , it just LOOKS hazy.

 

[soymilk]

usually cloudiness after a waterchange points to bacteria. If its sand or particulates, you can normally just use filter pads to trap most of it and it clears up within a day.

if its for the cube tank, you're can borrow my 15w uv. I don't know how old the bulb is, but you're more than welcome to try it out

Classic UV 15-Watt Series Units | Aqua Ultraviolet

Buy your Classic UV 15-watt series units online today! Browse through the Aqua Ultraviolet online store for Classic UV 15-watt series unit parts today.

aquaultraviolet.com

i have not heard much about aquatop so I can't comment on those.

 

[decimal]

That’s pretty common. Algae or bacterial bloom. It will clear up naturally in a week or 2 or you can use UV or Ozone for accelerated timeline.

 

[BigRick]

I've been catching my snails sperming the water a lot at night lately creating cloudiness in my sps cube.

 

[BigRick]

They also make new hob carbon filters with skimmer, UV and heater all in one. May not be released yet but they look good for temporary situations.

 

[GWSS]

Well I waited patiently no real change it comes down some but not a lot and then right back up
at this point just going to stick it out , the fish seeem ok the leathers and anemone also . I don't have hard corals tbh...so I am pretty much just not having my pretty view I dream of

 

[soymilk]

you got the aquatop?

 

[GWSS]

nope , i went with

Coralife Turbo-Twist UV Fish Tank Sterilizer 6X, Up to 250 Gallons​

Seemed like good value for money, had most esposure time and seems rather easy to maintain and replace even.

 

[GWSS]

I am now debating where to put it , I am thinking it should be on the return pump to the tank
That way clean comes out but the rest of the sump still gets whatever the tank produces back through the intake (which will be less)
I am not of the intent to run this 24/7 tbh, kind of on and off as needed...but then again I could also go for a closed circuite to the pump section to and from the tank and have that be on a slow (more effective gph mode)... I just want to show off the tank...and right now I have some very thriving things in it but it just doesn't pop , I am scared to death that by sterilizing I might affect the thriving bio culture
Maybe I should take the murky with the exponential growth
My leathers are so pretty and the fish seem happy
As part of the showing it off, I should be getting my water station done by next weekend Reg, Rodi, Salt using some nice 50 Gall square containers in the same white furniture look and feel...and with that I may just as well go for a 5/10 g a day reload for even better water conditions...with a regular top off function...that too should clear it up over time is my hope
Last thing I want to do but am contemplating is maybe changing the whole sump , I already am waiting for my Reefmat (on waiting list) and that will go in on the downflow pipe asap (dreading the whole silcone cutting part though....

 

[soymilk]

from what I hear and seen, it shouldn't be too hard to cut out the silicone baffles and tray. they released a video on youtube on how to do it.

ideally you'd want a closed loop for the UV, so you can adjust flow specifically for that unit. I don't know what gph you're running on the return, but I would imagine is way too fast for that unit.

I am running a 50w pentair uv on my 200 gallon tank and even that took about 1-2 days for the cloudy water to clear up.

 

[GWSS]

ok, a separate pump it is then , according to the specs I am running my M2 Vectra at about on averege 60 % for the 24 hr span so say give or take 1200 GPH...
now the grade says 800 GPH...so yeah too fast probably

I just dont want to go up to the tank itself, maybe create a closed loop within the Pump area? but then I might over sterilize before it goes back?
So maybe just use the down flow let that flow split and I let it flow through it by inertia and let it flow out to the pump?

Need to think about this one now

 

[soymilk]

i run two seperate pumps, 1 m2 vectra for return and a cor20 just for my uv.

ideally youd want to make a closed loop within the tank. Over sterilization isn't a problem really. The problem is that you're only recycling and treating the same water over and over. So your turnover rate is very low.

I was targeting 300 gph for my uv and had my cor20 set to 30% ( 2000gph max ) I figured that with head pressure it'll cut it down to half of what I thought. When I finally tested my actual gph output. It was way way way lower than I thought. I was like 98gph. I am running 60% and my output is still only about 300gph.

next time you do a water change. put a 1gallon bucket under the return nozzle and see how long it takes to collect one gallon.

or you can get something like this

https://www.petco.com/shop/en/petcostore/product/green-killing-machine-internal-uv-sterilizer-with-power-head-1237039?cm_mmc=PSH%7cGGL%7cCAL%7cSBU05%7cSH14%7c0%7cvjfvQkXog1C4NV2QgQ16Wb%7c58700007779852469%7cPRODUCT_GROUP%7c0%7c0%7cpla-1649123237992%7c138697047507%7c16953961908&gclid=EAIaIQobChMIvuKH3IzJ9wIVER6tBh3NjAbCEAQYASABEgLM6PD_BwE&gclsrc=aw.ds

It comes with a pump already so you don't have to worry about flow rates

 

[GWSS]

Thankyou so much for the advice sir really appreciate it...I did do some maintenance today on my mech filters ...and 2 hrs in it clears up a tiny bit

 

[GWSS]

Could not help but want to share this...Cleaning shrimp earning its keep on my Tang!

 

[GWSS]

Well as i was waiting went and got me a green machine, 16 hrs in ...

 

[soymilk]

its kinda hard to tell from the video, but i think it looks better

 

[GWSS]

IT has cleared ran it for a week turned it off for 5 days now and its staying clear
So, now that is sorted on to my water station showpiece

 

[jrounding]

IT has cleared ran it for a week turned it off for 5 days now and its staying clear
So, now that is sorted on to my water station showpiece

The green machine from Petco is a beast. I used it early on with the same results. Cleared in a week. Once it’s done I just put it in my drawers with my other equipment. For carbon and GFO I run a BRS mini reactor, but I only run it as needed to keep my phosphate in check.