u.v. sterilizers

[shane s.]

Do these have any effect on preventing ich?I read that they are "99%" effective against diseases.I talked to a store owner who recomended one,but still said you can still get diseases(he didn't seem to care,so I left it at that)Just lost 2nd battle to ich,and looking for something to help out.Am now in the process of setting up hospital tank,along with starting over on our 2nd 55 gal. tank.Already have sunk alot into our tanks,and don't want to waste more if I don't need to.

 

[slick]

Try doing a search on this topic. If you have fish die from ich your tank will still have ich for like 4 wks even with no animals in it. So that could be how you got it a second time.

 

[surfnturf]

I agree with Slick, you probably had some ich active when you added new livestock. Get all of the fish out of there and give it a good 6 weeks for the ich to die out. Be real careful about fluctuations in temperature, make sure you have a 3-4 watt per gallon heater on the tank, ich is often seen after a shock of cooler water. UV is unnecessary and counterproductive, the only legitimate use is where multiple tanks share the same water volume, ie petstores or in ponds(to control "pea soup")

 

[mikegronholz]

UV...whatever. I have a UV going and came home to 3 out of 4 percs with ich. This is AFTER they have all been fine with no additions for about 6 weeks. Heater stopped and temp dropped about 5 degrees. Could have been the temp but so far....UV didn't stop it.
HTH

 

[surfnturf]

mike has a good point. The free swimming phase of ich lives on the substrate, where UV will not contact it. Usually it is fish that dwell near the bottom of the tank that contract it, temperature (stability) is absolutely the key factor in preventing this in the first place.

 

[simm]

Iv got a double helix and have been running it for 8 months now. It does not prevent ick but helps with the free floating. I have not had a problem yet with it. I do turn it off during feeding and also feed supplements to corals and so on.

 

[fshhub]

personally, I dislike UV's and think they do more harm than good, and have had even less problems without them, thean even those who cliam they are the greatest investment you can ever make.
I am jsut waiting to see if any of these people who often blast me for saying they are not that great are hiding at, since there are several arguements agianst them already.

 

[surfnturf]

darn it, I was hoping one of the UV proponents would jump on that one! I was like poised and ready too!

 

[shane s.]

Thanks for some info everyone!I am by far no expert,but the whole reason I got back into saltwater was to have a volitan,and this was the fourth one I've had that had died,in three different tanks,that have all died from ich.I'd had the same tank set-up since March,and had only added 2 fish since,and they were both in there for over 2 months.Didn't notice any temp. fluctuation,but did have a high nitrate test.Did a 25% water change,and removed the puffer who was showing the most sign of ich,but it was all to no avail-just like every other time,it spreads to all in the tank.I'm counting on hypo to work from now on,because I'll never ruin my tank with coppersafe,and will not spend another f'n nickel on any other medication,either!Guess I can un-cross my fingers now knowing a sterilizer isn't a godsend.Funny thing that gets me is that I've had good luck keeping invertibrates-I thought they were the most sensitive to water conditions.Good thing they don't get ich!