UV Sterilization on smaller aquariums

[mmfed01]

Carl, what would be your idea for a good level of sterilization on smaller aquariums? My 16 gallon hacked Biorb and Biocube 14 are two of my smallest tanks and most successful plant wise. An on and off ex girlfriend of mine who travels to Taiwan and Hong Kong often brought me back this to test out: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-n7elBAu8E

Algae wise I will say that it does the job, compared to when I did not use this product. Anything more in terms of sterilization I can't adequately measure as I currently run it in my Biorb 16. 

I run my smaller tanks for bettas once I have my plant base to my liking. The smaller tanks deserve the best even as I sell plasma to equip all my larger tanks with Vectons.....


Mike

[devonjohnsgard]

Nov 7, 2015 14:30:30 GMT -5 mmfed01 said:

Carl, what would be your idea for a good level of sterilization on smaller aquariums? My 16 gallon hacked Biorb and Biocube 14 are two of my smallest tanks and most successful plant wise. An on and off ex girlfriend of mine who travels to Taiwan and Hong Kong often brought me back this to test out: 

www.youtube.com/watch?v=C-n7elBAu8E

Algae wise I will say that it does the job, compared to when I did not use this product. Anything more in terms of sterilization I can't adequately measure as I currently run it in my Biorb 16. 

I run my smaller tanks for bettas once I have my plant base to my liking. The smaller tanks deserve the best even as I sell plasma to equip all my larger tanks with Vectons.....


Mike

...the Twin Star. Going around right now. I've seen some tests with the unit and they show it's not as effective as it should be. I believe it adds O2 to the tank. The person doing the test just recommended going with a UV.

For those size tanks, even a 7 watt would much more.

[mmfed01]

Thanks Devon, I've seen the Twin Star variant but have been suspect on the cheaper version I run. While it does cut the algae, the mesh piece that sits in the aquarium gets caked with hard water buildup quickly...very quickly. I'll look at 7 watt UV.....

Mike

[Carl]

This is an interesting product that I have not used. I question how effective it can be for algae, but then not all algae are the same, so it might be effective for some, but not others.

However this is clearly not a UV Sterilizer.

I have used 5 Watt (now 7 watt) in 14 gallon bio cube aquariums



Reference:
www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html#examples

Carl

[mmfed01]

Thanks Carl, looks like my best choices are a Sunsun "Terminator" or a Vecton- 2. I converted my Bio cube 14 to a freshwater setup via the media basket insert.


Mike

[devonjohnsgard]

Here's some info on the Twin Star

"The first is increased oxygen due to the electrolysis of water. This effect can be reproduced in many ways, but most of them (surface agitation) will also gas off CO2.
An additional claim is that any bacteria/pathogens that find themselves between the anode and cathode will be damaged by the electrical field, in essence operating like a UV sterilizer.
The final benefit has something to do with the generated ions interacting with bound nutrients, making them more available to plants.
"

[Carl]

Nov 9, 2015 11:59:16 GMT -5 devonjohnsgard said:

Here's some info on the Twin Star

"An additional claim is that any bacteria/pathogens that find themselves between the anode and cathode will be damaged by the electrical field, in essence operating like a UV sterilizer."

While this might be true, both contact time and volume of water that is moved near this electrical field are likely to be too low. But then again, only test could confirm this. A simple test would be the cloudy water test as this can be cleared by even marginal UV Sterilizers (UV Clarifiers)

Carl

[mmfed01]

I'll pull the contact out when I clean it next and run that test on some cloudy water. Hard water buildup cakes quickly on it thus having to clean soak it in vinegar often...

Mike

[mmfed01]

I've found that white vinegar alone doesn't bust up hard water deposits very quickly. I threw in some citric acid and now things are moving. I should have the contact back in the Orb later tonight. Will post pics with the Fred II...(new betta).

Mike