UV Sterilizer and Ick?

[blemmy_guy]

Will a UV sterilizer kill or control Ick??? And what are the side affects of running a uv ??? Ive got a 50 gph pump running the Uv Sterilizer, thats what the book said would kill ick, but i just wanted to get some Honest opinions from all of You! Thanx Todd

 

[f1shman]

Many hate them, many love them. I tried many things to kill ich in my aquarium and the only thing that I got to work was my UV steralizer. I now keep it turned off unless I see any sign of sickness in the tank (very rare). However in a reef tank it can kill a ton of the good stuff your corals eat like plankton etc.. it can't determine the good from the bad. In my case, it eliminated ick.

 

[blemmy_guy]

HOw long do i need to run it, would it be ok to run it 12 hrs a day or what. I dont want it except to kill the ick. Ive never had ick untill i got this new fish and my yellow tang chased it around for 2 days and now its got ick!! thanx for the help.
todd

 

[ophiura]

Well, you hit a problem right there. IMO, if there is a stress in the tank, then the UV will not really control it. IMO, it is money better spent on diet, water quality, etc. If you have one, I guess you might as well use it but it may or may not eliminate the problem. THe thing is that the ick could potentially "go away" and people thing the UV gets the credit when whatever issue that stressed the fish out may have been resolved and their own immunity helped "eliminate" the ick (to a background undetected infection rate). Definitely different schools of though on it :yes:

 

[blemmy_guy]

My water quality is awesome, so im going to go with the garlic and run the uv about 12 hrs a day, and watch my tank , to see what happens. thanx to you all
todd

 

[scubadoo]

The window for uv's effectiveness against ich is quite small. Flow rates along with exposure time render most aquarium uv's ineffective. They can marginally increase water quality which can lead to a slightly healthier tank.
UV's can kill pasasites if filtered water is fed through, flow rates are slow enough and exposure time appropriate. This combination renders most if not all aquarium uv's ineffective in killing parasites.
IMO...UV's being promoted as a killer of ich is a scam on the aquarist by most manufacturers. of the smaller uv aquarium units.
One must weigh the constant bulb replacemnt, maintenace and expense against the benefits from running a uv. If you have a limited budget money would be better directed towards a good protein skimmer. This will do more to prevent ich as it will provide a much healthier system.
Do not purchase a uv and think you have the answer./solution to controlling/eliminating ich from your system. For fighting/preventing the disease...a uv is way down on the list.
JMO

 

[blemmy_guy]

Subadoo i had the same thoughts on the UV too. But i had a bought a uv filter a couple months ago, when i found one marked half off, a store was closeing down, so i thought since i had it should i run it or not, ive been pondering this since i bought it, and when i saw the ick on my new fish, i thought i would give it a try since i had it anyway. but after running it a few days i started getting this weird colored green on my rocks, not your normal green, so ive shut it down for now. I have a good skimmer, and my water is great. Im going to get some garlic and help boost there immune systems and go that way for now and probly just put the uv up for now. thanx to you all! Todd

 

[fishnerd]

Originally Posted by ScubaDoo
The window for uv's effectiveness against ich is quite small. Flow rates along with exposure time render most aquarium uv's ineffective. They can marginally increase water quality which can lead to a slightly healthier tank.
UV's can kill pasasites if filtered water is fed through, flow rates are slow enough and exposure time appropriate. This combination renders most if not all aquarium uv's ineffective in killing parasites.
IMO...UV's being promoted as a killer of ich is a scam on the aquarist by most manufacturers. of the smaller uv aquarium units.
One must weigh the constant bulb replacemnt, maintenace and expense against the benefits from running a uv. If you have a limited budget money would be better directed towards a good protein skimmer. This will do more to prevent ich as it will provide a much healthier system.
Do not purchase a uv and think you have the answer./solution to controlling/eliminating ich from your system. For fighting/preventing the disease...a uv is way down on the list.
JMO

AHHHHH, Someone else knows the truth about UV irradiation.
Scubadoo is 100% correct. Check some of my past posts for a detailed explination.