UV sterilizers for an aquarium: features, selection and use

Not many people know that it is possible to destroy pathogenic bacteria and other microorganisms without any chemicals. There are special UV sterilizers for this. They have long been actively and successfully applied in medicine.

The ultraviolet sterilizer is also used in keeping fish. In what cases and whether it is worth using in principle similar for your aquarium - let's figure it out.

The name "sterilizer" is not entirely true. Rather, such devices help disinfect, but they do not completely kill all living things. The fact is that in the aquarium, during the life and reproduction of fish, its own habitat is formed. Inside it are the inhabitants themselves, whom you launched there, and their waste, and the whole world of various bacteria. The problem is that some of these bacteria can actually be pathogenic and harmful. Precisely because periodically it is recommended to disinfect this same environment.

Some aquarium owners try to achieve a similar result with a simple water change, but this does not work. Microbes accumulate not only directly in the water itself, but also on algae, decorations, and glass walls. Empirically, it turned out that the aquarium UV lamp is best suited for the disinfection task.

Ultraviolet radiation of 3 types, which differ in their harmfulness and impact on humans and other creatures, comes to our Earth.

• Option A - the longest section of the region. The radiation range is from 320 and directly to 400 nanometers.These rays pass the atmosphere and perfectly reach the surface.
• Option B - 290-320 nanometers, is responsible for the production of vitamin D.
• The last and most dangerous option - 180-290 nanometers, does not reach the surface of the planet, restrained by the atmosphere. He is deadly to many inhabitants of the planet.

If we talk about a device for disinfecting water, then in the UV sterilizer for the aquarium, any of these ray options can be used. Bacteria are defenseless in front of them. There is no specific protective layer, because ultraviolet works great.

If the use of an ultraviolet lamp, which helps kill microorganisms in an aquarium, is very obvious, then you should think about the potential harm. It is not so easy to say about him, because he is very ambiguous, optional and absolutely not peculiar to everyone.

Speaking of benefits, we immediately highlight the obvious and unambiguous factors.

• In a small home “sea” there will be much less grown unnecessary algae and other unpleasant “weeds”. And this is very important, because when there are too many of them, it not only looks ugly, but also really prevents the fish from swimming comfortably.
• Microorganisms will become smaller, which means that the water will be cleaner. Turbidity will not form as quickly as it was before, and this is a wonderful bonus. In addition, there will be less unpleasant odor.
• In addition, and this is very important - during outbreaks of diseases among fish, you can quickly destroy the cause of their diseases and save them life and health. And the remaining beneficial microorganisms will help the fish grow faster.

Now about the dangers and controversial moments of such processing. First of all, it is important to clarify: not therapy, but only prevention. The lamp will reduce various negative processes, but will not completely eliminate them:

• water will still have to be changed, just not so often;
• use this lamp as a light source is not worth it - which is a lot, it can do harm;
• high power is required, and with its lack of use of a lamp is pointless;
• such devices are expensive, and they need to be changed often.

UV sterilizers come in a variety of form factors, albeit of a similar type of action. This is very good, because you can choose a device for yourself, based on your ideas about convenience, functionality and beauty.

There are devices that integrate directly into the walls of the aquarium. In this case, really, convenience comes first. However, sometimes, in order to save money, lamps of small power may be built in, which may not be enough to purify all the water.

Internal disinfectors that are installed inside the filter. This option helps to get rid of some diseases of fish and turtles. The effectiveness of this method is sufficient in most cases so that your inhabitants do not get sick. In addition, the water will be purified not only from dirt, but also from bacteria that provoke pathologies.

External lamps with backlight. This is the most convenient, efficient, beautiful and, unfortunately, expensive type. Most often, it will look like a pendant lamp directly above the aquarium.

In order for the aquarium to be disinfected as efficiently as possible, you must always choose a cleaner of the right capacity. What matters is what exactly you are going to purify your water from, because different substances require different powers.

• For the destruction of viruses that develop in water, just 15,000 μW (microwatts) are enough, which will be distributed every second per square centimeter.
• If the goal is larger and you want to defeat the bacteria, then you should choose a power of no less than 15,000, and even better - up to 30,000, since different bacteria have different protective abilities.
• The same goes for algae - at least 25,000 microwatts.
• The strongest power is needed if you want to defeat the fungus. In this case, you will need a power of at least 45,000 microwatts per cubic centimeter of water. And this is already quite expensive.

There are additional selection criteria. A good disinfectant should have free ballast if it involves immersion in water.

For safety's sake, a good UV disinfector for home use should have self-regulation. This means that after work a certain amount of time or after purification of a certain amount of water, the device should automatically turn off.

Sometimes it’s not very convenient to just take and immerse such a device in water. The best choice would be to fix somewhere this same lamp. This also applies to security - not the best solution would be to leave electric wires in the water. It would also be nice to have a quartz coupling available. This will not only increase the efficiency, but also add convenience in use. In addition, if you intend to buy a suspended model for yourself, it will be generally quite convenient, but then the kit must have suitable mounts so that you can hang the entire structure from above.

Of course, when buying a new sterilizer complete with it, you must check the availability of a warranty card. This is very important - after all, all devices, except suspended ones, can fail quickly enough or simply require periodic replacement.

Besides you it’s not necessary to buy lamps with a filter. Such a function can add to the cost of the device, despite the fact that this same device is completely unnecessary. The fact is that pathogens are harmful and dangerous only if they are viable. But their "corpses" are completely biologically safe and even clean material, which there is no need to further clean. You will get rid of it when you change the water.

It is important to understand for yourself: the use of this kind of sterilizers is not a complete substitute for water treatment itself. By cleaning is meant replacing water, washing the aquarium, harvesting excess algae, and so on. Ultraviolet radiation is essentially only an auxiliary preventive measure, which can be used at the first suspicions of deviation from a healthy norm among the inhabitants.

That is, if the inhabitants of an artificial reservoir begin to get sick, then the latter will not interfere with the course of treatment with ultraviolet light so that the infection does not spread. However, there are many cases when such a technology is essentially powerless - for example, if you have small worms or a lot of algae in free swimming. In this case, you will have to work independently. In addition, given the small size of the aquarium itself and the good health of its inhabitants, you can not use such cleaners at all.

A few rules to remember:

• Do not look at the working lamp, keep your eyesight;
• do not use such a device without the protective elements from the kit;
• use along with the introduction of drugs is prohibited and dangerous for fish;
• Excessive ozone generation can be harmful;
• periodically check the status of all elements of the device;
• do not forget to clean the flask;
• grounding is a very important element.

The question may arise what will happen if you use an ultraviolet disinfectant constantly. It would seem that the water will remain constantly clean, the inhabitants healthy, and everything will be fine. But no! In fact, too frequent, and even more so the constant use of such devices is not only not useful, but even harmful.

The negative is due to the heating of the water temperature, which adversely affects many inhabitants of the aquarium. In addition, each fish has its own immunity, and it is completely undesirable to constantly use its replacement. Otherwise, the defenses will atrophy, and the fish will die at the first deviation from the norm.

Do not use sterilizers when you have just launched fish into the aquarium, and up to this point. It can be used only after some time, when the harmful microflora is already formed along with the beneficial.

Another very important point is a ban on the use of radiation in conjunction with any medicines and fertilizers that you add to the water. Many drugs under the influence of such devices react by producing harmful and even dangerous substances for fish and other residents.

About what features of the UV sterilizer for an aquarium exist, see the following video.