UV or not to UV

[kimmisue]

How many people are running a uv on their reefs?
I will be getting a 8 watt for my 55 gallon and will propably run it for a short time each day.
Anyone have some imput?
Kim

 

[adrian]

I dont run a UV and probably never will. IMO they are good for killing algae spores and nothing else, they will not kill ich or ****** which is why most people feel a need for them. They zap just as much good stuff as they do bad stuff. Bells and whistles

 

[andymi]

They are good for FO tanks in my opinion but not for reefs. I feel the same way about skimmers, but I digress. Anyhow, UV sterlizers will quite often also kill phytoplankton that many of us suppliment our tanks with. In which case you are doing nothing but killing vital organisms and making the reef harder to maintain. Personally I keep some fish that are prone to ich in my reef (tangs), in this tank the cleaner shrimp have taken care of removing any parasites that they have had and the tank has not had any problems yet (knock on wood).
--Andy

 

[kimmisue]

My tank has 2 cleaner shrimp in it already where this isn't the soul reason for wanting to run the uv it is certainly a benifit.
I do agree that it could destroy good bateria and parasite which is why I asked if someone has one on a timer....how long they are running it.
I haven't had to run a skimmer in my reef either ..I am all for doing it naturally..but if all else fails you try something new.
Kim

 

[donato]

I started up a 110gal reef last March and I was told that I definately needed a UV light and to run it 24/7. At first everything was fine...clean water and millions of copepods.... but after a few months I noticed a drastic decline in my copepods and a major problem with Cyanobacteria ...I tried the methods suggested to rid the tank of cyano..but over and over it kept coming back..even after trying with meds. Finally I decided to stop running the UV after my last treatment and guess what...not only did Cyano no longer appear but the copepods are coming back strong!
So, in MHO, UV lights are all a bunch of Bull. I could have saved myself a couple hundred bucks.

 

[clownman]

Gosh...I just hooked up a 37 gallon and running it since I got the Aquarium !
I will turn it off as soon as I go home...For crying out loud, I'm trying to cycle and killing some important stuff without knowing it

 

[fat_ed]

I've fallen off the UV bandwagon as well. I've run mine since the tank stopped cycling, and everything has been swell. However, as of late, some of my corals have not been expanding as much as I'd like, so I unplugged the UV about a week ago as an experiment, and everything definitely looks better. As I don't plan on adding any more fish, and my algae is under control, I don't foresee ever running the UV again.