Benefits of an Aquarium UV Sterilizer

Aquarium UV Sterilizer is an extremely effective tool in the fight against fish diseases. This is primarily due to the fact that the UV rays destroy certain parasite eggs before they can attach themselves to the fish. In addition, many viruses, bacteria and other pathogens cannot survive in the presence of a UV light.

HOWEVER, a UV must be set up correctly for it to do the job it is intended for! Most of the lower cost ‘In Tank’ or ‘In Pond’ submersible UVs currently being sold DO NOT provide proper dwell/contact time, advertise too high a flow rate and are unable to perform level one sterilization. This is because they are designed with only the very basics of aquarium filtration in mind, do not have proper quartz sleeve/lamp design (which greatly reduces UV penetration) and use low quality medium pressure UV bulbs.

In addition, they have poor water circulation with the pump’s pick up and return line too close to the UV resulting in the unfiltered aquarium or pond water being bypassed and NOT exposed to the ultraviolet rays. These factors, along with water turbidity/filtration, bio load and other variables must be factored in when choosing a UV for an aquarium or pond.

Properly set up and used a UV Sterilizer can also aid in preventing Epistylis infestations. This is because the ‘Epistylis’ parasite feeds on bacteria in the water column before it can attach itself to fish. This can be easily prevented with true level one or higher UV Sterilization.

Another great benefit of a properly set up and used UV Sterilizer is the ability to control suspended green algae in ponds. This is done by destroying the algae cells in part and in part causing them to clump up and drop to the bottom of the aquarium or pond. This can be done even better with a UV Sterilizer connected to a Protein Skimmer.

This is especially important as the toxic red tide dinoflagellates are currently infecting many Florida residents despite the use of a very basic and inexpensive ‘in the tank’ submersible UV. The use of a UV with a Veggie Filter and a protein skimmer in a marine aquarium or pond is the most effective way to prevent this dangerous infection!

In a sump aquarium the UV should be plumbed inline with the pump’s pick up and return lines. This is to avoid any unnecessary turbulence that can occur when using a direct flow diverter built into some of the popular aquarium/pond UVs. This type of ‘flow through’ diverter is not the best option since it causes a lot of turbulence where the water enters the UV and can also cause UV light to be blocked by particulate debris. A better method is to use a PVC T or Poly Insert Hose Barb ‘T’ which will divert the aquarium or pond water while leaving the UV running!

For a basic 200-gallon aquarium or pond with a reasonable turnover rate of 1.5 times per hour, an 18 in-line watt AAP compact UV or Tetra Pond Green Free UV can efficiently sterilize up to 50 gallons of water per hour. This is based on a proper dwell time of about 10 minutes, a clean Quartz sleeve/lamp, a hot cathode low pressure UV bulb and assumed proper filtration. A premium, high dwell time UV such as the AAP Vecton Titan or Advantage is capable of far more sterilization and can easily handle double this amount.