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Anyone used an UV Sterilizer before?

PostPosted: Tue Jun 23, 2009 9:09 pm
by papoopeepoo
I'm thinking about getting of these in the future, and I'm researching the pros and cons. Can anyone give some advice?

I'm considering something like this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=7999
or this:
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19643

PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 8:10 am
by Diamondbacks4Life
I only have one to stop my water from turning green.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 7:49 pm
by Rubicon
Make sure you get one that matches or exceeds the flow rate of your filter. To rich for my blood, although if I had green water issues I'm sure I'd put up the coin.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:38 pm
by steve
I wonder if the Submariner is turtle proof.

PostPosted: Wed Jun 24, 2009 11:47 pm
by Caphits
You could always build a little sleeve of PVC to protect it.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:54 pm
by papoopeepoo
steve wrote:I wonder if the Submariner is turtle proof.


I was thinking the same, but i'd end up putting it in my sump anyway, so my thought process ended there.

I'd rather spend the extra 10 bucks or so to get an external that I can put right on the tubing line.

PostPosted: Thu Jun 25, 2009 4:56 pm
by papoopeepoo
Rubicon wrote:Make sure you get one that matches or exceeds the flow rate of your filter. To rich for my blood, although if I had green water issues I'm sure I'd put up the coin.


The price is why I have to save up for a future purchase :lol: . Yeah I've read the longer the UV exposure the more effective it is at killing algae and bacteria. Apparently killing parasites is pretty quick.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:24 pm
by Rubicon
I would go with a generic Ebay sterilizer. To be honest a ebay filter is one thing but a generic UV sterilizer should be fine.

PostPosted: Fri Jun 26, 2009 11:26 pm
by Rubicon
Acutally I'm contemplating two of these:
http://cgi.ebay.com/Odyssea-Pond-Aquari ... 6|294%3A50

Comes with a 500gph pump, uv 18W sterilizer, and tubing. All for 60 bucks.

Be sure you can get replacement bulbs

PostPosted: Sat Aug 01, 2009 4:06 pm
by ps1983
We have a UV steralizer on our outdoor pond and it works wonders for the algae problem. But you do have the replace the bulb once a year. It doesn't matter if the light bulb is working or not, they loose their strength and it's recommended that you replace them once a year.

The bulbs are not easy to find and they are expensive. We had to order them on line and they were about $30 and the sizes are limited.

It's easy to check the availability of the bulbs, ask for the part number on the base of the bulb and do a search on the internet.