Best Thing Since Sliced Bread

[kev350d]

I read all the hype about UV sterilizers and didnt fully understand the benefits of the initial outlay, but after suffering from day one with a slight haze toward the rear of the trigon and a constant battle with whitespot i decided to give one a go.

Bought a new Vecton UV15 and installed it 2 days ago and within a couple hours the effects could clearly be noticed but after 24 hrs the water looked crystal, like bottled spring water, 48hrs later the fishes behaviour has changed dramatically (all colors are extremely vibrant) and all the fish including the plecs are more active than ever before this has been like a miracle cure to me and i will stand behind them all day long..

Exellent product with dramatic improvements in hours...

 

[Irf]

Sorry if I seem dense, but what does this do?

Irf.

 

[kev350d]

Sorry if I seem dense, but what does this do?

Irf.

In a nutshell : http/www.tmc-ltd.co.uk/aquarium/vecton-uv.asp

I have also seen much cheaper internal filter/UV sterilizers advertised although i dont know anyone who has used one.

 

[debiasir]

could we have pics of it in the tank.

 

[kev350d]

could we have pics of it in the tank.

Sorry about the quality (taken on a slow shutter):

 

[chibi]

How much did you pay for it? I'd really like to get one if they aren't too expensive.

 

[three-fingers]

*raises hand*

I have a question! Does the UV ray have any effect on people? (ie. long term exposure leading to skin cancer and the like...?) Specially for aquascapers. Your hands will be in the tank all the time...

UV light does effect people, but no more than the sun does. Also, those UV sterilisers are closed units, barely any light gets out, you attach it to your external filter. So no, there would be no harm done at all even if you had your hand in the tank all day, a walk in the sun would be like a billion times worse .

 

[14gtr14]

do these affect plant growth? anything? or do they purely rid the water of bacteria!?

 

[n3ont3tra]

I would think they got rid of some of the stuff that plants need, but I'm not sure.

 

[k.o.d]

The UV sterilisers work by passing the water flow through a high intensity UV light, the water flows round the tube ( shielded by a quartz internal tube so water does not contact electrics etc, as it is very close proximity the water bourne bacteria and algea spores are killed
This will not affect humans, the UV light is shielded inside an opaque tube and all you can see externally is a blue light through the hose tails at the inlet and outlet of the unit.

So saying, never swith the unit on while the tube is exposed as you can do some damage to yourself then, but thats pretty obvious isnt it.

I don't think they do any harm to plant nutrients, but they do kill pathogens

I use them on all my tanks and I think they are pretty much 1st priority nice to haves, not totally essential but if you have the cash and the room to fit them pretty much a definite buy.

Steve

 

[InaneCathode]

*raises hand*

I have a question! Does the UV ray have any effect on people? (ie. long term exposure leading to skin cancer and the like...?) Specially for aquascapers. Your hands will be in the tank all the time...

UV light does effect people, but no more than the sun does. Also, those UV sterilisers are closed units, barely any light gets out, you attach it to your external filter. So no, there would be no harm done at all even if you had your hand in the tank all day, a walk in the sun would be like a billion times worse .

Actually, the UV light can affect you ALOT more than the sun can. The spectrum and wattage of the uv produced by most sterilizing units is enough to permanently blind you, burn your skin, and increase your chances of skin cancer by a large amount. That is of course if your tube gets exposed, and theres plenty warning labels and safety features to prevent that.

As the radiation only passes through the water in the unit, theres no residual effect in the water itself. That part, at least, is safer than walking around under the sun.

 

[three-fingers]

Thats what i meant, having your hand in the tank is nothing compared to a walk in the sun . I didnt mean that the UV light inside is no worse than the sun, if that were the case then there would be no greenwater ponds or pathogens in real life .

 

[SuperColey1]

and pretty cheap for internals now on ebay (for those of us withno external filter, or no room for it etc.)

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/FISH-R-FUN-INTERNAL-...VQQcmdZViewItem

and replacement bulb here:
http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/Replacement-UV-Bulb-...0QQcmdZViewItem

Theres hope for us tightwads and small space tanks now

 

[Lateral Line]

UV units are great at covering up the symptoms of underlying problems. If your tank is overproducing bacteria/algae or whatever, then finding the source and fixing that will have a better long term effect then buying a fix-it-quick cosmetic job.

 

[BigIan]

UV units are great at covering up the symptoms of underlying problems. If your tank is overproducing bacteria/algae or whatever, then finding the source and fixing that will have a better long term effect then buying a fix-it-quick cosmetic job.

yep i`ve got to agree,

We have one on the marine tank but it will only ever get turned on if there is a problem. (at 25 quid a fish and 40 quid a coral its alot of live stock to risk loosing)