Do I need a UV light?...I have a ro/di system and a protein skimmer

touchdown34

touchdown34

Member
Hello all,
I am setting up a 300 gallon tank that will be both reef and fish. Before I do anything, I want to have all everything I need to have good success. I was wondering if I needed a UV light but let me tell you what I currently have and plan to get soon.
300 gallon tank, ro/di system, euro reef filter, protein skimmer
Soon to get:
Lighting system, live rock, live sand.
Thanks so much in advance.
If it matters, I live in Southern California.
Talk to ya soon,
Tim
 
shoreliner11

shoreliner11

Active Member
Are you talking about a UV sterilizer? If so I was under the impression that they are not good for a reef tank because they kill small critters in the water that corals feed off of. Someone might want to elaborate who has more experience.
 
bdhough

bdhough

Active Member
No with a reef or even just live rock. From what i've heard there is entirely to much microlife that will get used throughout the tank by various organism, especially corals, that the UV kills off. So no.
What you DO ABSOLUTELY need is QT tank, which i would go with a 30 gallon tank. Add that to your list of things to get. How to set it up and maintain is a sticky post in the disease forum by beth. Should have 3 posts to it and quite a few reads... Do this ESPECIALLY since you are doing such a huge reef. No need to release a disease in such a large tank.
Oh and one other thing you need is oh say 20 grand :) I drooled over the 240 oceanic reef ready tank i saw for 5+ grand today. All glass made it even better. One more tip is not to skimp on anything with such a huge tank and ANOTHER thing i would get is a generator while you are at it. Won't do to loose power out in Cali :) wink wink....
 
jonthefb

jonthefb

Active Member
a uv sterilizer works by slowly moving water coming in contact with Ultraviolet light.....the UV light deforms any parsites that come into contact with it and "sterilizes them" a uv sterilizer is very helpful in FO setups, but as stated above, can do more damage than good in a reef tank......if you properly quarentine your tank inhabitants you shouldnt have to worry about any parasites and therefore wouldnt need a uv strilizer...if you decide to get one, you rmight only run it for one week every month as a preventative means, but i still think you would be hurting the microscopic organisims that are so abundant in a reef tank!
good luck
jon
 
touchdown34

touchdown34

Member
Thanks so much for everyone's replies...especially the tip of the quarantine tank..forgot about that.
Take care all...and when I finally have it up and running, I will send pics..
Tim
 
sundance

sundance

Member
From my questions here and the replies there is little harm to a reef by using a UV sterilizer. What it actually does is to damage the DNA, it doesn’t out right kill what passes by the light. The altered DNA keeps the organism form reproducing. So if you were feeding live Phytoplankton it would not harm it’s value as a food source, only it’s ability to reproduce.
 
sammystingray

sammystingray

Active Member
Many, many, many, of the little sand and rock critters have a planktonic stage in their life.....all your worms and pods would not enjoy a trip through the sterilizer. A sterile water column is not a good thing for a reef tank at all IMO. It's very very hard to even come close to the amount of live plankton in the ocean with our tanks....for the sake of all the filter feeders, I wouldn't make it even less.
Also, welcome aboard. I hope you will keep posting and sharing your experiences, and please do post pics. :)
 
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