A few UV Sterilizer questions - Reef2Reef

I followed this member's guides from other forum. Copy and paste here. I installed Jebao 3 x STU-75 almost 2 years. I don't know how effective they are but no disease outbreak happen so far and never quarantine all my fishes neither. Bought copper power and Hanna copper checker still keep in shelf unopened.

Note: for marine ich needs 336,000 uWs/cm2

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UV sterilizers can serve 3 different functions, each of which require different flow rates. There are two primary measurements involved. One is the contact time, that is how long the water is exposed to the UV - often referred to as the flow rate/watt of UV. The other is the turnover rate, that is how many times per hour the volume of the tank should pass through the UV unit. What one needs to determine is what size gph pump (powerhead or inline with a canister) one needs and what wattage UV bulb should be used.

The 3 potential uses of UV are found in the table below:

Flow Rate & Turnover Rate Table:

UV-C Use ----------------------- Flow Rate (generalized) --------- Turnover Rate

Clarification:
(Green water control; Aquarium/Pond)
Most popular application for ponds------40-50 gph per watt ------ Once per 2-3 hours

Level One Sterilization:
(Bacteria, some Virus)
Most common & recommended
aquarium application --------------------20-30 gph per watt --------1.5 times per hour

Level Two Sterilization:
(Parasites, "Stubborn" Viruses;
Recomend for Swimming Pools) --------8-10 gph per watt ---------Up to 4 times per hour

The best way to explain it is to use an example of 50 gallon tank. If you want clarification you would start with needing to turnover the water once every 2-3 hours. So divide 50 gals by 2 or 3 and it would mean you need a 17 - 25 gph flow . To determine how strong a UV bulb you would need for clarification use 40-50 gph/watt of UV bulb, so divide 17-25 by 40-50gph. This would require a bulb of under one watt- 17 gph divided by 40 to 50 = .425 - .625 watts and 25 gph would = .625 -.50 watts.

Now lets assume you wanted to achieve Level One Sterilization for the 50 gal. tank. This requires a 1.5 times/hour turnover rate which translates into a flow rate of 75 gph. However, now you need to reduce the flow rate to between 20 and 30 gph/watt. Dividing 75 by 20-30 gph means you would need a bulb between 3.75 and 2.5 watts.

Finally, if your goal is Level Two Sterilization then you want a 4 times/hour turnover rate or 200 gph. To get the proper UV wattage to achieve this, divide 200 gph by 8-10 gph/watt or a 20-25 watt UV bulb.

Basically the more things you want to kill, the higher the flow rate needed and the stronger the bulb that should be used.

Using the above guidelines I purchased a 5 watt UV unit to use on a 29 gal. tank to receive wild caught altum angels. It will be powered by an 80-100 gph powerhead or pump. That will result in a turnover of between 2.75 and 3.44 times/hour and give me a flow rate of 80/5w or 16gph and 100/5w or 20gph. That means I am at or over the Level Two (20-30 gph) but under Level Three (8-10 gph), Similarly my turnover rate would be above level One but below Level Two. However, when one accounts for the fact that no tank gets 100% filled and that they also contain decor etc, the actual gallons in my 29 is going to be closer to 25 and my numbers get much closer to Level Two.

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Update: August 17,

The FDA is providing an update to the list of ultraviolet (UV) wand products that may present a potential risk of injury.

The FDA recommendations below have not changed.

Date Issued: July 20,

You will get efficient and thoughtful service from UVDF.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is warning consumers about the potential risk of injury associated with the use of certain brands of ultraviolet (UV) wands. Do not use these UV wands for disinfection because they may expose the user or any nearby person to unsafe levels of ultraviolet-C (UV-C) radiation and may cause injury to the skin, eyes, or both after a few seconds of use.

The FDA is aware that some manufacturers are marketing unsafe UV wands to consumers to disinfect surfaces and kill germs in the home or similar spaces outside most health care settings. The FDA recommends that consumers do not use these products and consider using safer alternative methods.

For a list of affected products, see the table below. These products may also be labeled under additional names. Please note that the FDA will continue to update the list as corrective actions are implemented by manufacturers and if the FDA discovers additional products are unsafe.

UV Wands That Give Off Unsafe Levels of Radiation

Recommendations for Consumers

• Do not use the UV wands listed above.
• Be aware that the FDA&#;s testing shows that the UV wands listed above give off unsafe levels of UV-C radiation and may cause injuries to the eyes or skin of a user or person nearby.
• Be aware that the UV wands listed above do not have adequate safety features to reduce the risk of injury to the user or persons nearby from unsafe levels of UV-C radiation.
• Do not use UV wands that lack safety instructions or information on the radiation emitted and associated risks.
• Follow all safety instructions included with UV wands, including instructions to protect skin and eyes from UV-C exposure.
• Consider using alternative disinfection methods, such as chemical cleaners to kill germs in the home or similar spaces.
• Read more about UV Lights and Lamps: Ultraviolet-C Radiation, Disinfection, and Coronavirus.

Product Description and Background

UV wands are handheld products intended to give off UV-C radiation to disinfect surfaces generally outside the healthcare setting. The products tested by FDA were shown to expose the user or any nearby person to unsafe levels of UV-C radiation. The FDA also identified some common features among the products tested, such as lack of safety information, claims to disinfect in seconds, and the lack of any means to protect users.

When a product is advertised to disinfect in seconds, it likely means that it gives off an unsafe level of UV-C radiation. The FDA testing determined that some UV wand products give off at a distance of about two inches, as much as 3,000 times more UV-C radiation than the exposure limit recommended by the International Commission on Non-Ionizing Radiation Protection. The user or any person near the UV wands listed in the table above may experience an injury to the skin (erythema, burn-like skin reaction), eyes (photokeratitis), or both after a few seconds of exposure. The type of eye injury associated with exposure to UV-C causes severe pain and a feeling of having sand in the eyes.

FDA Actions

The FDA has collected and tested samples of UV wands from multiple manufacturers. The FDA has issued Notification of Defect Letters to manufacturers whose products were found to give off unsafe levels of radiation and pose a significant risk of injury to consumers. The FDA plans to work with each manufacturer to ensure adequate corrective actions.

Report Problems to the FDA

Consumers, health care professionals, and manufacturers may report any radiation incidents or potentially hazardous event through the following forms:

Additional Resources

Questions?

If you have questions, the Division of Industry and Consumer Education (DICE) at or call 800-638- or 301-796-.

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