- Today we show you how to sort through
that sea of UV sterilizers, meaning
get the right tool for the right job the first time,
solve, or even better, prevent
some common reefer challenges and save yourself some cash
all in five minutes or less.
(bouncy music)
Hey, this is Ryan with BRStv's five minute guide
miniseries on UV sterilizers.
This is direct answers to the most common UV questions
because information should never be a barrier.
This week we share with you
how to pick the right UV the first time.
There are two main manufacturers today's reefers use,
Pentair and Aqau Ultraviolet.
While they look the same, they're actually very different.
If you're in the market for UV sterilizers
you wanna watch and understand which one serves you best,
not just because we all wanna get the right tool,
but we also wanna get the best performance from that tool.
When I first started the hobby,
there was a lot of debate on UV sterilizers,
and even though UV's been widely used
in aquaculture facilities, aquatic wholesalers,
public aquariums, and many local fish stores,
basically, every professional area of aquatic care,
it's not been super common in home aquaria
and/or reef tanks.
All that's changed in recent years,
not because the equipment or results have changed,
but because the knowledge
that professionals use to achieve results
is now more accessible and easy to implement at home.
Not only that, but longer success rates
and investments in our tanks
makes investments in protecting that success
more reasonable as well.
The first step in that, of course,
is getting the right tool.
Again, the most popular manufacturers
of UV sterilizers and reef aquaria
are Aqua Ultraviolet and Pentair.
The best way I could describe the differences
is Pentair units are larger, commercial-sized units,
more specific insulation and use guidance
for specific applications.
They're on double the dose of UV
when used for applications like fish disease.
They also cost slightly more.
The Pentair sterilizers have very precise instructions
for the intended use.
However, their larger size may be prohibitive factor
in many installations.
In contrast to that, the Aqua Ultraviolet units
have slightly less aggressive UV doses
an easier to implement, broad approach to sterilization.
In turn, the Aqua Ultraviolet units are smaller,
easier to install, and somewhat more affordable.
Net result is balancing the realities
of the home reefer and insulation
on a standard size aquarium,
often with a filtration and sump installed
underneath the tank.
As to size in the unit and how many watts
to get for your tank, I think it's wise
to use the sizing requirements the manufacturer offers,
meaning Pentair states a 25-watt unit's good
for up to 130 gallons.
The Aqua Ultraviolet unit says their 25-watt unit's good
up to 150 gallons, which is pretty similar.
I don't think it's necessary in most cases,
but there may some benefit to going larger.
That said, I'd never go smaller.
In fact, I think I'd just skip it altogether
before I went smaller than the recommended range
because it simply won't work.
That said, there are differences in the approach
between the two brands, and it's wise to consider
what you're using the sterilizer for when selecting one.
Most of this is in the suggested contact time
or UV dose rates and flow rates.
The most important component is rather than guessing,
make sure to use the suggested flow rates
they give you for the intended purpose,
which is generally slower for fish parasites,
or faster for bacterial and algae control.
Aqua Ultraviolet takes a more generalized,
easy to implement approach,
with a 25-watt unit suggestion
of flow rate or tank turnover,
or about two-and-a-half times an hour,
or 400 gallons an hour on a 150-gallon tank.
This is a bit reef geeky, but that produces a UV dose
of about 90,000 milliwatts per square centimeter,
which they state is the most effective
at controlling fish disease.
The UV dose is a deeper consideration
than most hobbyists will think about all this,
but if you stay with me a minute,
you'll be approaching UV in a much more formed approach,
and because of that, a more effective one as well.
However, if your primary concern is controlling
or preventing bacterial or algae outbreaks,
which can be sterilized with a lower UV dose,
but have much faster reproductive processes,
a faster flow rate and a faster tank turnover is ideal.
Using the same 25-watt sterilizer, they suggest
about eight times tank turnover or 1,200 gallons an hour
on that same 150-gallon tank,
which processes the water much more frequently,
at a lower UV dose of about 30,000 milliwatts
per square centimeter, a math solution
for the bacteria and algae goal.
As a larger footprint commercial unit,
Pentair takes a bit more aggressive approach.
They provide specific data to both approaches
on bacterial and parasites.
However, rather than 90,00 milliwatts
for fish and protozoa, or fish parasites,
they suggest double the dose
at 180,000 milliwatts per square centimeter.
They achieve that with the same 25-watt sterilizer
using a much larger body size, which increases contact time,
and a much slower flow rate
of just half to one times tank turnover
or 79 gallons an hour on a 130-gallon tank.
That slower flow rate effective on parasites
that often have reproductive cycles that last days to weeks.
Pentair also provides flow rates
for algae and bacterial issues
and that same dose at 30,000 milliwatts.
In this case a tank turnover
of three and a half to five times turnover,
or 472 gallons an hour on a 130-gallon tank,
meaning most of the water in the tank
is sterilized every 15 to 20 minutes.
Increasing up frequently, most of the tank's water
sterilized for bacteria and algae purpose is important,
because in the right conditions, an organism like bacteria
may be able to replicate itself every 20 minutes,
and a single bacteria could reproduce to millions
within seven hours.
Anyone who's seen how fast cyano or dinos
can take over a surface already knows
how fast bacteria and some algaes can replicate.
Increased turnover is beneficial.
So there are some differences
between how Pentair and Aqua UV
approach reef tanks and UV, mostly closely related
to the physical size of the unit.
As to which one's right for you.
I don't believe one should necessarily
be considered better than the other.
There are a lot of variables,
but each has its own clear advantages.
Simply put, though, if you can fit it,
the Pentair's the most aggressive design,
and what I typically use.
However, when physical size is a challenge,
the Aqua Ultraviolet may be more realistic
when it comes to installing under or behind a tank.
In the end, most of us just pick the best available design
that fits our budget and spacial needs,
and one of these will achieve that.
In either case, I would follow the suggested sizing
and flow rates by the manufacturer.
It's probably unnecessary,
but you can go larger if you want,
but smaller, a total waste of time and money.
The next obvious question is
how do you plumb and install a sterilizer.
That's our next episode in the Five Minute Guide miniseries,
so click that to see when it comes out,
and see all of the other UV episodes
and questions answered.