UV Sterilizer

[pammy]

Can someone fill me in about a UV Sterilizer? When is it good to have one? If you have filter-feeding inverts in the tank, will it kill all of their food? I have a 42 gallon hex tank with 3 seahorses, 1 flamed scallop, 1 horseshoe crab, several snails and small crabs, & 2 feather dusters. I have just added a protein skimmer to help with my nitrate level which always seems to stay around 30-40 ppm no matter how many daily water changes I do. Any suggestions?

I'm in need of some advice from you experts!

Smiles,
Pam

 

[joker_ca]

IMO if you keep up with good water quality, and QT your fish and give them a varied diet then a UV is a waste of money :happyfish
But thats just me
as for nitrates how much LR do you have and what kind of substrate are u using also what kind of filter do you have, and do u use RO water for water changes?

 

[lion_crazz]

Originally Posted by joker_ca
IMO if you keep up with good water quality, and QT your fish and give them a varied diet then a UV is a waste of money :happyfish
as for nitrates how much LR do you have and what kind of substrate are u using also what kind of filter do you have, and do u use RO water for water changes?
Answer those questions first. Also how deep is your substrate?
I also do not believe in UV sterilizers either. I think they are a waste of money for sure. They do also kill some of your filter feeders' food.

 

[pammy]

Hi!
I have about 25 lbs of live rock in the tank and a fine "sugar-type" sand on the bottom. It's not very deep. Maybe 1 1/2". I have a Penguin 200 filter that hangs off the back of the tank. We have been doing water changes 3-4X/week. Sometimes more. We change about 10-20% at each WC. We are using our regular water which is from a well. What is RO? Watcha think? :notsure:
Pam

 

[joker_ca]

RO means reverse osmosis its water that is filtered which removes pollutants from the water, i suspect your well water has nitrates so when you do water changes your still adding nitrates to your system. You should test your well water to see what the water parameters are, test for nitrate/nirite, ph, phosphate, and copper

 

[jcrim]

IMO you could also use a better filter to reduce nitrates. I use a sterilizer and think they help as a preventative measure but they will not reduce nitrates. I'd invest in a small refugium and your nitrates will probably go down and you would not have to do quite as many water changes.

 

[scubadoo]

Most aquarium size uv streilizers do little to nothing in combatting ich and only marginally improve water quality. THe flow rates plus expsosure time render most ineffective. Money is better spent on a top of the line protein skimmer or other piece of filtration...or additional live rock. You have to weigh the constant maintenance, cost of bulb replacement and cost of electricity to operate with the marginal improvement of water qualty and determine if it is worth it. Yes, it will kill the "good stuff" in your system, but I do not beleive the kill rate is faster then what is reproduced/replenished.
What type of substrate do you have? Are you using RO/DI water ?
UV's have a place in this hobby...and if you draw up a list of must have equipment along with adequate live rock you can place a UV on the bottom of the list.
All the live rock and substrate in the system also contribute to a uv's ineffectiveness. If you are looking for this to reduce your nitrates you best look elsewhere.
IMO..UV's do very little for a well maintained closed marine system.
JMO

 

[pammy]

Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm not familiar with a refugium, but I will check it out. This wonderful hobby is a neverending learning streak. Difficult at times, but IMO, very worth it! :joy:

 

[scubadoo]

Originally Posted by Pammy
Thanks for all the suggestions! I'm not familiar with a refugium, but I will check it out. This wonderful hobby is a neverending learning streak. Difficult at times, but IMO, very worth it! :joy:
You're well on the way to success by doing research and asking questions before making decisions. The folks at the local fish store sometimes are not qualified to give info and guide you and/or they simply want to sell you something.