# ~~~~~~need help for buying a UV Sterilizer for my planted tank~~~~



## flowerfishs (Mar 26, 2009)

Hello! I have a 20G tank. I want to buy a UV Sterilizer for it. Here are some question that I have. How many watt of the UV Sterilizer that I need for my 20Gallon Tank? I have a Eheim 2217 filter. What brands are good to buy? or any suggestion? If I use the UV Sterilizer, should I put it on the inflow or the outflow tube of my filter? thanks for you help! does the UV Sterilizer able to kill the green algae on the glass?


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

flowerfishs said:


> does the UV Sterilizer able to kill the green algae on the glass?


No, the UV sterilizer will not kill algae on glass or plants, because the glass and the plants do not circulate through the sterilizer. The only kind of algae it will affect is the greenwater kind--because that floats in the water, it does go through the sterilizer and get killed.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

I would suggest the "AA" brand from petsmart. I bought the biggest one, for around $50, and it still works great. They have a smaller version for around $35. These are the cheapest i've found. They aren't the top end quality obviously but they've gotten the job done for me. If i may ask, what are you getting one for (green water, kill bacteria, etc.)?


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## flowerfishs (Mar 26, 2009)

I don't have green water. I just want to use it to kill bacteria. I have a lot of plant in my tank and about 100 cherry shrimp. I am just getting lazy. I change about 30% of the tank water every 2 weeks or sometimes just add water on it, so I think getting a UV Sterilizer may help to maintain the water in good condition. That's my purpose to get a UV Sterilizer. I just order 10 Red Crystral Shrimp to put in my tank. I should get it this thursday or friday.


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## NatalieT (Mar 20, 2007)

flowerfishs said:


> I don't have green water. I just want to use it to kill bacteria. I have a lot of plant in my tank and about 100 cherry shrimp. I am just getting lazy. I change about 30% of the tank water every 2 weeks or sometimes just add water on it, so I think getting a UV Sterilizer may help to maintain the water in good condition. That's my purpose to get a UV Sterilizer. I just order 10 Red Crystral Shrimp to put in my tank. I should get it this thursday or friday.


If you just don't like doing water changes, I suggest you go read in the El Natural forum--lots of folks there change water every few months, or just top it off as needed. Water changes are not usually done because of bacteria; they're usually done to remove ammonia (new tank) or nitrates (established tank.) A UV sterilizer won't affect those at all.

The main reasons to have a UV sterilizer are to kill green water (which you don't have), or to kill specific fish diseases (do you have any fish? You don't mention any, and I don't know of any diseases that affect shrimp.) If you don't have green water or sick fish, then I would say not to bother with a UV sterilizer. If you're worried that new fish might bring in diseases, I would recommend a quarantine tank--with or without a UV sterilizer--to keep the diseases out of the main tank, rather than running a sterilizer on the main tank.


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## flowerfishs (Mar 26, 2009)

thanks for the information. that helps me a lot.


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