# UV Sterilizer Recommendation



## Ansieh (Dec 25, 2012)

Hello! I have a 180 Gallon Fresh water tank at home, with 2 FX5 running on either end. Current stock is just 3 discus and 1 aro. I have the tank for about a year and I now noticed there are some algae forming in my tank, just a little bit but it's annoying. I used scraper but they always come back, so I'm thinking of getting a UV Sterlizer. Does anyone have any good recommendation on brand/model/watt that's ideal for someone who is not so handy? I did some research and it looks like Green Killing Machine Internal 24 Watt or a turbo twist will work, but I don't know if they're easy to install. Thanks in advance!


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

What type of algae? If you're talking about algae on the glass/rocks and so on, a UV sterilizer wont do anything for that. That might boil down to your lighting being to intense/on for to long depending or water parameters


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## Ansieh (Dec 25, 2012)

it's just algae on the glass which just occurred winter 2013. I have 2 Marineland LED lights 36 inch which I turn on about 2-3 hours per day, mostly from 5-8 pm daily when I feed the fish. Other time I have kept them off. Nitrate I haven't checked, but I do 40% water change at least once every 2 weeks and I don't overfeed my fish. Do you think cleaning my filter will do the trick? Or do I just have to keep scraping the glass everytime I do WC?


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## Ansieh (Dec 25, 2012)

by the way pleco might be a good solution but I heard they don't get along with discus.... so that option is out for me


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## bonsai dave (Apr 21, 2010)

If money is not an issue . I recommend emperor aquatics 40 watt smart Uv.
Emperor Aquatics 40 Watt Smart UV Lite // Aquarium Supplies Canada - Pond Supplies Canada - Reptile Supplies Canada // Pets & Ponds


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## kacairns (Apr 10, 2012)

Usually the algae on the glass is to hard for pleco, do your tank get direct sunlight on it?


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## Ansieh (Dec 25, 2012)

the tank is located away from sunlight, that being said I will make sure by covering up the cover glass. I have a mag cleaner but it won't work because I can only use it for front part of the tank which is free from algae. Seems like they only grow on the back left side of the tank which is against the wall so I have to use the long handle scrubber cleaner.


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## Fish rookie (May 21, 2012)

If algae is all that you want to get rid of, green killing machine is very easy to install. Just plug in and it is done. 
There is a box with a red light to tell you when to change the bulb. You need to change the UV bulb once the red light stops coming on.
You can get more fancy ones who can give you higher level of sterilization. Those are more for killing pathogen and things like that. The flow rate is important to get optimum result.
For just green algae, since you said you are not handy, you can just set the green killing machine on a timer and your tank water should look clearer and free of algae. But you still need to remove the algae already on your glass, UV cannot remove those for you.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Im on the fence with this. Uv's as mentioned by Kacairns aren't supposed to kill the type of algae you are talking about. They kill free floating algea that causes your water to go green. I still think IME that the Uv helps with overall water quality which helps combat algae. I have no scientific proof but the tank I have a UV on is spotless and its jam packed with Africans. I compare my tank to others African tanks and I don't seem to get the algae others get. Maybe its other factors but maybe not.

I have the coralife. Its easy to install. Ive used the green killing machine. It doesn't compare to the coralife. The coralife is a better product. It will kill more green and if you run it on a timer for half the time. The bulb will last twice as long. The green killing machine doesn't last as long and gets plugged up all the time so water flow slows down.


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