uv sterilzer can they kill ich

[er1c_the_reefer]

i didn't say staff are protected from exposure, on the contrary, i said they are exposed for hours a day for years. nor did i say i knew everything about the medical field, otherwise i'd just go take the NCLEX or become a specialist in every medical field. my point was to clear up misconceptions about radiation: it's not just about exposure, it was also about type and length of exposure and that there's different types of radiation. if you want to re-read what i said and check out the link, go ahead, if not, i'm done trying to explain my point because you're not reading/comprehending my posts.

 

but i'm talking about chronic vs. acute exposure of different types of radiation. the reason why you wear the dosimeter is to measure exposure to radiation of radiology staff. they're being exposed to indirect and low level radiation (they're not directly in focus of rays, they're also wearing lead vests) all day long, for years, which is not the same as a single, large dose of radiation from say... a nuclear reactor explosion. chronic low level radiation mutates and acute (or chronic for that matter) high level radiation kills. see link here for explanation. i'm not going to deny that sun exposure causes damage in the long term, perhaps over years, but if you stick the dosimeter in the sun for 5 minutes, its not the same as sticking it under the x-ray for 5 minutes. and yes, we've already covered melanoma. remember your ABCDE's.

 

as for the reefs of the world, there's a lot more than UV exposure that's killing them. it probably plays a role, but there's other factors, including ocean acidification, various wasting diseases (black band, white band, yellow band, etc.) caused by viruses and bacteria (see also african dust), oxygen starvation caused by fertilizer run offs, dynamite fishing, tourism (even sunscreens tourist wear can kill corals on contact), etc. all of which have to be taken into account.

 

anyways, we digressed beyond the point of this thread: UV sterilization FTW

[X3-3.0i]

umm, i LOVE UV sterilizers. i have had one outbreak of it in my 300G a few years ago and from treating them i lost almost 1/2 of my fish. when they died it brought ammonia to my tank which almost wiped out all my corals. now i wont do any tank without a UV. i now have a Cadlights 39G Signature series and one of the main things i like about it is that it comes stock with a 6W UV sterilizer that works pretty well. i think all tanks should have a UV cause it helps prevent a buttload of parasites and diseases not to mention it also makes the water super clear.

[Urchinhead]

Uh X3-3.0i I hate to break it to you but a 6W UV like CAD uses isn't doing much more than heating up your water and causing a risk of damage to someone's eyes.

 

I say this because the unit is not an enclosed structure with water flowing through it which means that there is allot of diffusion of the radiation instead of concentrating it like you would find in an enclosed unit, its low wattage so the intensity in terms of potential energy produced by the unit is relatively low, and combining this with the fact that the total 'hang time' aka exposure time T of amount of water A to UV-B radiation R is too low to be very effective at causing the mutation and/or cell death. It is better than nothing but...

 

If you really want to run UV then take that unit out and get a Coralife 9W and a small rio powerhead. The Coralife will hang off the back of the CAD pretty well. A small powerhead will generate a flow of less than 60 gallons per hour which is what you want in terms of hang time to kill (by kill I mean either cause damage to DNA strands rendering the pathogen/parasite harmless or by actually transferring enough potential energy into the cell to cause it to rupture).

 

UH

[el_vulture619]

I am thinking of getting a UV for RO water storage, just need to set up some storage tanks. Any ideas of a way to set this up?

 

I hate sun screen, skin cancer from the sun, or some other cancer from soaking your self in chemicals, and parabens, they convert to estrogen in the body, causing prostate cancer and breast cancer.

[Urchinhead]

I am thinking of getting a UV for RO water storage, just need to set up some storage tanks. Any ideas of a way to set this up?

 

I hate sun screen, skin cancer from the sun, or some other cancer from soaking your self in chemicals, and parabens, they convert to estrogen in the body, causing prostate cancer and breast cancer.

 

Ok. And why do you want a UV for the RO? Just to keep circulating the water and knocking down any potential bacterium/parasite growth? To really do that effectively its going to depend on the size of the storage containers. The more you store the more powerful the UV unit will have to be because there will be more water that needs to go through them. For something like >20 gallons a 9W plumbed to a small power head that is strong enough to move the water from the bottom of the container to the sterilizer and back into the top of the bin should be fine.

 

UH

[el_vulture619]

Ok. And why do you want a UV for the RO? Just to keep circulating the water and knocking down any potential bacterium/parasite growth? To really do that effectively its going to depend on the size of the storage containers. The more you store the more powerful the UV unit will have to be because there will be more water that needs to go through them. For something like >20 gallons a 9W plumbed to a small power head that is strong enough to move the water from the bottom of the container to the sterilizer and back into the top of the bin should be fine.

 

UH

 

Yes. I was under the impression that RO units may not remove certain bacteria. There is a local fruit juice plant that may sell 55g food grade plastic drums. I plan on picking up 2-3 of these, and storing water in them.

[Urchinhead]

Yes. I was under the impression that RO units may not remove certain bacteria. There is a local fruit juice plant that may sell 55g food grade plastic drums. I plan on picking up 2-3 of these, and storing water in them.

 

With that size you may want to think about an industrial UV unit. Thats allot of water to go through so you will want high flow and thus need high watts.

[el_vulture619]

Really?! Man, the UV units must not be as strong as I thought. I think I may set up the drums in stages then. A drum for fresh RO, then pump it through the UV unit into another empty drum.

 

A unit that is rated at 60gph+ should do it, unless you are suggesting that these units may not kill all the bacteria in the first pass?

[Urchinhead]

More that you are going to have to have a powerhead that can pump 60 gallons per hour up and out of a 4'+ tall 55 gallon drum, through your UV unit and back into the drum which means you are going to have a problem getting it to run at 60 gph.

 

UH

[el_vulture619]

Right, I see what you are saying. I just thought of placing the powerhead at the bottom of the barrel with the outlet placed directly at the bottom, but then the water would just pour out of the opening in the powerhead,running or not. I may have to place one barrel higher than the other....hmmmmm

 

Thanks for letting me pick your brain UH, I think this may be on hold till I get the barrels. I am more of a hands on problem solver. The unit you have could be used for this?

 

Wait: What if a stronger powerhead was used, but a valve to control the flow was put in place before the UV unit?