UV Sterilizers? Pros and Cons? - Page 2

d-man · 03/21/2018, 08:22 AM

Scott, have you heard of TMC uv sterilizers? A few people on here use them and QM sells then and uses them on their systems.

I’m talking about their “pro” edition

slief · 03/21/2018, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d-man

Scott, have you heard of TMC uv sterilizers? A few people on here use them and QM sells then and uses them on their systems.

I’m talking about their “pro” edition

Yep. I've installed one of the newer Pro models last year on a customers tank. I wasn't impressed. They are well made but they are metric first and the imperial slip connection is inside of the metric connection. The part that you glue the US sized PVC into had around 1/2" or less of surface to glue the pipe to compared to 1.5" on a normal slip fitting. That to me was concerning. You also have to add your own unions which isn't ideal and it requires a piece of pipe glued into the UV then a union glued to the pipe. I am not a fan of using aftermarket unions on things like that since unions become unavailable and then finding a match to the plumbing side can be difficult if not impossible. I am a firm believer in having unions on UV's as it makes maintenance much easier if you need to remove the UV and that is one nice thing about the AquaUV's. They nice compact unions built onto the sterilzer and nwe couplers and o-rings are readily available for the AquaUV's and the couplers are available in different sizes for different sized pipe. The big TMC Pro I installed for a customer was very bulky too which made mounting it kind of a pain. The comparable 114 watt AquaUV like what I run is much shorter making installations far easier. I Had one of their original TMC versions about 15 years ago before switching to AquaUV. Personally, I prefer AquaUV for other reasons as well. AquaUV provides much more info for salt water use of their sterilizers in terms of ideal flow rates where as the info from TMC and their US Distributor primarily applies to fresh water. AquaUV has support people available via phone Mon-Fri. TMC US distributor only provides support via email. I'm not talking about Quality Marine either because end user support isn't typically provided by QM. The US distributor is responsive though which is good. if price is a big issue then TMC would be my first choice over the cheap UV's out there because they will work much better than a Coralife or Chinese UV but personally, I much prefer AquaUV for the reasons I mentioned.

d-man · 03/21/2018, 12:07 PM

Well I’m talking about a 1300g system. So price isn’t too much of an issue but same time, not looking to go hog wild. I’d want it mainly for parasite and orp help. Not eradication obviously but anything along with good QT can’t hurt.
I QT well but still always nice to have some extra help if possible

slief · 03/21/2018, 12:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by d-man

Well I’m talking about a 1300g system. So price isn’t too much of an issue but same time, not looking to go hog wild. I’d want it mainly for parasite and orp help. Not eradication obviously but anything along with good QT can’t hurt.
I QT well but still always nice to have some extra help if possible

This would be my suggestion.
http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/produ...lassic/160watt

That or a pair of the 114 watt ones. If you do some google searching, I am sure you can find them at somewhat reasonable prices.

d-man · 03/22/2018, 12:54 PM

Thx Scott

WVfishguy · 03/22/2018, 10:04 PM

I finally got to the point where I considered a UV part of the initial setup. When I set up customer's tanks, I simply included it as part of the cost of the tank.

I used Aqua Ultraviolet 25-watt UV Sterilizers in all tanks 150 and smaller. That way, I only carried one type of spare bulb, etc.

I found out the hard way that the farther away the tank was, the more likely it would turn green, or the fish would somehow manage to come down with freshwater ich. I had some accounts which were 100 miles round trip - it was a PIA to travel that far to work on just one aquarium.

After I began using UV, I had no green / cloudy water, nor disease, to deal with.

It was pretty strange for my freshwater tanks to come down with ich, since I bred all the fish for my customers at my shop. I did not buy fish from wholesalers, and there was NEVER ich at my shop.

I finally figured out it must have been transported by various plecostomus I used for algae control, although the plecos themselves never had ich.

I actually had better luck with the marine tanks.

Timfish · 03/23/2018, 02:10 PM

I much prefer to use a oversized UV sterilizor on a QT but over the decades I have been successful treating ick in DTs with a properly sized and installed UV. Do a search for my user name and UV sterilizor for more info.

Bent · 03/23/2018, 02:21 PM

I bought a cheapo sun sun 75watt UV for 150.00 off eBay and I haven’t had the first problem with it. It’s about 5 feet long.

It has viewing windows, quartz sleeves, small inner chamber, safety cut offs that turn the bulb off when opening the unit and pretty heavy duty Ballard.

I did not trust the bulbs that came with it. So I bought two new reputable bulbs and used those. The housing is a bit thin, but what do you expect for that much money. So far it’s doing well. No hiccups whatsoever.

rjjr1963 · 03/24/2018, 12:27 AM

I bought a Pentair 25w UV for a 40 breeder. I had demon dino's that would not go away. I tried everything for a month. On the second day after install 80% of the dino's were gone and after a couple more days there wasn't a trace of them. The UV was a life saver because I didn't know how I was going to get rid of the dino's. It cleared the water nicely and I've just kept it running. I will definitely have a UV filter on my next build.

d2mini · 03/24/2018, 08:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rjjr1963

I bought a Pentair 25w UV for a 40 breeder. I had demon dino's that would not go away. I tried everything for a month. On the second day after install 80% of the dino's were gone and after a couple more days there wasn't a trace of them. The UV was a life saver because I didn't know how I was going to get rid of the dino's. It cleared the water nicely and I've just kept it running. I will definitely have a UV filter on my next build.

I've been hearing this a lot lately... uv's helping with dinos.

Fraq · 03/28/2018, 11:48 AM

I have a pentair model 45watt, and I love it! I run it 24hrs and have no issues with coral growth or fish health. In fact my fish are extremely healthy and my water is super clear.

03/23/2018, 02:10 PM	#32
Timfish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2010 Location: Austin, TX Posts: 1,985	I much prefer to use a oversized UV sterilizor on a QT but over the decades I have been successful treating ick in DTs with a properly sized and installed UV. Do a search for my user name and UV sterilizor for more info. __________________ "Our crystal clear aquaria come nowhere close to the nutrient loads that swirl around natural reefs" Charles Delbeek

03/23/2018, 02:21 PM	#33
Bent I got nothin' Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: The anals Posts: 6,420	I bought a cheapo sun sun 75watt UV for 150.00 off eBay and I haven’t had the first problem with it. It’s about 5 feet long. It has viewing windows, quartz sleeves, small inner chamber, safety cut offs that turn the bulb off when opening the unit and pretty heavy duty Ballard. I did not trust the bulbs that came with it. So I bought two new reputable bulbs and used those. The housing is a bit thin, but what do you expect for that much money. So far it’s doing well. No hiccups whatsoever. __________________ Quitters never lose. [QUOTE=CStrickland]Who gets mad at a starfish?[/QUOTE] Current Tank Info: 75g DT, 30G refugium, 10g chaeto tank, 50g stock tank basement sump

03/24/2018, 12:27 AM	#34
rjjr1963 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2015 Location: Nebraska/Missouri Posts: 770	I bought a Pentair 25w UV for a 40 breeder. I had demon dino's that would not go away. I tried everything for a month. On the second day after install 80% of the dino's were gone and after a couple more days there wasn't a trace of them. The UV was a life saver because I didn't know how I was going to get rid of the dino's. It cleared the water nicely and I've just kept it running. I will definitely have a UV filter on my next build. __________________ 72x24x16 115 gallon under construction Current Tank Info: 40 gallon reef

03/21/2018, 08:22 AM	#26
d-man Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: San Diego, ca Posts: 2,732	Scott, have you heard of TMC uv sterilizers? A few people on here use them and QM sells then and uses them on their systems. I’m talking about their “pro” edition

03/21/2018, 12:07 PM	#28
d-man Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: San Diego, ca Posts: 2,732	Well I’m talking about a 1300g system. So price isn’t too much of an issue but same time, not looking to go hog wild. I’d want it mainly for parasite and orp help. Not eradication obviously but anything along with good QT can’t hurt. I QT well but still always nice to have some extra help if possible

03/22/2018, 12:54 PM	#30
d-man Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: San Diego, ca Posts: 2,732	Thx Scott

03/22/2018, 10:04 PM	#31
WVfishguy Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Huntington, WV Posts: 677	I finally got to the point where I considered a UV part of the initial setup. When I set up customer's tanks, I simply included it as part of the cost of the tank. I used Aqua Ultraviolet 25-watt UV Sterilizers in all tanks 150 and smaller. That way, I only carried one type of spare bulb, etc. I found out the hard way that the farther away the tank was, the more likely it would turn green, or the fish would somehow manage to come down with freshwater ich. I had some accounts which were 100 miles round trip - it was a PIA to travel that far to work on just one aquarium. After I began using UV, I had no green / cloudy water, nor disease, to deal with. It was pretty strange for my freshwater tanks to come down with ich, since I bred all the fish for my customers at my shop. I did not buy fish from wholesalers, and there was NEVER ich at my shop. I finally figured out it must have been transported by various plecostomus I used for algae control, although the plecos themselves never had ich. I actually had better luck with the marine tanks.

03/28/2018, 11:48 AM	#36
Fraq Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2016 Posts: 52	I have a pentair model 45watt, and I love it! I run it 24hrs and have no issues with coral growth or fish health. In fact my fish are extremely healthy and my water is super clear.