UV Sterilizer

[20gallon]

Is it all it's cracked up to be?
I'm thinking of purchasing one for my 20 gallon long reef:
Are there any negatives to using these?
Do they just plug in & get set against the wall of the tank?
Are they Ich proof as many people claim?

 

[sawsman]

Your going to get different opinions on this subject but I run mine 24/7 on a reeftank and have seen NO ill effects. I give UV's a

.

 

[reefiness]

yup same here. i rate it 2

i would suggest a gamma UV they are one of the least expensive ones and they run of T5 which is nice. just dont look right at the bulb like i did. it looks like a cloudy aqua color and it gave me a headache

 

[reefiness]

also i havent gotten ich since i purchased the UV

 

[sawsman]

I know that UV light will kill good and bad bacteria. I would like to hear from anyone who has had a bad experience with running a UV. The more I think about it I cant remember anyone saying that their tank was worse off after adding a UV. I think the pros outweigh the cons. In a perfect world a UV would kill "bad" bacteria only. I have definately noticed a reduction in algae also.
GO TEAM! :cheer: GO!

 

[jcrim]

The good bacteria lives mainly in lr and sandbed... it's not free floating. I got one as a preventative. No problems.

 

[rswrestler]

For what it's worth, people tell you that they destroy good bacteria, and they probably do. However, when adding to an established tank the good bacteria will be in abundance. UV's won't kill your good bacteria faster than it can regenerate. I bought mine when I had an ich outbreak...nothing since.

 

[sawsman]

great. I agree with all of you. A few things to consider if planning to use a UV are:
1. flowrate / retention time.
2. keeping the chamber/sleeve clean.
3. bulb life.
-sawsman