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jmaquatic

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ok i have a 210 gallon tank running a pretty big fuge and a dual reactor GFO and carbon want to know would a UV help keeping the tank healthy? or would the UV kill the food for the fuge? And if a UV is recommended how many watts should i use and where would i run it from? chamber before fuge or after please help


Thanks

Jonathan
 

JimmyR1rider

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A UV is ony really needed if you have a parasitic outbreak that is making your livestock sick and/or killing them.

If you run a UV it's not a cure all. Each thing you might use it for requires different flow rates - one flow rate will kill one organism but not the others, each thing needs a different length of exposure to the UV light to die.

I have never ran one.
 
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JimmyR1rider

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I had bought a TurboTwist when I set up my first tank. When you read the instructions it lists algae and 50 other things and gives a flow range for each. The numbers were all over the place. I originally thought I'd run it for everything also. I never wound up running it, just had it plumbed and ready to go.

Now if you really want to have one to feel comfy- it is your system so you do what you want, you could maybe decide what the most important thing you'd want to get rid of if it ever occured and would be most detrimental to where you'd want to eradicate it immediately and buy a pump that gives the correct flow rates for killing that and solve the rest with water changes and other treatments.

That's what I did in the end.

Just one thing to think about, good luck
 
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Hope this helps

Freshwater
Pond Clarifier Freshwater
Pond
Sterilizer
in Gallons 30,000
uw/cm2
(EOL) GPH 45,000
uw/cm2
(EOL) GPH 60,000
uw/cm2
(EOL) GPH 75,000
uw/cm2
(EOL) GPH 90,000
uw/cm2
(EOL) GPH Salt Water
Tank Gallons Gallons Max
Flow
GPH 1500 1000 5-200 642 428 321 256 214 70
 

xxxAngeloxxx

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A UV is ony really needed if you have a oparasitic outbreak that is making you livestock sick and/or killing them.

If you run a UV it's not a cure all. Each thing you might use it for requires different flow rates - one flow rate will kill one organism but not the others, each thing needs a different length of exposure tot he UV light to die.

I have never ran one.

1+ well said Jimmy :biggrin:
 
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Ozone is another way to go. Just food for thought while you're researching the topic.

Either way, it's not a bad choice to run something while you're building your tank especially if you don't have a QT or if you're not strictly buying Q'd fish and other Q'd livestock.

How much it kills all depends on how you set up your UV. Some people do a HOB UVS and that only kills what flows thru it. Others run their main return thru it so then (if ran slow enough) it will kill absolutely anything living (but if ran to fast it won't kill anything that you're trying to kill). Some may run half of their return thru it and only kill what flows thru that one side (provided that u have 2 or more returns). All ways have Pros and Cons to how they're set up.
 

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