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fishyman19 
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 Topic: How Often To Run a UV Sterilizer?
Posted: December 04 2014 at 12:15pm |
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I've been reading a lot that running a UV Sterilizer 24/7 is a bad thing to do. I've been running one 24/7 for a long time and never really noticed any issues. I guess my question is what can be the bad of running one all the time, and how long is good to run one usually?
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90 Gallon mixed reef. Wife's 12 gallon nano cube mixed reef!
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Adam Blundell
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Posted: December 04 2014 at 1:52pm |
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All day every day
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 04 2014 at 2:50pm |
If it's over-sized it should not be run 24/7. We saw a hobbyist on this forum that, if I recall correctly, couldn't keep coral alive until she turned off her majorly over-sized UV sterilizer.
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lskurys
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Posted: December 04 2014 at 3:21pm |
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I have a over-sized unit on my tank and I run it about the same hours as my sump. So if my main lights are off it is on. Have not had any problems with it and it really extends the life of the bulbs.
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220g , large elite aquatics sump. 3 Radion Pro Gen 3 lights 3 Mp 40's
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LaRue
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Posted: December 04 2014 at 5:15pm |
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24/7 if you want it to do any good
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96slowbra
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Posted: December 06 2014 at 8:21pm |
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my manifold is 3/4" pipe and all of the valves that I used are only 1/2", is that going to be enough to run a uv sterilizer later? or should I add a 3/4" 'tee'? total system volume should be around 250 gallons
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105 rimless
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 07 2014 at 8:35am |
The flow of water through a UV Sterilizer is so minimal, 1/2" tubing would be okay to use. A UV Sterilizer only sterilizes a small portion of the total water. That little bit has a positive effect on the whole. I don't quite understand your set up though. In a setup totaling 250 gallons, if it's a typical display and Refugium and even if there is a Frag Tank involved, 1" pipe and 1" valves would be suggested because for any return pump serving a system that size, 1" piping would be most efficient, carrying the most water with the least amount of drag. Even if the return pump has a 3/4" nozzle, it should be bushed up to 1" pipe.
This 1" sizing has to do with the physics of water flow at the volumes we typically deal with for that size of system. Where the ID of the pipe is only 3/4" and even constricting down to 1/2" valves, which have high drag anyway, the valves should be at least the size of the pipe, otherwise the entire setup would seriously restrict water flow from a pump that was meant to push a lot more water.
I don't know if I've written this so that it makes sense. I'm just a simple coral farmer trying to describe something that is pretty technical. Feel free to ask any questions here or come visit so I can show you what I mean.
Aloha, Mark 808-345-1049 (text/call ahead)
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96slowbra
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Posted: December 07 2014 at 8:39am |
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I am running 2 pumps. One for the main display and frag tank. That return is 2" piping. I am running a second pump for my reactors and fuge. This is where I am using only 3/4" pvc.
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105 rimless
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troyholl
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Posted: December 07 2014 at 10:42am |
all day every day, small amount of water through it... on a 270 G tank (probably 350G with sump and frag tank included). I have a manifold where I can control the flow of the various vales off of the manifold from he main pump.
Edited by troyholl - December 07 2014 at 10:42am
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Troy Hollingsworth
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270 Gallon "Custom" Tank
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 07 2014 at 9:34pm |
 96slowbra wrote:
I am running 2 pumps. One for the main display and frag tank. That return is 2" piping. I am running a second pump for my reactors and fuge. This is where I am using only 3/4" pvc. |
Ahhh, of course. That makes sense.
Years ago I was a doubter of UV Sterilization. How in the heck could such a small amount of water exposed to UV radiation make any difference at all in a much larger tank. I changed my tune after seeing one tank after another being benefited by it. In fact, one of the benefits of sunshine is UV Radiation, so you might say that I use a natural UV Sterilizer in my system. 
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Dion Richins
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Posted: December 08 2014 at 6:18am |
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I run 2 all day every day. Anything less is a waste in my opinion.
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LakeCityReefs
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Posted: December 08 2014 at 7:58am |
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The data shows that a reef tank should run a sterilizer in the 30k-45k range (these numbers define the exposure of the water) because if run at higher exposure the micro organisms needed by corals will be zapped. A UV needs to run at 75k to kill protozoa such as ich.
So running your UV 24/7 at a high flow rate is ideal for reefs. Run it at a slow flow rate in a fish only system to kill ich.
A very slow rate is ideal in a freshwater application if you're only trying to harness algae. Just my 2 cents on what I have read recently.
I will be setting up a 40w 2" UV on a 375 gallon system it will run at 2000 gph
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fishyman19
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Posted: December 08 2014 at 1:50pm |
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LakeCity what do you mean by the 30-45 or 75k? I haven't ever not run mine I was just curious what everyone else thinks. Thanks for all the advice so far!
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90 Gallon mixed reef. Wife's 12 gallon nano cube mixed reef!
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Dion Richins
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Posted: December 08 2014 at 4:15pm |
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Mine are 2 57w on a 350g. And not any where near 2000gph maybe 150gph. 2000 wont even phaze the water.
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LakeCityReefs
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Posted: December 08 2014 at 7:45pm |
I don't want to pretend to be an expert here. I was simply sharing what I had recently researched and what I was planning to do. After reviewing a dozen products I found some provided more info than others. I felt confident with my decision when the info was repeated by several manufactures. Hopefully this photo will upload and help describe proper flow rates in a reef. 
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Mark Peterson
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Posted: December 09 2014 at 6:41am |
Dion knows what he's talking about. I would listen to him instead of misleading marketing hype from manufacturers. One of the advantages of the WMAS is that we have the opportunity to actually know the person that is giving us advice. We can know where this person is coming from, how much experience they have and what their aquarium looks like. We can be assured that they have no ulterior motives. When we know them and have seen their aquarium(s) we can trust them. They are only trying to help us. They are not trying to sell us something.
I agree completely with Dion. After I saw the comment about a high flow rate of 2000 gph, I was going to say the same thing, that the water must flow slowly through the UV Sterilizer.
The OP:
fishyman19 wrote:
I've been reading a lot that running a UV Sterilizer 24/7 is a bad thing to do. I've been running one 24/7 for a long time and never really noticed any issues. I guess my question is what can be the bad of running one all the time, and how long is good to run one usually? |
It's important to look into the reason why someone would say that running a UV Sterilizer 24/7 is a bad thing, how much reefkeeping experience they have and what size unit on what size tank with what kind of flow they are basing their comment on. Also, the person may have had a bad experience caused by their own lack of knowledge and experience. This hobby is made up mostly of people with an average experience level of 1-2 years having kept one or maybe two aquariums.
Aloha
Edited by Mark Peterson - December 09 2014 at 7:24am
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