uv sterlizers

[brownguy]

how important are uv sterlizers in a reef tank? and which one do you recomend for a 75 gallon tank?

 

[sign guy]

I........... smell............refried beans

 

[fishygurl]

UV sterilizers kill good and bad bugs, but they have to be floating around. Are you having problems with something that you want one?
I would get one if your not going to quarantine, but they will kill any pods in the water. So i would make sure if you have anything that eats pods(you should have a refugium) That you put it were the pods from your refugium shouldnt be just going right to the UV, if you dont have those types of fish inverts,etc then i guess you could get one to help control any diseases like ich that may be in the water.

 

[nycbob]

uv is a waste in reef tank. its only good if u hv green water.

 

[acrylic51]

UV's are a debateable topic in the area of reefs....There are alot of things that have to be taken into consideration for them to operate properly and to be efficient......uv is a waste in reef tank. its only good if u hv green water.....this is a totally untrue statement.....
UV's aren't a substitute for quarantining by anymeans and yes, the bad has to be free floating in the water column to be affected by the UV....

 

[ophiura]

My personal feeling is that the money should be invested in a good QT system

It will not save you from trouble.

 

[milkman]

I run one off my QT tank. My QT tank is plumbed to my main system. I have my UV on my overflow from my QT tank back to my sump. If I treat my QT tank I simply turn off pump to QT tank. I feel this way I can kill almost all bacteria coming from my QT tank. The only reson I did this was to ensure my QT tank has identical water quality to my display. I don't have the room in my house for a seperate tank.

 

[fishygurl]

Originally Posted by acrylic51
UV's aren't a substitute for quarantining by anymeans
Maybe i should have worded it like
I think a UV would be better than not having anything at all if you didnt have the space for a quarantine tank.

 

[shark bait]

I use it to clear the water and I will say that my water is crystal clear after a month so i would not expect it to rid your tank of ich.

 

[sign guy]

I can deffinitly see a difference in the clarity of my water and can justify the killing of a few stray copods and phitoyplankton

 

[got krabs]

while we're on the topic Check this out... I set my tank up using a uv sterilizer plumbed off my sump which emptied into my dt overflo and still had cyno,and green hair algae growing. I unpluged to feed benifical organizims to the tank and wallah I plug it back in after 48 hours .. the damn thing doesn't light anymore. I tried to take the bulb out , What a major pain so I still have not fixed it yet. and things look great

 

[al mc]

I have run one on both my reef systems. It was suggested by my LFS. Ran them for about a year and after reading several posts/discussions here decided to turm them off. They have been off for about 3 months now. No visible changes in the tanks.

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by FishyGurl
Maybe i should have worded it like
I think a UV would be better than not having anything at all if you didnt have the space for a quarantine tank.
Hey FishyGurl....wasn't referring to your quote.....I don't see anything wrong with UV's on reefs, as long as they are setup, maintained, and run properly. I was stated that what nycbob stated "all their good for is clearing green water is

. As Ophiura stated isn't a substitute for quarantining.

 

[theappe3]

So the UV kills pods? Will it kill Isopods also?

 

[snakeblitz33]

Isopods aren't that major of a deal in reef systems. You can generally see isopods on the sides of fish, sucking all of their blood. You shouldn't worry about them.
UV's are good if you have a lot of algae and white cloudy bacterial blooms. They are not necessary unless you keep up with water changes and have an excellant protein skimmer.
Good luck!

 

[turtlegirl933]

UV sterilicers are not completely nessasary. They are good and bad for reefs. The UVs will kill both good and bad things in the water.

 

[shark bait]

BAD things in the water far out weight the good but none the less it is a take it or leave it item, but I do belive my ro/di with a 9watt uv gives and extra polish to my water.

 

[acrylic51]

Originally Posted by turtlegirl933
UV sterilicers are not completely nessasary. They are good and bad for reefs. The UVs will kill both good and bad things in the water.
Yes they can kill good and bad, but they have to be free floating in the water column to pass through the UV to be killed.......