Leaking UV Sterilizer

[Vicki]

I've just discovered that my UV sterilizer's quartz sleeve is full of water and the bulb inside is all corroded. From the looks of it, it's probably been like this for quite a while, and water has been flowing through the unit.

The system this has been running on is a Fish Only system.

Does anyone have and ideas on what this has been leaching into the water? Any ideas on getting it out of my system?

Below are some shots of the bulb.

Vicki

 

[Scooterman]

Lots of WC's
Whatever phosphors used to make the lamp & electrode materials corroded!
FO probably a good thing, just do a few massive WC's & call Krish in the morning!

:lol:

Naw hopefully everything is fine, after leaking like that for so long, It is good you got it out.

As a rule, simple systems last longer IMO, I know everyone can argue me that forever but after keeping tanks filled with water for 30 years, cheapy fish related equipment will fail over time, not saying you brought a cheapy UV but the market in general. So my point is, If you've been going this long without it, why have one? JMO

 

[Vicki]

Lots of WC's
Whatever phosphors used to make the lamp & electrode materials corroded!
FO probably a good thing, just do a few massive WC's & call Krish in the morning!

I'm preparing enough water right now to do a 95% water change in the morning. I do hope this solves the problems. Do you happen to know what the phosphors and corroded electrode materials could have leached into the water?

Why call Krish?

As a rule, simple systems last longer IMO, I know everyone can argue me that forever but after keeping tanks filled with water for 30 years, cheapy fish related equipment will fail over time, not saying you brought a cheapy UV but the market in general. So my point is, If you've been going this long without it, why have one? JMO

The above statement was not in your original post, but added in later; yet I see no mention that your post was edited. Is that because you're a moderator?

While I normally value your opinion, my UV Sterilizer was not a cheap model, but one of the best; just getting up there in age, I guess. I've previously felt it was a necessary piece of equipment on this system, since this is my clownfish system and hundreds of babies are also on this system at any given moment. Just another precaution I'd chosen to take to preserve the health of my fish and for the improvement in my water quality. You're correct in this situation as this piece of equipment did fail and it's failure explains a number of problems I've had lately with the system.

Vicki

 

[Scooterman]

, cheapy fish related equipment will fail over time, not saying you brought a cheapy UV but the market in general. So my point is, If you've been going this long without it, why have one? JMO

I was joking about Krish, yes I guess I edited my post & it didn't say so, just out of habit I guess, I normally just try to do as a regular member but sometimes forget that some things are slightly different. Sorry I don't know the details of the lamp or corroded materials, If you wish we could move this to Boomer forum, I'm sure he would have more details on exact components of what was leached into your tank. The comment about cheapy equipment was in general, more so in the past, these days I have seen large improvements in electronics & controls.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Vicki, the phosphors are sealed inside the glass bulb. If the bulb didn't crack, then they wouldn't be a problem. The electrodes that power the bulb while running in the saltwater is a different matter. They will leach copper, antimony, tin, and many other possible metals from electrolysis. Water changes and carbon plus if you measure copper, some copper remover resin bags

 

[Ed Hahn]

Hey Vicki,
Do you want to borrow my UV sterilizer until yours is fixed? I have a 25 watt Ultra UV sterilizer.

Let me know, I have family coming down to Tri-cities on June 1st. They live in Edgewater. If they are willing to bring it back you are welcome to use it.

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Vicki, I would trade mine for a nice looking RBTA

 

[Boomer]

Double post

 

[Boomer]

First , UV bulbs do not use phosphors, as they would be self-defeating. The bulbs are almost always clear to allow all UV light to escape.

Phosphors are used to change the wave length of the UV generated from the vaporization of liquid Mercury, which give out UV light. As the Mercury hits these phosphors the short UV light from the Mercury is converted to longer wave lengths of the visible spectrum. The phosphors used and their % determine the K/spectrum of the lights and is how a fluorescent works. Almost all UV lights in this hobby used, are nothing more than a fluorescent light bulb, optimized for germicidal UV application and with no phosphors.

The electrodes on fluorescent lamps are usually tungsten and are found inside the lamp. The electrodes are coated with Barium, Strontium and Calcium Oxide. The electrons given of by these hits the Mercury liquid "drops" inside the light bulb. Here two things happen. As an free electrons hits the Mercury it kicks out a electron form its outer orbit or excites an electron into another orbit. This produces heat and energy which gives off light. Further bombardment of the Mercury turns it into a vapor with even more heat and energy producing even more light.


I might add that the bulbs are also filled with with Argon gas, which heats and increases the bulb pressure and makes it more efficient , as more pressure means less watts needed / Lumen's output.

Most of that "rust" like corrosion you see is form the oxidation of the wires and pins of the bulb, Cooper, tin, iron, zinc etc. and or other heavy metals which make them up.

With the bulb braking and being filled with water ample amounts of these substances may have gotten into the tank. How much we will have no clue. Do some large WC and run some GAC and Polyfilters to be safe.

 

[Scooterman]

Thanks for that clarification, I knew thew were a florescent so I guess I was thinking they had some phosphors in them but didn't know the actual make-up of the lamps, sure hope there wasn't too much that leached into the tank but I think it is a FO tank & no corals.

 

[Marrkart]

uv

I have a corallife turbo twist 12x 36 watt ,make me an offer still in box

 

[busdriver]

use Rowaphos or polyfilter to clean it up. if you do too much of a WC you might change the chemistry too fast! i'm sure you have a mild build up of something, and going back to almost all new salt might not be so good...

 

[Scooterman]

if you do too much of a WC you might change the chemistry too fast! i'm sure you have a mild build up of something, and going back to almost all new salt might not be so good...

How's that? I know people that change over 100% water weekly, never heard of that?

 

[busdriver]

100% weekly all at once? i guess if one does 100% most of the time then there wouldn't be any build up of any element or compound...
I've heard of 10-20% daily on nanos w/o a skimmer and such...
Rowaphos or polyfilter would be cheaper than a 95% water change unless it is a nano tank...
Vicki, what do you have your clowns hosting in? or what do you have that they call "home"?

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Vicki, what do you have your clowns hosting in? or what do you have that they call "home"?

Vicki, a very experienced and dedicated hobbiest, is rearing many generations of many different scpecies of clownfish. She currently has multiple breeding pairs and hundreds of many sized and types babies in dozens of tank under her care.

 

[ziggy]

I know everyone is wondering and is worried about what is happening with vicky. I was over there on wed. and talked to her on thurs. The reason you havent heard from her is that she very busy in the process of making over 200 gallons of new water and breaking down her multi-tier mated pairs and baby tanks. Including remove and clean everythingin the tanks and in the large sump, equipment and all. She's set up multiple small tanks to house the pairs. She is running muliple heavy metal filters and sponge.
As of yesterday I know she lost one of her parents. I saw it before it died and it was very sad to watch. I've euthanized but I have never seen a fish succumb like that before.

Put a prayer in for vicky, she's stressed, sad and very busy at the moment.
And Im sure that if someone else tries to sell her another uv sterilizer here she is going to throw the old one at you. In time Im sure she will be looking for one, maybe........

That's what I know,
chad

 

[Scooterman]

Thanks Chad!
Hope she catches up on everything.

 

[Vicki]

This whole ordeal has been absolutely devastating for me. A real horror as I truly love my clownfish. I've finally gotten to a point that I could take a short break before getting back to work and thought I'd let those interested know what's been happening.

Thanks Chad for filling in everyone in my absence. Chad came to my rescue when I first discovered the leaching on Wednesday. He drove out to Indoor Reef (a sponsor here on Reef Frontiers) where he and Paul (the owner) scoured the store looking for anything which would help my situation. They found some toxic metal sponge material made by Kent, and through rush hour traffic, Chad brought this to me. Chad also examined and dismantled the UV sterilizer to see all the damage done. It is really a scary sight. Thanks again so much Chad for your help and concern.

Though I do appreciate the offers on the UV sterilizers, I'm going to pass on them and have installed ozone instead. At least no water passes through those units.

When this was discovered on Wednesday, I did test for copper and iron which were the only metal test kits I had on hand. The iron tested negative, but the copper was really high and a very strange color than what the test kit showed for results. Both test kits may have been beyond their expiration though. The UV bulb's housing was melted and there was lots of rust on it. No telling what all this put into my water, but it certainly has done a lot of damage. There was also electricity running through it all this time (possibly) as it was still plugged in. (This explains why I was occasionally getting shocks!)

I've taken apart all my equipment, thoroughly cleaned it (and checked all cords) . I've wiped down all surfaces within each tank and siphoned all debris from them, as well as the sump. I've done around 250 gallons in water changes on a 225 gallon system and have more water mixing for further water changes tomorrow. I've removed all my fake rock and corals and they are awaiting washing when I get around to it (I've got a big mess around here). I'm also running new Chemi-pure (a carbon type absorber), many Poly-Filter pads (a fantastic absorbent for many things) as well as the Kent toxic metal sponge. I've also just added ozone in hopes that will help. Any further suggestions?

The damages have been heartbreaking, and looking back could have been the causes of some unexplained problems I'd seen, starting back over a month ago. Two of the most noted ones are aggression between long established pairs (to the point of death) and wasting away (amongst other symptoms) of adult FEMALE clowns. I've lost at least one partner in 6 of my pairs and 3 proven pairs of peppermint shrimp which were in with some of the babies. I seen very few problems with all the juveniles, thank goodness.

The fish seem much happier right now after all the water changes, and I'm sure hoping there are no further losses and those that are affected make a full recovery.

If anyone has any suggestions on what else I might possibly do to help, please do let me know.

I really appreciate all your thoughts and care.

Vicki

 

[Herefishyfishy]

Perhaps a nice glass of wine and count your blessings that you still have your health plus loving friends and family.

For impurities, am a firm believer in HUGE carbon canisters or socks full. As in run pounds and keep em fresh. I have a bunch if you need some.

 

[Vicki]

Perhaps a nice glass of wine and count your blessings that you still have your health plus loving friends and family.

Sounds good to me, but still have rocks and corals to wash.
I certainly am lucky to have YOU as a friend too!

For impurities, am a firm believer in HUGE carbon canisters or socks full. As in run pounds and keep em fresh. I have a bunch if you need some.

I've almost always used Chemi-Pure instead of carbon. It lasts longer and does so many other things too. Thanks for the offer, but I have plenty around here as well.

Vicki