UV sterilizer...worth it or forget it

[forrest gump]

My 125 gallon tank has the ich. I was considering getting a uv sterilizer to kill the ich in my main tank while my fish are in the hopital tank. If I do get a sterilizer does anyone have any recommendations on what brand and size sterilizer to get? Since Christmas is coming, the price of the sterilizer is an important factor so I need the best sterilizer for the price. Thanks for your inputs.

 

[fender]

Remove the fish and the ich in the main tank will die - it has to have hosts.

 

[coachwah]

When i was still a newb I had ich problems more frequently than I would care to mention. At the time I had a 100 gal and I added an 8 watt uv...never had ich again. I now run a 15 watt on my 135 gal, and have not had a spot of ich in over two years. There are many opinions on this subject, but I think that they help.

 

[coachwah]

What fender said is correct also. The complete life cycle of ich is like 30 days I think. HTH.

 

[fender]

What are you planning for the tank?
If it is fish only it may be a good option.

 

[forrest gump]

Currently I have only fish and inverts. I plan on getting a couple corals later when I upgrade my lighting.

 

[fender]

If you plan on going reef eventually I would skip it.

 

[jmesmcm]

I run one on my reef and nothing seems bothered by it and haven't seen any sign of ick in a long time.

 

[fender]

Never used one and never had ich either. Experience, opinions, and mileage vary. Kinda like insurance, great if you need it, expensive waste if you don't.

 

[coachwah]

Agreed. It bailed me out, however, unlike insurance the premiums are at a minimum...plus you can cancel at anytime!

 

[xtremenemo]

I am sorta newbie and I have had ick twice. I thought it was gone cause all my fish died except 2 and they were fine for awhile and then I put one in and a week later bam, he gets ick. He is fine (puffer) and I dont know what to do because I cant catch him if he is not weak so I just feed him and wait it out. Finally my question, I dont have a reef just live rock, would the uv be a good investment???????

 

[coachwah]

In my opinion, for a FOWLR yes. Your fish that you added a week later got ich because it was still in your system. As I said above I think the life cycle of the parasite is around 30 days. If you follow fender's advice and remove your fish for that amount of time the ich will lose it's host and go dormant. An UV may help in getting rid of the ich that is suspended in the water column, and pose less of a risk for your fish. Lastly, ich is always present in an aquarium with fish, the reason fish become ill from it's effects is due to stress on the fish itself (like introducing a new pet), which lowers their ability to fight off the infection. Reduce/eliminate the stress and fish are much less susceptible. Just my .02...HTH.