Anyone have experience w/canister filter + UV?

[yim11]

Hello,

Saw a new product on the Dr. Foster & Smith website - a canister filter with a small 5w UV filter included (link to product - http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=19310 ). Has anyone used this product and can comment on it?

The UV is a little small, but a 5w should be OK for a 55g tank IMO...I wonder if the UV in the canister would affect the biofilter any?

Any thoughts or comments appreciated.

Thanks,
-jim

[architect1]

I'm not sure about that brand or if the uv is an issue but ehim all the way. I'm going to ehim as soon as i get the money. All i see on fish tanks if its not a sump or a set up is ehim.

[Autumn Wind]

I've seen a similar filter on eBay that I've consider purchasing. It is nearly identical to the Marineland Multistage canister filter I have now without the UV. When I set up my 55 gal planted tank I had a green water problem and added a 5 watt UV to clear it up, worked perfectly but after a few weeks I disconnected the UV and haven't used it since. I love my Marineland canister and this one looks to work the same, the on/off switch for the UV is a great feature, I know some people here use the UV only for a few hours after water changes. My only regret is I wish I had purchased the larger filter, I bought the one rated for a 55 gallon and it does a great job but a little more would be better.
I know the Eheim filters are great and a lot of people here love them but for the price difference I'm haappy with what I have.
Hope that helps and hopefully someone who actually has this filter will chime in.
Good Luck,
vanessa

[mastiffff]

i have ehiem canister and the uv sterilizer. for a long while i thought the uv is a must. but i just took it out. didn't make a difference. only thing it does is extra filtration ad more water disturbance and discus fish doesnt like that.

[Harriett]

UVs work to destroy bacteria ONLY when the water is exposed to the UV for a long enough dwell time. The job of a canister is to move a lot of water to clean the tank. A UVs job is the opposite--to move water slowly through and kill the buggaboos. It's useless to run water quickly through a UV and expect it to do the job.