Aqua Zonic

About

Aqua Zonic makes aquarium lighting and UV clarification, and most of what we stock here is the spare parts side of it — the ballasts, transformers and quartz sleeves that keep an existing fitting working rather than replacing the whole thing. Lighting. The Spec Max range runs in T8 and T5. T5 tubes put out substantially more light per centimetre, which is why a planted tank that will not grow anything under a single T8 usually will under twin T5. More light is not automatically better though: a high-output fitting over a lightly planted tank grows algae rather than plants. Put lighting on a timer, start around six to eight hours a day, and keep it consistent. Replace fluorescent tubes annually even when they still light. Output and colour drift long before a tube fails, and plants notice well before you do. UV clarifiers. Worth being clear about what these do. Green water is single-celled algae suspended through the water column, and no filter media will strain it out because the cells are smaller than the pores. UV binds them into clumps large enough for a filter to catch — which means a UV clarifier only works with a pump and filter running alongside it, and it does nothing for algae growing on the glass. Two maintenance points do most of the work: replace the UV lamp every year , because output collapses long before the lamp goes dark, and wipe the quartz sleeve at every service , because a film of scale on the quartz blocks UV as effectively as a dead lamp. Ordering spares. Ballasts and transformers are matched to a specific tube wattage and unit length — check the model code stamped on your unit rather than matching by eye. And before replacing either, try a known-good tube and check the end caps: corroded contacts in a humid hood look exactly like a failed ballast. Safety: isolate at the mains before opening any light or UV housing, and never look at a lit UV-C lamp outside its housing. Fish Filters and Media Fish Supplies