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UV sterilizers

post #1 of 12
9/10/10 at 1:52pm
Thread Starter 

I have a 75 gallon loaded with corals and inverts, not many fish and a snowflake eel. I use a 250W metal halide along with 2 54W T-5's. My filter is just a hang on the back kind with the charcoal filters in it. I also use a 18W UV sterilizer. I do weekly water changes and bi-weekly filter changes.

My question is, would I benefit from having a different type of filtration set up like a protien skimmer or a sump with bio balls?

I want the best for my tank but I dont know if Im under-doing it as opposed to over-doing it. any input is appreciated.

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post #2 of 12
9/10/10 at 2:07pm

I would definitely recommend a protein skimmer, and if you have the room a sump/refugium system

 

Do you use powerheads to move the water in the tank??

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post #3 of 12
9/10/10 at 11:17pm

Why the question?

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post #4 of 12
9/11/10 at 10:24am
Thread Starter 

yes i have 3 powerheads keeping water moving, i believe 2 are kora2's and one is a kora4

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post #5 of 12
9/11/10 at 10:26am
Thread Starter 
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ View Post

Why the question?


well like the origonal post states

 

"My question is, would I benefit from having a different type of filtration set up like a protien skimmer or a sump with bio balls?

I want the best for my tank but I dont know if Im under-doing it as opposed to over-doing it. any input is appreciated.

 

im not sure how to elaborate on that

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post #6 of 12
9/11/10 at 10:45am



 

Quote:
Originally Posted by whysohigh View Post




well like the origonal post states

 

"My question is, would I benefit from having a different type of filtration set up like a protien skimmer or a sump with bio balls?

I want the best for my tank but I dont know if Im under-doing it as opposed to over-doing it. any input is appreciated.

 

im not sure how to elaborate on that



There are many ways to skin a cat, right Meowzer  , I think that if you are happy and the corals look good then there is no need to change. You can, set the system up so things become cleaner looking and the maintenance becomes easier on you. So I am asking what is your goals.

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post #7 of 12
9/11/10 at 1:37pm
Thread Starter 

well im paralyzed from the waist down, some things are a little more tricky for me. ive been into this hobby for a little over a year now, they way i have things set up things are pretty easy for me to do. changing my filters and cleaning the UV light is quite easy, im not sure whats involved in the other setups as far as maintenance goes. if im not going to hurt or kill anything, or if im not at risk of doing any kind of damage at all to my fish or corals then i dont see a need to change anything. on the other hand, if im able to benefit from running another system such as better coral growth or something of that sort, then by all means i would like to consider that.

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post #8 of 12
9/11/10 at 1:47pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ View Post



 



There are many ways to skin a cat, right Meowzer  , I think that if you are happy and the corals look good then there is no need to change. You can, set the system up so things become cleaner looking and the maintenance becomes easier on you. So I am asking what is your goals.



HEYYYYY

 

LOL....BUT as said above, if all is well the way you have things, why change anything????/

 

NOW, if you notice something is not right.....then....look at other options

 

ex:   protein skimmer....they are pretty easy to take care of....

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post #9 of 12
9/11/10 at 2:07pm

Lets see some pic's we want pic's

 

What type of corals are you keeping and how fast do they grow?

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post #10 of 12
9/13/10 at 9:41am
Thread Starter 

well i just bought a house and am in the middle of moving, my camera is packed up and i have no idea where. like i said ive only been at this for a little over a year and most my corals have been in there since the last 6 to 8 months, ive only had the metal halide for the last few months, so no real substantial growth yet. I have an open brain coral, a few trumpet coral colonies, a galaxy coral, green mushroom, frog spawn, lots of zoos, feather dusters, and one of the biggest carpet anemones ive ever seen.

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post #11 of 12
9/13/10 at 5:55pm

That sounds cool, most of those will grow faster if you feed them so you could try that if you are not already.

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post #12 of 12
10/20/10 at 10:29am

My recommendation is to not use the UV.  UV are indiscriminate when it comes to killing off algae and micro-organisms...things that are very much valued in a reef system.

 

The only reason to use a UV is supposedly as a preventive for fish parasites.  That protection is very random at best.  A quarantine tank is far superior to UV in dealing with fish diseases, and is essential, in my view, for maintaining reef tanks.

 

Also, a protein skimmer is a very good idea.

 

Any filter that involves mechanical filtration with media, charcoal, bio-balls, etc., is inferior to establishing a reef system that operates on natural filtrations such as live sand, live rock, macro-algae, refugiums, etc.

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