High Tide Aquatics

Opinions requested about UV sterilizers

Patio said:
@JVU Have you made a purchase yet? Curious what you chose and your initial impressions.
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I bought the new 40w IceCap model when it was on sale after Black Friday. In typical John fashion I haven’t installed it yet (or some of the other stuff I thought I just had to have). My first impressions are that it is well-built and looks equivalent to other high end options for half the cost (in terms of construction and design). I really should install it this week…
 
Well just to give some followup here, I installed my new UV sterilizer last week. Assembly was easy, everything seemed to be good quality. When I turned it on it worked (glowed blue in the indicator part you can see) for a couple seconds then failed off with an alarm sound and flashing light on the ballast. Unplugged, replugged, immediate fail. Tried a few more times with varying amounts of time staying on before failing. Finally it stayed on for a few days and I thought maybe it was just some warm up or something (well I didn’t really think that but I was psychologically looking for a way to not have this be a real problem). Then it failed on Sunday and won’t turn on again.

I emailed CoralVue support, and they got back to me this morning (good service response time). They said there is a problem with that specific unit and they could either upgrade me to a 90w unit or return it. Not sure what I’ll do.
 
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They’re going to give you the 90w as a trade for the 40w without having to pay the cost difference? Do you have space for a 43” UV? I guess the only concern is the energy use - can you run a larger UV for fewer hours in the day and get the same result?
 
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JVU said:
I’m mostly wanting one for level 1 sterilization- bacteria, viruses, and algae. I’m tired of having to scrape the glass 3/week vs having it look foggy most of the time.
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Hey @JVU , looks like BRS heard your cries of frustration.
Not sure how much the video would help, but ICYMI:
 
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Chromis said:
They’re going to give you the 90w as a trade for the 40w without having to pay the cost difference? Do you have space for a 43” UV? I guess the only concern is the energy use - can you run a larger UV for fewer hours in the day and get the same result?
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Yes, CoralVue is pretty awesome that way. I’m not sure where it would go, wouldn’t be where I planned. I don’t know the answer to the intermittent use question regarding effectiveness but I do think that regular UV sterilizer bulbs have their lifespan significantly shortened if you turn them on/off routinely. Everywhere I’ve seen recommends using them 24/7 unless doing maintenance etc.
 
While a 90W upgrade might seem like a great deal:
You have to pay for that extra electricity.
A lot of that 90W ends up as heat in your tank.
You have to buy new 90W bulbs every year.
 
rygh said:
While a 90W upgrade might seem like a great deal:
You have to pay for that extra electricity.
A lot of that 90W ends up as heat in your tank.
You have to buy new 90W bulbs every year.
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Yeah exactly. Not sure I want to add a 90w heater for the summer months.

The bulbs are relatively cheap compared to the over-priced brands though. $30 for 40w, $40 for 90w, so at least that isn’t a big concern.
 
I use a 25 watt aqua vu on a 220 which is a bit undersized but only need to clean the glass like every 2 months with just a barely visible film so guess it's doing the job. It's night and day compared to my other tanks not running uv...I run it after my return pump. Future plan is to run it off another return pump stand alone..Whenever I shut off the main pump for maintenance I need to unplug the uv light first otherwise they will burn up without water flow..I need to set up some automatic redundancies so if the pump fails it shuts off the uv when I'm not home..Don't have an apex yet just kiss for now lol..
Paul
 
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PjFish said:
I use a 25 watt aqua vu on a 220 which is a bit undersized but only need to clean the glass like every 2 months with just a barely visible film so guess it's doing the job. It's night and day compared to my other tanks not running uv...I run it after my return pump. Future plan is to run it off another return pump stand alone..Whenever I shut off the main pump for maintenance I need to unplug the uv light first otherwise they will burn up without water flow..I need to set up some automatic redundancies so if the pump fails it shuts off the uv when I'm not home..Don't have an apex yet just kiss for now lol..
Paul
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You might be able to reposition the UV light, so that it always has water in it, even if the return pump stops.
I mounted mine slightly below my sump water level.
Might be easier than fancy programming or relays.
As long as there is water in the UV pipe, it should not be a problem, even if water is not moving.
 
@JVU, like you I’ve been weighing my UV options and doing a bunch of research for my future build. I’m nearly sure I’ll be going with the 120w Lifegard pro max. I really like the flexibility with how the plumbing can be oriented for different situations. I’ll be plumbing it as part of a closed loop that will be towards the front of the tank. It’s not set in stone yet but I’m pretty satisfied with the current design.

B6747582-0475-4EF4-8AA7-57797E795F92.jpeg
 
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Flagg37 said:
@JVU, like you I’ve been weighing my UV options and doing a bunch of research for my future build. I’m nearly sure I’ll be going with the 120w Lifegard pro max. I really like the flexibility with how the plumbing can be oriented for different situations. I’ll be plumbing it as part of a closed loop that will be towards the front of the tank. It’s not set in stone yet but I’m pretty satisfied with the current design.
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I can't really tell where the valves will be or how it comes apart. So...

REMINDER:
1) Replacing the bulb
The bulb is almost the same length as the UV pipe, and you need to pull it out lengthwise.
That means you need space to left/right of UV, about the same lengthe as UV.

2) Cleaning the quartz shield.
This requires complete disassembly of the UV unit, which means emptying all the water out.
The UV usually comes with union couplings.
But make sure you have appropriate valves, plus some way to drain or contain whatever water is left.


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Regarding closed loop:
Those are usually high flow, low resistance, so it might be too much for a UV. You need good dwell time.
And in general, make sure you really want one. I took mine out. Too many risks, too much electricity, not enough benefit.
 
rygh said:
I can't really tell where the valves will be or how it comes apart. So...

REMINDER:
1) Replacing the bulb
The bulb is almost the same length as the UV pipe, and you need to pull it out lengthwise.
That means you need space to left/right of UV, about the same lengthe as UV.

2) Cleaning the quartz shield.
This requires complete disassembly of the UV unit, which means emptying all the water out.
The UV usually comes with union couplings.
But make sure you have appropriate valves, plus some way to drain or contain whatever water is left.


---

Regarding closed loop:
Those are usually high flow, low resistance, so it might be too much for a UV. You need good dwell time.
And in general, make sure you really want one. I took mine out. Too many risks, too much electricity, not enough benefit.
Click to expand...
From the tank, there will be two low profile 1-1/2” strainers that combine and go through a ball valve. Then it opens up to 2” plumbing and goes through an apex flow rate sensor then into the UV. I’ll use the UV’s unions to be able to remove it for maintenance. After the UV it goes to a 2” ball valve, then the pump (2” intake and 1-1/2” output) then to a T with ball valves on either side to direct the flow to a drain or to two 1” RFG’s back inside the tank. I’m thinking of possibly doing a manifold somewhere too.

The flow rating for this unit for bacteria/algae is 3800 gph and 1/6 that (633 gph) for Protozoa.

One of the reasons for going with the closed loop is to help with flow along the front pane of the tank since it will be 112” long.
 
Flagg37 said:
...

One of the reasons for going with the closed loop is to help with flow along the front pane of the tank since it will be 112” long.
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Yeah, my tank is almost 8 feet, and flow is a pain.
One solution I thought of was simply to put the closed loop pump and piping all INSIDE the tank. With large tanks, they are pretty easily hidden behind rockwork in the back.
Specifically, a DC pump in each back corner, and a pipe along the bottom of the back with holes drilled in it, doing a gyre like thing back to front.
Epoxy aragonite and rubble to almost everything to disguise it.
 
rygh said:
You might be able to reposition the UV light, so that it always has water in it, even if the return pump stops.
I mounted mine slightly below my sump water level.
Might be easier than fancy programming or relays.
As long as there is water in the UV pipe, it should not be a problem, even if water is not moving.
Click to expand...
Good idea thanks !! Any picks of your uv location and plumbing? I may have room behind the stand if I go lower... Sump is tight not much room front to back. Maybe on end of sump if I relocate electrical bars in stuff
Paul
 
My setup is pretty unique, but picture below.
I have two return pumps. One goes through the UV.
It is plumbed in below sump on left there, protected by a removable shelf.
Just before the pipes go back into the house to DT.

IMG_1115.jpg
 
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