UV Ultraviolet Sterilizer

Oooo feel sorry to hear that.

 

I'm actually planning on buying the Turbo Twist 6X in about 3 weeks. I can let you know how it works out. Basically I'm getting it for two reasons:

1. As an insurance plan to protect against harmful bacteria and parasites. However, an earlier post on this thread says that the water flow must not exceed 75gph, I was not aware of such a small flow. From what I've found, 200 gph seemed more appropriate, especially for the turbo twist UV considering it's design. I'm going to look into it more carefully though.

2. To control outbreaks of algae. Now a UV will help prevent algae from growing in your tank, it is not the solution to your problem. If you're getting considerable algae outbreaks then your nitrates are most likely too high, which is another symptom of another problem(over-feeding..ect). A UV could mask this problem, though you'd see it in tests.

UVs are great because they kill anything in the water column that flows by the light. Most nitrifying bacteria is stick in nature and tends to cling to rocks, walls, gravel, sand...ect and so the loss of beneficial bacteria will happen but be minimal. Now I'm just hoping the concept of a UV system works as well when being applied in a SW tank. I'll let you know, but if you have to decide sooner, it's probably worth the money if you have it, but don't spend over $200 for one.

 

I'm back, found the manual to the turbo twist 3x:

http://www.marineandreef.com/v/vspfiles/pdf/Coralife_TurboTwist.pdf

And looking into it, you can certainly see it needs a maximum of 55gph flow to kill off parasites, but 121gph if you want to just prevent algae and bacteria from forming.

Definitely something to consider in all of this.

 

I don't know about the brand though haven't researched as far as which brand to buy and the availability of replacement bulbs (at different stores,online or physical location, so you can get the best price).

I will go with a better brand though.

 

I said for a 15watt model the flow should not exceed 75 gallons per hour. The recommendations I've seen is to have the GPH running through it be equal to the system volume, to be rid of parasites as well as algae and bacteria (like Cyano)....a 15 watt model is the lowest wattage to get rid of all 3.

The more complex the organism the more resistant it is to the UV and the longer contact time is needed as well as a more powerful bulb.

If you want it just for bacterial and algal control then you can use a smaller wattage unit or the same 15 watt unit run at a higher flow rate not to exceed 230 GPH if you want it to be effective.
Or you can go with a higher wattage bulb which has higher effective maximum GPH rates.

Low flow means the water and the junk in it are in contact with the UV light longer allowing it to be more effective.