High Tide Aquatics

Run dual UV sterilizers?

kinetic

kinetic

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I have a 25 watt and 57 watt UV sterilizer now, and I’m trying to sell the 25. I purchased the 25 watt firs, but everyone was telling me that I need the 50+ watt flavor for my 126G display tank (maybe about 150G total vol). So now I have both unless I can sell the 25 watt.

Should I just run both? Maybe the 57 watt with a higher flow and the 25 with lower? That would cover ich, certain dinoflagellates, and some algae (water clarity)?

Anyone do something similar?
 
I have about 250-300 gallons of water. I run a 40 and 25 on different pumps for years. One system. I do see my fish scratching when I turn them off. They aren’t plumed in series tho.
I wouldn’t worry too much about algae. Worry about ich.
 
My main purpose of the UV is to help with any possible ich that gets past QT and to tame any dinoflagellates (I've battled the UV sensitive ones in the past with UV successfully). I believe ich and dinos will be taken care of at the same flow rate through the UV, and since I have a second, I could just run it for water clarity.
 
This is just what I’ve noticed over the years in my aquarium. I have 3 aquariums all connected to one sump. My frag tank is closest to the window. Natural light will grow dynos. But only where the natural light shines on the aquarium. When I block that natural light. The dynos goes a way. No dynos in any other parts of any aquariums. Strange. Right.
 
kinetic said:
My main purpose of the UV is to help with any possible ich that gets past QT and to tame any dinoflagellates (I've battled the UV sensitive ones in the past with UV successfully). I believe ich and dinos will be taken care of at the same flow rate through the UV, and since I have a second, I could just run it for water clarity.
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Ich takes a LOT of UV at slow rates, you need to keep on life of bulb/changing, and your sleeve cleaning needs to be on point. Most people don't hit all three of those points, and still have ich issues.
 
BAYMAC said:
Ich takes a LOT of UV at slow rates, you need to keep on life of bulb/changing, and your sleeve cleaning needs to be on point. Most people don't hit all three of those points, and still have ich issues.
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That's a good point. I got the larger UV specifically because of this. I'll need to plumb it in a way where it's extremely easy to maintain, thus I won't have too many excuses not to.

I will still QT the fish, not overstock, and introduce fish in a good sequence and hope that ich doesn't make it through. But I don't know, things never work out perfectly for me, so the UV is going to be backup. I have had UV help staunch dinos in the past, so that is a big reason for this as well.

In the past, my fish have been hardy enough and my tanks stocked lightly where ich never was an issue even though I didn't QT. I'm hoping for the same luck and some help from the UV.
 
Follow up question:

I found these published numbers for saltwater on these units:

25 watt unit:
Flowrate – 400 gph for 90,000 µw/cm2

57 watt unit:
Flowrate – 1066 gph for 90,000 µw/cm2

I'm probably using the 57 watt for help with any ich that gets through. What µw/cm2 would be effective?

Also, if I get ostreopsis dinoflagellates, what µw/cm2 would I need?

And finally, what about algae/water clarity?

I'm assuming dinos should fit with algae flow rates or ich flow rates, so two UV's would work.

Anyone know the numbers? In the past I just through huge UV's at my tank to get rid of dinoflagellates but didn't really think about the flowrate.
 
Mr2KiEu said:
You just post a link to a post that had another link lol
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looks like more then just a link:

http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/m/#publication?id=FA164

"Use of ultraviolet (UV) sterilization to kill theronts has been suggested, based on research involving Ichthyophthirius multifiliis (freshwater "ich"). The recommended UV dose for Ichthyophthirius theronts is 100,000 µWsec/cm2 (Hoffman 1974). However, UV doses required for Cryptocaryon irritans are anecdotal or extrapolated, and range from 280,000 µWsec/cm2(industry numbers) to 800,000 µWsec/cm2 (Colorni and Burgess 1997)."
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He posted the numbers, as asked by Kinetic - UV doses required for Cryptocaryon irritans are anecdotal or extrapolated, and range from 280,000 µWsec/cm2(industry numbers) to 800,000 µWsec/cm2
 
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