UV sterilizers

whysohigh

Member
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.
 

meowzer

Moderator
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??
 

whysohigh

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/380165/uv-sterilizers#post_3308266
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
 

geoj

Active Member
 
Quote:
Originally Posted by whysohigh http:///forum/thread/380165/uv-sterilizers#post_3308349
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.
 

whysohigh

Member
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.
 

meowzer

Moderator
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/380165/uv-sterilizers#post_3308354
 
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....
 

geoj

Active Member
Lets see some pic's we want pic's

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

whysohigh

Member
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.
 

geoj

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

beth

Administrator
Staff member
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.
 

phixer

Active Member
I could be wrong but have never seen any ill effects of UV. UV light kills organisms suspended in the water column which is where harmful parasites travel. Beneficial organisms are normally attached to stationary objects such as rock and sand and are unaffected by UV sterilization. Additionally, UV sterilization is highly effective at killing the Ich parasite during the free swimming Tomont and Theront stages of development. UV is frequently used by public reef aquariums and has been used successfully for years in addition to quarantine and foam fractionation (skimming). Ozone is a different story.
 

whysohigh

Member
Wow this is old lol. I got a random email bringing me here, but if anyone's interested I've come a long way. I now have a 180gal built into a wall with a hidden door/bookshelf for access to the 55g sump and all other equipment. Pretty elaborate especially compared to the previous set up. Very much thanks to this site and it's members.
 
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