uv filters

[Private Pyle]

I'm considering getting a Aqua Ultraviolet Advantage 2000 uv filter to
place on my 110 gallon tank. I'm looking to control algae in the
water and to help get rid of ick on my clown loaches. I'm looking at
using the Supreme Mag Drive water pump rated at 700 gallon/hour.
Placing the pump in the stand would give me about 6 feet of head
pressure for a flow rate of about 400 gallon/hr. I figure with a 2 ft
spray bar across the back of the tank, the turbulence in the water
shouldn't be too much for the fish. The advantage is rated for up to
642 gallons per hour as a sterilizer, so it should do the job of
killing the ick. Do I have to worry about moving the water too slowly
through the filter and having the light heat the water and raise tank
temp?

I was just wondering if anyone is using either of these products and
what opinions are regarding them. I'm open to all recommendations on
uv filters and water pumps to drive them. I don't want to put it on
the return from my canister filter (XP3) because I already split that
return to run half of it back over a Bio-Wheel Pro 60 for added bio
filtration. The other option is to get another XP3 and run the return
line back through the uv filter, but since the pump is only rated at
350 gal/hr the flow will be further reduced, and the water will spend
more time in the uv filter. This option is nice because I also get
another canister to add another source of mechinal filteration and bio
bugs. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance!

[Michi Henning]

"Private Pyle" > wrote in message
om...
> I'm considering getting a Aqua Ultraviolet Advantage 2000 uv filter to
> place on my 110 gallon tank. I'm looking to control algae in the
> water and to help get rid of ick on my clown loaches. I'm looking at
> using the Supreme Mag Drive water pump rated at 700 gallon/hour.
> Placing the pump in the stand would give me about 6 feet of head
> pressure for a flow rate of about 400 gallon/hr. I figure with a 2 ft
> spray bar across the back of the tank, the turbulence in the water
> shouldn't be too much for the fish. The advantage is rated for up to
> 642 gallons per hour as a sterilizer, so it should do the job of
> killing the ick. Do I have to worry about moving the water too slowly
> through the filter and having the light heat the water and raise tank
> temp?

You may find the info in the following link useful:
http://groups.google.com/groups?q=UV+sterilizer+group:rec.aquaria.*+author: Michi+author:Henning&hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&selm=VFiQb.25347%24Wa.1739%40news-server.bigpond.net.au&rnum=1

I wouldn't worry about running the water through too slowly --
I don't know what wattage your unit has. Probably 15W
or 25W, which won't be enough to make much of a difference
at all on a 110gal tank. (If the unit has 8W, it's too weak
for a tank that size and essentially a waste of time.)

> I was just wondering if anyone is using either of these products and
> what opinions are regarding them. I'm open to all recommendations on
> uv filters and water pumps to drive them. I don't want to put it on
> the return from my canister filter (XP3) because I already split that
> return to run half of it back over a Bio-Wheel Pro 60 for added bio
> filtration. The other option is to get another XP3 and run the return
> line back through the uv filter, but since the pump is only rated at
> 350 gal/hr the flow will be further reduced, and the water will spend
> more time in the uv filter. This option is nice because I also get
> another canister to add another source of mechinal filteration and bio
> bugs. Thoughts?

I'm using a 15W sterilizer with good success on my 150gal tank.
Nice to control green water and to keep general levels of bacteria
and other spores down. I'm driving mine with a separate Eheim
1250 pump. Against the pressure head, that gives me a flow of
around 150gal per hour, which is fast enough to get sufficient
turnover, and slow enough to get sufficient zap dosage.

If you plumb the sterilizer into your filter path, I'd recommend
that you add a few valves and a bypass, so you can remove
the sterilizer out of the filter circuit without having to empty
everything. That's useful because the sterilizer will need cleaning
once every few months, and you have replace the tube regularly.
That's a lot easier if you can remove the sterilizer from the circuit
without too much hassle.

Cheers,

Michi.

--
Michi Henning Ph: +61 4 1118-2700
ZeroC, Inc. http://www.zeroc.com