UV Sterilizer for a 120Gal

[Don Lino]

What is everyone recomending for a 120gallon with a medium bioload?? I read that the Turbo Twists made by Coral Life suck. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

[rbursek]

Why do you think you need a UV, they kill the good, the bad, and the ugly!!!!!
Bob

[Don Lino]

Hmm.. so I can kill the good, the bad and the ugly

[rbursek]

If you do not have a health issue in your system it is a waste of money. If you know your system and all is fine why kill the good?
Bob

[sjm817]

What good stuff does a UV kill?

[rbursek]

Pods, good bacteria, anything good in the fania, yes it kills bad stuff bud if you do not have it why kill the good? Been there done it after a LFS infection, lost some LS, bought one to clean things up and then it is in storage. I do not do the LFS any more, do it one line, MD or DFS, dating the lady at the LFS cakked me 30 minutes after starting work a5t 3pm I was there at 2:30 and bought 3 Cardinals, she Knew I had my eye on, called and there system crashed, lost them and other stuff, did the UV for a month to clean up my tank, but if you do not have a problem, spend the money elseware. I do not run it anymore, but have it if needed
Bob

[rbursek]

I have found LFS are not the most rateable places, but the on line places like MD and DFS are and give you a guarantee, here in Milwaukee, WI the LFS do not unless you are a regular customer and are not ignorant to what is going on in your system.
Bob

[sjm817]

Good bacteria is not in the water column. It lives in the substrate, rocks, glass. I think it might fry a few pods here and there, but should not be much if any effect on the population.

[rbursek]

It is everywhere, but why spend the money to buy and run unless there is a problem? It had its usage but I think why run one and buy one if you do not have a problem and need it running?
Bob

[sjm817]

Good bacteria is in on surfaces, its not in the water column. A UV has no effect on good bacteria. There are a lot of people who swear by UVs since it does kill the bad stuff like water born bacteria and algae and will give you clearer water. It can also kill undesirable pathogens. My point is it is far more likely to kill bad stuff than anything that is good.

[DarG]

Most people who do run them do so as preventative maintainence. You dont run everything only when there is a problem. GFO or other phosphate absorbing media is another example of something often used for preventative maintainence.

[kdblove_99]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10470210#post10470210 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rbursek
It is everywhere, but why spend the money to buy and run unless there is a problem? It had its usage but I think why run one and buy one if you do not have a problem and need it running?
Bob


I dont follow your logic.


Do you do water changes? Why if you dont have any issues? Is taht what you are saying?

To only use things when a problem occurs?

[rbursek]

DarG, if you test for phosphates and do not have any why spend the time and money to run a media to absorb something you do not have?
bob

[aninjaatemyshoe]

Howabout using one inline with your skimmer to boost its effectiveness? Theoritically it could work much like dosing small amounts of ozone does, by catalyzing proteinacious waste into smaller compounds that are more readily skimmed. This is how I intend to use mine.

[rbursek]

Darg,
I do a 25% water change every 3 weeks for trace elements, I do not test for amonia because my nitraites run 0 trates i5-20, If I had amonia I would have amonia, I do a phosphate test only if I have a Algae out break, which I have not had in a year, so if you know your system,test your TDS in your water, why check SG if you know your tank level, once it is there, just add make up and check your water change SG to match? It is so simple if you know your chemistry, and system, yes if something goes out of wack then start surching.
Bob

[kh6sat]

I have a 120 mixed reef. I run a Turbo-Twist 12x 36 watt. Have been running it for 2 years. I have no problems.

[rbursek]

I am not saying you are going to have a problem, I am saying why buy one and spend the money to run one if you do not need it. OH i did not know that a UV light can think and knows the difference between good and bad bacteria, and OH it is only on the surfice, it is IN the water, I think some of the persons here are "wantabees" and realy do not have a tank or real experience with one and its chemistry, I do realize each one has it's own make up but come on, get real!

[rbursek]

These last responses where meant for KDblobve-99 not Darg
Bob

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10470441#post10470441 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rbursek
DarG, if you test for phosphates and do not have any why spend the time and money to run a media to absorb something you do not have?
bob

I don't know, call me crazy. Call alot of people crazy.
Actually, you already did. Do what you want to, there is no arguing with you and I'm not even going to try.
You've already established that anyone that does things differently than you is a "wantabee" ... :rolleye1:


Take care.

[rbursek]

DarG. at least we have a mutual common ground, love the Chicago style blues!!
Bob

[DarG]

Texas Blues ! ... see, you're "off" again :D

[rbursek]

SJTM817,
other from being from WV, tell me how a UV can teell the differece from good and bad? It is like having teeth down there, the Dentist knows who is doing who and who the grand child is? Insest is best!!!!!!!!!

[rbursek]

DarG,
I thought that was it was from the 50's before rock and roll, I can not think of the name of it right now, watch on PBS Austin City Limits, got it RockaBilly!!!!!!!!! Great music!!
bOB

[sjm817]

Geez rbursek, take a chill. I didn't say anything that deserved that response, or the harassing PM. BTW, in case you didn't know, Virginia and West Virginia are different states.

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10467342#post10467342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Don Lino
What is everyone recomending for a 120gallon with a medium bioload?? I read that the Turbo Twists made by Coral Life suck. Any help would be greatly appreciated. Thanks

I had excellent experiences with a 15w unit on a 30g system. I used the same unit on a 55g system, with success, though not as dramatic an effect. Do the Turbo Twists claim to have better/longer contact time?

[Don Lino]

LMAO... Dayum! People take this stuff a little personal. Okay, heres the deal, I ran a 9watt UV on my 55gal and never had any issues. I since then upgraded to my 120 with no UV and two of my tangs have ich. Sure it can be caused by many things, Im sure Im not doing anything differently maybe better maintenance since Ive learned alot more since my 55gal. So all I really wanted to know is what will be a suitable UV for a 120gal.
Thanks for the laughs and finally SDguy thanks for sticking to the subject!

[tmz]

nd the organisms size. This is determined by the size of the bulb and the rate of flow. So with a larger unit you can turn your water over more often with the same degree of lethality. Most sterlizers struugle to kill protozoans and thats about the largest organoism they will kill.

[tmz]

Sorry for the busted up reply-don't know what happened. Anyway here's the begginning. I have a 40watt sterlizer Pentair on my 120g and an 18watt on my 90g. I like both. A uv is really just a bulb in a bottle so which one to get is really a matter of cost,size, ease of plumbing and how it fits into your space. It is important to size them correctly(general rule of thumb is about 7gallons per watt) but bigger is better particularly if you are concerned about ich. The lethality of a sterlizer depends upon how much radiation the organism receives relative to it's size. This is governed by the length of exposure and the size of the bulb.Bacteria are the smallest followed by algae (amyloodinium the more lethal form of ich or velvet is a dinoflagelate algae)and then protozoans including crytocaryon. Coralife instructions do include performance curves for different size organisms at different flow rates.

[Don Lino]

Wow, great info. I will be looking for a 25watter, Thanks a bunch.

[rbursek]

Sorry SJ.
Bob

[aninjaatemyshoe]

UV sterilizers don't knock out enough "beneficial" bacteria to interrupt the nitrification or denitrification processes in an established tank, so who cares about this side effect? They typically aren't strong enough to wipe out pods or other small creatures that might act as food for inverts and corals. Finally, what they are good at is keeping algae and the overall bacterial load in the tank down and help prevent infectious agents from spreading.

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10471980#post10471980 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Don Lino
Wow, great info. I will be looking for a 25watter, Thanks a bunch.

If you can afford it, I'd go bigger. Like I said, my oversized 15W on a 30g system literally made a bad and worsening case of ich disappear in days, forever.

[stevenw56]

I would never have any marine setup without UV and/or ozone. I currently use both. If you want crystal clear water and better control of parasites then UV or ozone is my recommendation. I can easily tell if a tank has UV or not by the clarity of the water. Is it needed to be sucessful? No. Is it beneficial? Absolutely

[DarG]

I've used one since the early 80's myself, constantly, except for when one went out and I couldnt afford to replace immediately. I'm using a 25 watt on my 90 now. I dont believe you need a very large unit though. I've used an 8 watt on a 75 and had great results. Bigger means better kill with higher flow so I suppose their efficiency goes up as you increase size but I think a 15 or 25 watt unit would work fine on a 120. If I had chosen my chiller before I bought the UV, I would be using a 15 watt on the 90. The Chiller has a port for a 15 watt UV.

[SDguy]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10475127#post10475127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DarG
I don't believe you need a very large unit though. I've used an 8 watt on a 75 and had great results. Bigger means better kill with higher flow so I suppose their efficiency goes up as you increase size but I think a 15 or 25 watt unit would work fine on a 120.

I was thinking specifically for dealing with something large like ich, so in this case I think bigger is very important. I'm not sure what aspect (ich? algae? bacteria?) you are referring to.

[DarG]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10475988#post10475988 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SDguy
I was thinking specifically for dealing with something large like ich, so in this case I think bigger is very important. I'm not sure what aspect (ich? algae? bacteria?) you are referring to.

I'm talking in general terms, buying a unit to run all the time for preventative maintainence. We just dont agree on how large a unit one needs, that's all.

[Don Lino]

Great, thanks all for the awesome info. I am looking at purchasing Current's Gamma 25 watt UV... is this a good unit?? I would go bigger but it does get pricey and the Gamma's jump from a 25 watter to a 50 watter. WOW

[SDguy]

Some more good sizing info for you....gets a bit technical though.

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1010554

[Don Lino]

WOW, that thread hurt my brain... I need a Heineken! I really thing Im gonna go with the 25watt Gamma @ 75GPH...
SDguy, thanks soooooo much for that awesome link!

[SDguy]

No prob. :D

That's a really nice slow rate...should do the job well.