uv sterilizer vs protein skimmer
- Thread starter viet-tin
- Start date
yellowtail
Active Member
they do two different things...........i'd go with the skimmer.
sammyg
Member
You can't really say that one is better (although I'd say a protein skimmer is more important) because they don't do the same thing. A UV sterilizer will kill living things that pass through it, such as parasites. A protein skimmer removes dissolved organic molecules and proteins. That's probably more important to your tank.
Sam
Sam
yellowtail
Active Member
most people dont use a uv........again my vote is skimmer
T
tizzo
Guest
Originally posted by viet-tin
thats what i was thinking...my lfs says i should go with the uv instead, or should i just get both?
Sounds to me like they want you to buy the sterilizer so that later on down the road, you will inevedably need a skimmer, and by that time they will have sold you both!! That's the only reason I can think of that they would say that. I think that because that's what MY LFS did to me... I spent a fortune, just to turn around and realize that EVERYTHING needed to be upgraded!! Conveniently, they don't do trade in's or exchanges!!
T
tizzo
Guest
oops, I forgot... My vote is for the skimmer...If it isn't already obvious.
tony detroit
Active Member
I'd buy both if I were you, but if you are going to buy a UV sterilizer, save the extra bucks and get an ozonizer instead and hook that to your skimmer. Better than UV and enhances skimming as well.
damndamsel
New Member
Does a UV take out things you would want in the tank? Like Fuge produced plankton etc?
cincyreefer
Active Member
Yes it can kill some plankton... I have still never had any problems with pod populations though.
golfish
Active Member
Hmmm, The deal with a reef is you kind of want it to be self supporting (Kind of) When the critters spawn there's all kinds of fun stuff released in the tank. 99% (probably more like 99.999) winds up as food for the tank. I would think the UV would kill most of that spawn real fast. IMO, I would rather see that stuff live as long as it can for the bigger critters to feed on. (hope I'm make sense here) Regardless, I don't see how the best UV can replace a GOOD skimmer
badkharma
Member
Originally posted by golfish
Hmmm, The deal with a reef is you kind of want it to be self supporting (Kind of) When the critters spawn there's all kinds of fun stuff released in the tank. 99% (probably more like 99.999) winds up as food for the tank. I would think the UV would kill most of that spawn real fast. IMO, I would rather see that stuff live as long as it can for the bigger critters to feed on. (hope I'm make sense here) Regardless, I don't see how the best UV can replace a GOOD skimmer
Very true. I won't disagree with you here.
A UV and a skimmer aren't meant to do the same things - just goes to show how much LFS's will sometimes go just to make the sale...
golfish
Active Member
Originally posted by Badkharma
It does help a lot though, and most of the top tanks in the country run UV.
lol, I didn't read any of the replies......this might hold true for fish only tanks and other tanks that don't focus on corals. Not true for tanks that do focus on corals
footbag
Active Member
I have always been under the impression that UV's aren't good for reef tanks becuase they kill the natural plankton that the corals feed on. They are more for FOWLR's. A skimmer is a huge benefit in a reef tank.
IMO an LFS that would suggest a US sterilizer over a skimmer is either uninformed or has alterior motives $$$.
IMO an LFS that would suggest a US sterilizer over a skimmer is either uninformed or has alterior motives $$$.