UV sterilizer good or bad

[firedragon92]

hey guys i am going to be buying a micro canister for my 2 foot cichlid tank and am contemplating whether or not to get the model that comes with a UV sterilizer or the model that dosen't.

I am stuck as i have heard good and bad things about them and was just wanting to get some opinions and experiences

cheers

[Mick John]

I'm a fan of them mate but not everyone might feel that way. How strong is the UV out of curiosity as the strength of the tubes obviously deteriorate the older they get. Some of them work well for the first few months but if they are low Wattage tubes to begin with then the performance can slow right down before too long. If it's built in it probably won't be real strong but if it's around 9Watts it should be ok from my understanding. It's very convenient to have it built in though. But if the tube is under say 7 Watts I'd be reluctant on purchasing it for the UV reasons anyway. The first UV light I bought was 11 Watts. It was an independant Unit and lasted a max. of 18 Months. Which I think was pretty good. Tubes for these from memory were about $50-$60. I now have a 36 Watt but I'm circulating around 650Lts. as opposed to my last set up of about 200Lts. If the Filter with the UV Light is not a great deal more in price then it can only be beneficial.:)

[firedragon92]

hey buddy

I am unsure of the Uv light wattage as it is not stated buy the seller however i am sure i could find out and will let you know when i do

the Uv light however does not have a quartz sleeve which i have read is quite important is it?

it also cannot be unplugged seperatly from the filter and i have read that it removes medicines from the water does it? if it does that would mean i would have to turn the filter off as well when i treat the tank with medicines

the price is very good it is from Hong Kong where it is manufactured so i am basically eliminating the middle man and i can get it without for $40 and with UV for $48 including postage

anyway still after experience and opinions and will let you know when i get more info

[firedragon92]

hey guys just found out it has a seperate switch for the UV sterilizer and the supplier sells the replacement globes

i also found out that the UV sterilizer is only 5 Watts however it only has to sterilise a small amount of water about 66 litres will that be good enough

[Mick John]

For that price you might as well get it mate. You could expand the life of the globe by switching off the UV for certain periods but I personally would leave it on. My friend is an Electrical Engineer and says that by switching globes on and off everyday this actually shortens the life of the globes. Not to mention if you leave it on you will have the UV always working for you. As far as the quartz sleeve goes from my understanding it's more of a protection measure against particals in the water that may coat the globe resulting in inhibiting the performance. But I think even the sleeve can get dirty but obviously the globe remains preserved. I think quartz is mainly used as this allows the harmful UV Rays to penatrate it to alter the cellular structure of the parasitical DNA. This applies to suspended algae also. Or something like that. lol. :)

[firedragon92]

hey guys

i didn't end up getting the model with the UV sterilizer because the guy selling them said that in his experience they were a bad quality and a usless addition to the filter

and considering he was the one person who should have been promoting them i figured they must have been really bad quality

thanks for your input Mick John and if i do decide to get one i will get a good quality one cause you wont to get as much out of them as possible

cheers

[GoGuppy]

Hi firedragon

FWIW, I bought a UV steriliser about six months ago, mainly because of algae problems I was having in my 250L planted tank.
I leave the UV switched on 24/7 and haven't looked back, wouldn't be without it now. The brush algae is completely gone and only very minor hair algae left, that I can easily remove fortnightly or so.
Plus the added peace of mind that any paracites that may be introduced accidently will be neutralised in no time.
Cheers