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Re: That is just too awsome! 2 Questions for ya


[ Follow Ups ] [ Post Followup ] [ The Turtle Forum ]

Posted by CJ on July 17, 2001 at 22:38:50:

In Reply to: That is just too awsome! 2 Questions for ya posted by Matthew T on July 17, 2001 at 11:12:24:

How the UV sterilization system works, and what the air pump is for?

Dear Matthew,

I am not certain if you are asking how you link them into the filters OR what purpose they serve, so I will answer both..

They are linked like a train-from the tank's water feed-first the filters then the UV light-then returns back to the tank.

UV sterilizers will kill just about anything that goes through them. Aside from killing bacteria and parasites, they have the helpful side effect of reducing algae and fungal blooms.

But, in addition to killing beasties, UV sterilizers also, well, sterilize the water.

They do this by producing ozone if they receive oxygen-rich water. The ozone is produced in much smaller amounts than that produced by an Ozone generator, but it is enough to clean the water and increase Redox potential.

So, the UV sterilizer and air pump-are a tag team against many tank problems. They stop fungal growths (such as shell rot and skin troubles) because they kill the "tiny critters" before they attach themselves to your turtle. Additionally, it kills "bad nitrates" which support the creation of green algae or algae blooms.

In other words-you don’t spend a whole lot of time scrapping green muck of the sides of your tank or worry to much more about shell rot.

All and all.. its worth the cost.


Selecting an UV Sterilizer


4-8 watt units are good for aquarium purposes for 20-40 gallon tanks. For 55-100 gallon tanks, 15-watt units are pretty common. For larger tanks like a 250-gallon a 40-watt unit is good.

UV light ranges from 200 to 300nm. This is the effective kill range for most aquarium pests. For most aquariums, you will need 3-4 watts per gallon of tank water. For proper irradiation of microorganisms, contact time is everything. Therefore, for turtles it is recommend a flow that delivers about 1/2 the capacity recommended by the UV manufacturer. In other words, then bigger and slower the better.

So if you have the Mag 350 as your first filter with the Fluidized Bed filter-as your second (KEY FILTER ADDITION) flowing into the UV sterilizer-your water will be crystal clear AND your tanks floor will never have that nasty gunk-which shows up when you move gravel around.

The Air pump works magic with the "ozone" deal.. and if you have any life plants in the water-they will be algae free too.

So thats the deal..

Kinda sorta. Hope this helps.

Hugs,
CJ




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