UV steralizers
- Thread starter ajroc31
- Start date
lobstergrabber
Member
First off I will say most of the people here recommend against them and I personally do not have one. I think most people recommend against them in a reef stating that they kill beneficial phyto plankton type food sources that are needed by your corals. I have also read from other sources that the amount of these planktonic organisms in your tanks water column is at what they referred to as an insignificant level. One thing I have noticed on a family members tank is that once he got his on his reef the corraline algae completel quit growing. However so did the undesireable algae as well. It will also help with waterbourne parasites(on fish and in sand they are useless)
In the end I think that there are definite bonuses and shortfalls and you really have to just weigh themagainst each other and decide for yourself what will work the best in your situation. HTH
Rich
In the end I think that there are definite bonuses and shortfalls and you really have to just weigh themagainst each other and decide for yourself what will work the best in your situation. HTH
Rich
aileena
Member
i agree with the above post...I have a 36watt CSL on my 60g tank with a rio800 for the flow. I am just starting to add corals to the tank. I also used a 9watt UV on my old 29g for the first 5-6 months.
one thing is that you must have the right flow rate otherwise the UV is worthless. You must have the correct emposure to the light. Another is that it helps kill free floating algea and bacteria and parasites. The problem is that it kills indiscriminatly. the bad and the good are killed. IMO its great to use the UV for the first 6 months on any SW tank. After that it should be taken off, hopefully the system will stablize w/o it. But by no means are UV's mandatory. They are one of those things that are in the discrestion of the hobbyist.
one thing is that you must have the right flow rate otherwise the UV is worthless. You must have the correct emposure to the light. Another is that it helps kill free floating algea and bacteria and parasites. The problem is that it kills indiscriminatly. the bad and the good are killed. IMO its great to use the UV for the first 6 months on any SW tank. After that it should be taken off, hopefully the system will stablize w/o it. But by no means are UV's mandatory. They are one of those things that are in the discrestion of the hobbyist.
