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Old 12-29-2008, 07:30 PM   #20 (permalink)
JERP
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Default Re: The Hillbilly Homebrew Hour

Intothenew,
I was more concerned that the UV would be hooked up 24/7, but only running two or three days a year. I've seen the built in squeegee. I've never used it but it looks like a good model for full time usage. I like the look of the submariner for spot treatment. It's an in-tank model that looks like a submersible filter. It's essentially a combination powerhead/UV with a prefilter sponge.

http://www.jbjlighting.com/prod_submariner.html



TexasGal,
If you're running the UV 24/7 you need to clean it regularly. The bulb will develop a very thin coat of grime after a couple months. This this thin film will tremendously degrade the performance of the UV. Aquarium slime has a high SPF, try it at the beach someday.

Note that a UV sterilizer is essentially a fluorescent bulb that emits light in the UV range. Being a fluorescent bulb, the UV bulb should be replaced every 6-12 months as the bulb will rapidly degrade in effectiveness after this time. Some mfgr's will list the actual effective life in hours, such as 8000 hours.

Last edited by JERP; 12-29-2008 at 07:41 PM..
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