UV light on sump?

[saltyballs]

Could I just mount a UV light bulb above my sump directed at the water in the sump? I'm not sure about the goods and bads of a uv filter yet. I'm also concerned about heat that would accumulate in my cabinet that contains the sump.

[joanadam]

The UV light is harmful to your eyes and will kill the bacteria in your sump as well.

[saltyballs]

so i guess you're saying the UV light has to be in a type of container? If it kills the bacteria in the sump thats good right? I would think I have enough beneficial bacteria in my prefilter sponge thats on my overflow and the live rock thats in the tank.

[rememberme]

A UV needs to be close to the water so it can penertrate it and kill all the things that run are present. Because of this, they usually come in a thin tube so they are more efficient.

Bigger bulbs penertrate deeper and so wide tubes can be used. I'm not a big fan of these as they can kill a lot of good stuff to, but if you use this on a QT tank, your kill the bad 'germs' and so will minimise the germs getting into your main tank. Plus it doesnt matter if it kills some good bacteria in your QT (espec. when you have a wet/dry filter runnin!!).