armywife1314
Member
ive remotely heard of this and have seen them in the lfs but what are they, what do they do for the tank? and do i need one?
uv sterilizer
- Thread starter armywife1314
- Start date
almostclueless
Member
You dont need one. In fact, only few hobbyists have them, and there are mixed opinions. They kill bacteria with ligh levels of UV radiation. Since they dont discriminate, Some good things may be killed to. Some people live by them, others say there crap.
notafishexpert
New Member
almostclueless........I have to say I am in awe at your reply. I would absolutely use a Uv and any tank whether it is reef, fish only or freshwater. Guess it is time to scholl all of you on the benefits of UV sterilzation. So here goes: As a fish hobbist ( marine fish ) of over 30 years the two easiest ways to kill your fish is via poor water quality and parasite infestation. Both easily controllable. What a Uv Sterlizer does is basically zap any and all bacteria/parasite/algae spore that flows through the unit. No i have heard others say well dont use them cause they kill good bacteria, this is total BS, good bacteria is not free floating throgh the system, good bacteria is attached to the pores in the Live rock, or Bio Balls, attached to the sand, and in some cases even the inside of the return tubing. If the bacteria is free flowing it needs to be killed, this is the bacteria which will infect fish and cause fin rot and many other fish dieases. Being that ick is the leading killer of fish in a tank enviroment, why wouldnt you want an insurance policy for your fish. The Uv sterilzer does much more good then bad. If you go to any major aquariums, Shed in Chicago, Mote Marine in Florida, or even The Long Beach Aquarium, they are using UV on all of their tanks, reef included.
Here is the problem with marine animals. When you have a reef tank you add corals and inverts to the tank, this is a natural place for ick cysts to live. Even though you quarrantine your fish, you just added a new animal that is loaded with ick. You put that fish in the tank from your qt tank ( if you choose to do that, which I think is a big waste of time and money ) once the fish gets introduced to your show tank the new fish is stressed out and has the chance of getting ick. A chemical reaction occurs in the water which indicates to the cysts to hatch and alas you have an outbreak ick. No UV Sterilzer and boom lots of sick fish.
There is no way to get ick out of the system because everytime you add a coral, anemone, or invert to the tank they are usually infested with ick cysts, therefore a UV is the best way to keep it in check.
I have over 13000 gallons of saltwater systems running in my house, I use UV on every system I have. I have yet to see any adverse affects of running UV's.
Here is the problem with marine animals. When you have a reef tank you add corals and inverts to the tank, this is a natural place for ick cysts to live. Even though you quarrantine your fish, you just added a new animal that is loaded with ick. You put that fish in the tank from your qt tank ( if you choose to do that, which I think is a big waste of time and money ) once the fish gets introduced to your show tank the new fish is stressed out and has the chance of getting ick. A chemical reaction occurs in the water which indicates to the cysts to hatch and alas you have an outbreak ick. No UV Sterilzer and boom lots of sick fish.
There is no way to get ick out of the system because everytime you add a coral, anemone, or invert to the tank they are usually infested with ick cysts, therefore a UV is the best way to keep it in check.
I have over 13000 gallons of saltwater systems running in my house, I use UV on every system I have. I have yet to see any adverse affects of running UV's.
sly
Active Member
Originally Posted by NOTAFISHEXPERT
http:///forum/post/2601268
I have over 13000 gallons of saltwater systems running in my house...
Must...Have...Pics...
I agree with what you said. I have an 18 watt UV on my 72 gallon tank and it's flow controlled to 80 GPH. I have noticed one key difference regarding using one versus not using one... It has made my water COMPLETELY odorless. I can stick my arm in the tank to move some rockwork around and when I pull it out there is no smell at all. Even the sump and the overflow are completely odorless. The only think around my tank that has any smell to it at all is my skimmer which is fed with ozone.
I have not had a disease outbreak in my tank EVER. It's that simple.
If you are going to have a UV light, it has to be on its own closed loop and has to be flow controlled and monitored with a flow meter. If the water passes too quickly through the unit it will be ineffective. If the water passes too slowly then it will not turn over the tank volume enough and will not be able to process the protozoa that naturally reproduce within the water column.
http:///forum/post/2601268
I have over 13000 gallons of saltwater systems running in my house...
Must...Have...Pics...
I agree with what you said. I have an 18 watt UV on my 72 gallon tank and it's flow controlled to 80 GPH. I have noticed one key difference regarding using one versus not using one... It has made my water COMPLETELY odorless. I can stick my arm in the tank to move some rockwork around and when I pull it out there is no smell at all. Even the sump and the overflow are completely odorless. The only think around my tank that has any smell to it at all is my skimmer which is fed with ozone.
I have not had a disease outbreak in my tank EVER. It's that simple.
If you are going to have a UV light, it has to be on its own closed loop and has to be flow controlled and monitored with a flow meter. If the water passes too quickly through the unit it will be ineffective. If the water passes too slowly then it will not turn over the tank volume enough and will not be able to process the protozoa that naturally reproduce within the water column.
T
tizzo
Guest
Wow here we go again with this debatable topic.
I do not run one. I have a 36 watter just sitting in my garage waiting to be sold cause I find no use for it. My tank has no odors, nor have I ever had any parasites in my DT, but I QT as well.
The reason I choose not to run mine is because... They are made to control algae and I have other ways that work for me and also because the guy I bought the tank off of ran it... His LR had absolutely NO critters!! I remember being beside myself with joy when I finally found a single amphipod! And we're talkin' 170 lbs of LR!!
Whether that was because of the UV or not, I'll never know for sure, but his set up was enough for me to see that I didn't wanna add it to mine.
But alas if an ick parasite did manage to get past my QT time, and find it's way into the DT, then I may reconsider, but until then I feel I do not need one.
I do not run one. I have a 36 watter just sitting in my garage waiting to be sold cause I find no use for it. My tank has no odors, nor have I ever had any parasites in my DT, but I QT as well.
The reason I choose not to run mine is because... They are made to control algae and I have other ways that work for me and also because the guy I bought the tank off of ran it... His LR had absolutely NO critters!! I remember being beside myself with joy when I finally found a single amphipod! And we're talkin' 170 lbs of LR!!
Whether that was because of the UV or not, I'll never know for sure, but his set up was enough for me to see that I didn't wanna add it to mine.
But alas if an ick parasite did manage to get past my QT time, and find it's way into the DT, then I may reconsider, but until then I feel I do not need one.
sly
Active Member
Originally Posted by Tizzo
http:///forum/post/2601609
I remember being beside myself with joy when I finally found a single amphipod! And we're talkin' 170 lbs of LR!!
IMO that has nothing to do with your UV (or lack of one). I have successfully kept a mandarin goby for well over a year with it eating nothing but copepods and aphipods it finds crawling around the tank. Mandarins are very difficult to keep without a healthy pod popluation and yet I see them crawling around all the time at night after the lights go out. Considering I run heavy UV, the pods still do fine.
http:///forum/post/2601609
I remember being beside myself with joy when I finally found a single amphipod! And we're talkin' 170 lbs of LR!!
IMO that has nothing to do with your UV (or lack of one). I have successfully kept a mandarin goby for well over a year with it eating nothing but copepods and aphipods it finds crawling around the tank. Mandarins are very difficult to keep without a healthy pod popluation and yet I see them crawling around all the time at night after the lights go out. Considering I run heavy UV, the pods still do fine.
almostclueless
Member
Notafishextpert: I didnt mean to say they were bad or anything, I dont really have an opinion of my own, never using one before. I was just stating what I have seen of other debates such as this one of the forums.
wangotango
Active Member
Some people run them, some people don't. Do I? No, I've never had a reason to. Are they a need to have item in order to keep a SW tank? No.
-Justin
-Justin