# UV sterilization



## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

So I am battling an Algae bloom  I have been battling it for a couple weeks now. I have kept it at bay for the most part by cutting down on the lighting, feeding, etc. I have been surfing the web for a UV sterilizer and I was just curious as to anyone's thoughts on one. I have a guy in the area looking to get rid of one he used for a small pond. It is a 9watt. I think it should be big enough for my tank, a 38g. He's asking $20 for it which I thought was pretty cheap. He says it needs a new bulb though. I found those pretty cheap on Ebay. I guess I'll have to get a pump of some sort for it. I've never hooked one of these up before. Again, any info would be greatly appreciated. Below I have the link to the sterilizer I am interested in. 

Fish Pond UV Sterilizer 9 Watt

*c/p*


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If you have algae in the water it will work on that. Will not do anything for algae on any type of surface. They are a good item to have in your tank, IMO. Other benefits from them. Not sure if that size is good for your tank or not, but I assume it is. If it requires you to pump water through it, make sure that you don't overpump. UVs are only effective is they have sufficient dwell time on the water, so slower flow through it and it will effect your water more efficiently.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

Imo?!?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

IMO = in my opinion.

I would agree that a UV sterilizer is a great thing to have as backup hardware, and I would say the same about an air pump/air stone system (for different reasons). UV sterilizers work by zapping organic matter and living microbes in the water (like floating algae and protozoa) like an aquatic bug zapper. It's great for adding new fish, and nothing beats it when it comes to green water, but for any other type of algae it's completely useless.


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## Scuff (Aug 10, 2010)

Sure, it'll clear out the green water, but a better (and potentially cheaper) solution would be to find out what's causing the green water in the first place and fixing that.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Also most uv's use powerheads to work. I have a 9v that I had for the 75 and bought a small powerhead to run it.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

wish mine ran off a powerhead, mag drive 9.5 here lol.

I wouldnt hesitate to get another one, they work awesome on greenwater but also provide a more sterile environment for the fish.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

So did anyone look at the link I posted in my original post? I was curious on your thoughts about that specific sterilizer. I thought $20 was a good price, what do you guys think?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

It's an in-line UV sterilizer - are you running a canister filter or a sump you can hook it up in line with?


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

I wont spend under $75 on one thats for sure.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

I don't have a canister filter or sump. I was thinking I could run it with a power head. That would attach with tubing on one end and I would just use tubing and a J tube to hang over and back into the aquarium. That should work right?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Your idea should work.

I like the Coralife turbo twist and the Lifeguard Aquatics brand UVs, but they are much more expensive.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

Woohoo! Hooked up my UV light today! I have a Jebo 9w UV light being fed with a RIO 120gph power head pump. Think I'll take pictures to see how the tank improves over the next few days.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

If the flow is too high and the powerhead is not adjustable, you could use a ball valve.


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## Magoo (Mar 15, 2011)

Happy to report that the UV light did the trick! The tank is crystal clear now. Only took about a week to completely clear up. Now I will be able to take better pictures. 

The UV did leak water into the light compartment though. I had to get a new bulb and epoxy around the glass sleeve to fix the problem. Apparantly the Jebo models are notorious leakers.


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