UV Filter in Reef Tank

[rajoba]

I have a reef tank with plate, elegante and polyp corals. I have always had trouble with ICK and other parasites of my fish. Since you can not treat the tank this has always been a headache. I installed a UV sterilizer 2 month back and it not only stopped the white dots but also reduced the algea problem. I am hearing from many people that UV in reef tanks is bad. Is this true? My corals seem fine but the copopods are 90% less in quantity. Should I turn the UV off?

 

[beth]

UV is used exactly for what you mentioned...getting rid of parasites and controling algae. However, it is indiscriminate. Meaning that it also gets rid of the "food" that is used by many inverts to survive. You should probably do some reading on the matter, but also think of doing food supplements for your specialized needs of the inverts...or turn off the UV.