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RE: GW & UV Question
Tony wrote:
"... I had my first GW outbreak early this month... I bought a Aquanetics 8
watt UV and hooked it up yesterday afternoon to the output of the HOT
(Micron cart. no diatom). Its been running over night, and I left it
running when I left for work. It didn't look like the water was any
clearer. Now the question -- do I need to use something else to clear the
water? I thought that once the algae was dead in the water column, the
micron cart was enough to take it out. Do I need to use a flocculent too?"
Give it time. It takes a couple of days, sometimes three or four to see a
noticeable difference in a badly infected tank. The micron will take it out
without a flocculent. But also check the flow rating for the UV unit. The
HOT is rated at 250 gph, with no media, so it is probably running at
something less with the micron cartridge. But still, it's a fast output and
may be pushing the water through the UV faster than the UV can work - it's a
matter of contact time. If the HOT is too much for the UV unit, put a "tee"
in the line to the UV and bleed off some of the flow - you can use a cheap
plastic yard sprinkler valve to control the amount of bleed.
After getting smug about not having any more algae problems, I too have a
lingering GW outbreak - it's not really "there" but it it is.... I just
bought an 8 watt Aqua Ultraviolet which is rated for a flow rate of 642 gph,
connected to an Eheim submersible pump rated at 320 gph. The Aqua units are
large and wouldn't fit horizontally, which is what the product literature
required. A call to the company revealed that this requirement is the "idiot
proof" installation, and I can install it vertically. I installed it
yesterday and I can already see a difference, maybe because of the
relatively slow flow through the unit.
Tom Wood
Austin, Texas, ya'll