Innovative Marine 10w Aquashield Universal UV Sterilizer

[boscoT]

I am over 2 months in, and I have been battling diatoms for the past few weeks.  My water always has a tint of yellow and a slight cloud to it from looking through the side of the tank.  I have been using filter floss with chemi-pure elite and I have just added purigen to my media basket today.  I plan on switching to the chemo-pure blue once my two jars of elite are consumed.  

 

I have been reading that a UV sterilizer is an excellent add on to aid in cleaning up diatom blooms and creating clearer water.  

 

I have looked at a few UV sterilizers and may pull the trigger on the IM aqua shield universal with builtin pump.  

 

Does anyone have any experience with this model?  The dimensions should fit perfectly in my rear chamber of my AIO.  

[mcarroll]

On 10/27/2023 at 11:39 AM, boscoT said:

I am over 2 months in, and I have been battling diatoms for the past few weeks.  My water always has a tint of yellow and a slight cloud to it from looking through the side of the tank.

Diatoms aren't typically in the water column....could be a bacterial bloom or phytoplankton bloom (aka green water).

 

UV should help – so should a 3+ day blackout, depending what else is in the tank.

 

But it will also clear up in time if you are in a position to be patient.   Keep dialing in your methods and the tank's health.  If you pull the trigger on a UV filter, just make sure its UV-output is rated for your tank size.  👍

[boscoT]

11 hours ago, mcarroll said:

Diatoms aren't typically in the water column....could be a bacterial bloom or phytoplankton bloom (aka green water).

 

UV should help – so should a 3+ day blackout, depending what else is in the tank.

 

But it will also clear up in time if you are in a position to be patient.   Keep dialing in your methods and the tank's health.  If you pull the trigger on a UV filter, just make sure its UV-output is rated for your tank size.  👍

 

The rocks are slightly going green but mostly rust colour.  I have the room blacked out today.  I know this is the ugly stage so I am ok with it and all of my parameters appear to be good.  

 

I think the 10w universal IM UV with built in pump will be a good fit for my tank in the long run.  

 

I did a 25% water change this morning and I am currently making another batch of water for tomorrow.  I did a sand bed cleaning today and the water was the worst that it has even been in the bucket.  It was a really yellow.  

 

I also think some of my issue is attributed to adding a second powerhead yesterday.  It really blew things around