Are UV sterilizers worth it?

[Sean Clark]

If I picked one up, my main purpose would be water clarity. Ich prevention isn't a bad thing, but I currently rely on quarantine and work to keep it out of my reef.

Ozone is much more effective for water clarity than UV from my experience. I have both.

 

[Sesty22]

I like mine. Ive got the Waterbox PM 25 I run my UV 24/7 in the middle chamber for water clarity.

My pod population is out of control! I didnt see the UV make a dent in them at all.

 

[Spieg]

MEH!
Been there done that. Recent info shows that UV is devistating to micro biome (bio diversity), so I don't use one any more. Never really found it to be very usefull anyway.

 

[Gundy]

I've been doing inch management since the start and I knew 4 months ago I had ich in the tank when I had 3 fishes. A couple of clowns and a blue tang. Fed them well on dry, frozen mysis, shaved clams and they all seemed to get over it. Few months later the tank was stocked up to 5 inhabitants and no signs of ich. I then added my 6th fish a bristle tooth tang and bam the next day my Coral Beauty died with no symptoms other than not being itself the night before, blue tang broke out in white spots clown fishes started flashing. A week later the bristle tooth suddenly died showing no symptoms other than being lethargic the night before. 5 days later the Female clown died with skin falling off people would say it would look like brook and all fish show symptoms of ich, flashing, classic salt grain spots. So off to the LFS and they recommended Reef Revolution Parasite Remover. A reef safe peroxide salt remedy to control ich. 2 days later the other clown died but it could be because it was too little too late. The blue tang recovered but foxface was hiding and eating less and less. 7 days later Fox face stopped eating I knew this was the beginning of the end. I decided I would go the UV route and purchased a V2ectron 600 for my 250L (75 gallon) tank. Surprisingly there is so little information on the internet on UV brands and what kills ich. The model was definately oversized for my tank but still less than half the price of pentair and eheim uvc60 which my LFS was trying to push onto me. I got a separate pump to control the UV flow. Getting home from the LFS the foxface was on its deathbed. Camoflauged and lying on its side barely moving I would have given it another 2 hours before it would have stopped breathing. Hooked up the UV and started it off. Somehow 30 minutes later the foxface was swimming around the tank. 1 day later the foxface is swimming out in the open and started taking more and more foods. Scars are on the body but color has come back to the fish. Don't know if UV can solve ich that fast. For me UV does do wonders for ich management and well worth the price and wished I've done it sooner.

Very interesting story. I saw a video of an aquarium maintenance guy and how he hooked up a pentair 150 watt UV to a tank of about 250 gallons that had an ich outbreak. He said he has done this on about 12 large tanks and it has cleared the Ich off of all the fish in about a month. It was a temporary set up with a powerhead feeding the water into the UV and a return hose back to the tank. The UV was sitting on the ground in front of the tank. My opinion is that an oversized UV will in many cases reduce Ich to a manageable level. ORP increases with UV (more oxygen in the water) which makes water quality better. This is why your fox face probably recovered so soon. I am a fan of UV and what it can do.

 

[rhostam]

Yes.

I think it is one of the best preventative tools you can buy. I haven’t bought an appropriately sized one yet, but the one I have works wonders and definitely makes an impact. I can tell when I leave it off by accident after only a day.

It does depend on what you expect/ need from it, though.

Pods survive being sloshed around by ocean currents. They can stay away from danger well enough. The flow through UV isn’t that high. If they are well fed the ones that stick to rocks and stay away will reproduce just fine.

 

[Spare time]

If I picked one up, my main purpose would be water clarity. Ich prevention isn't a bad thing, but I currently rely on quarantine and work to keep it out of my reef.

Out of curiosity, do you run carbon with a reactor? If so, What carbon do you use? (I am guessing you have tried that but I figured I'd see what you have done so far)

 

[Duncan62]

How bout I talk you out of it?



Pros:
-Clears up bacteria/phyto blooms
-can eleminate certain dinos
-water can be unnaturally clear

Cons
-removes coral food (though not significantly removing bacteria)
-removes zooplankton food (phytoplankton)
-following the above, makes it more difficult to keep NPS organisms and other filter feeders
-does not prevent disease
-removes competition for algae that live on the rocks
-can make algae situations worse


They are very much a tool for the right job. Sorta like antibiotics. They definitely have their uses, but daily consumption can become harmful if done for very long periods of time and can even become counter productive.

One of the first people here that knows about "unnaturally clear " water is. All my stuff is diy brand. My systems are all designed with an adjustable amount of water that bypasses everything. My water looks great and smells like the ocean but if you look close there's a little snow blowing around. Lps, all filter feeders love it. Pods can always make it thru the water column. The ocean isn't a sterile algea free environment. I wonder how a tank ever really can mature when you start it with chemicals, maintain it with chemicals besides the big 3 and sterilize the water.

 

[wotis11]

I like mine. Ive got the Waterbox PM 25 I run my UV 24/7 in the middle chamber for water clarity.

My pod population is out of control! I didnt see the UV make a dent in them at all.

I have always read and have been told that a uv has no effect on pods. It only effects single called organisms and pods do not fall into that catagory

 

[AJsReef]

Cons
-removes coral food (though not significantly removing bacteria)
-removes zooplankton food (phytoplankton)
-following the above, makes it more difficult to keep NPS organisms and other filter feeders
-does not prevent disease

Since UV works by sterilizing and not actually killing anything are we really “removing” things listed above? Filter feeders aren’t going to care if the cells they are consuming are sterile.

Perhaps it could reduce overall volume of each in relation to the tank. That said, things like Phyto and coral foods are routinely dosed anyway.

 

[Jeffcb]

I've never used UV sterilizers because of the fear that they would be detrimental to my pod population, but lately I'm wondering if the pros out weigh the cons. So, talk me into it. Should I use a UV sterilizer on my next tank?

Yes you should. It will not harm anything you can see including pods.

 

[Jeffcb]

Ozone is much more effective for water clarity than UV from my experience. I have both.

I used an Ozonizer 30 years ago. Back when protean skimmers used limewood airstones... It sure got rid of any odors in the house lol.
But isn't O3 poisonous?

 

[Spare time]

Since UV works by sterilizing and not actually killing anything are we really “removing” things listed above? Filter feeders aren’t going to care if the cells they are consuming are sterile.

Perhaps it could reduce overall volume of each in relation to the tank. That said, things like Phyto and coral foods are routinely dosed anyway.

How the UV impacts different things probably depends. Its not that is just makes them unable to reproduce properly. Radiation does an abundance of damage. I'd imagine it would kill the organism shortly after being in contact with the intense UV just from some bodily function failing.

 

[Sean Clark]

I used an Ozonizer 30 years ago. Back when protean skimmers used limewood airstones... It sure got rid of any odors in the house lol.
But isn't O3 poisonous?

Everything in moderation. Too much Ozone can be bad for you and your tank. Ozone is highly unstable and wants to shed that extra oxygen. I run mine I my skimmer and set to 40%. I have no detectable Ozone smell coming out of the skimmer until I set it up past 80%. Presumably all of the Ozone is broken down in the skimmer. The generator is also cycled by orp level, so it automatically shuts down.

 

[Projects with Sam]

I was worried about pods too but my mind was put to rest when I read that they would need to be exposed for a really long time to have any effect because they're quite big. I got a 24W UV for my 120 tank and I plumbed it so I have full flexibility re: water flow through it or around it (see my build page).

I saw noticeable differences in my tank when I've had to turn it off for even only a day.
I like it because of the piece of mind as well.

I started my tank with one jar of Poseidon's feast from Algae Barn and now I have so many pods in my refugium its unbelievable how much movement is in my chaeto.

 

[Roscovitch]

Here is my two cents. UV has been used in Europe forever. All public aquaria use UV. Some ozone too but all use UV. I myself have been in this hobby since 1973 so a couple of years. Back in the day UV units made specifically for the hobby where all but useless. These days you can get the right sized unit for your setup without problem. Make sure you’re putting the most powerful unit your tank volume can handle at the slowest recommended flow rate without over heating your water. So here the thing and without getting into any arguments or being sent off to BRS experimental shop to let you know at a thousand miles per hour just what works because they “test it on their tanks so you don’t have to test it on yours”. UV kills everything that passes through it. It stops cripto from multiplying. Faster flow through it (if powerful enough) will wipe the floor with velvet. Someone already said in this thread that “if you have a full reef tank UV is useless”. I’d say the complete opposite is true. It’s almost essential. No matter how diligent your quarantine: one single drop of water even from the outside of a bag from your LFS can send ANYTHING into your display. You’re only friend will be UV. Just ask AngelicaReef. Or if you need something disease specific from someone not looking to sell you something have a look what the Ozzies do. Those guys who live next to the biggest natural reef on the planet. Happy Reefing.

 

[Roscovitch]

I've never used UV sterilizers because of the fear that they would be detrimental to my pod population, but lately I'm wondering if the pros out weigh the cons. So, talk me into it. Should I use a UV sterilizer on my next tank?

Your pods don’t swim in the open water column.

 

[Roscovitch]

Your pods don’t swim in the open water column.

MEH!
Been there done that. Recent info shows that UV is devistating to micro biome (bio diversity), so I don't use one any more. Never really found it to be very usefull anyway.

Really? I run a Zeo tank and contrary to what even KZ recommend I run UV. Anything I want feeding my corals is dosed at night when my UV is timed to go off. In nature “micro biomes” are all good and well. In a puddle of a box with salt water in it that “biome” is more like powdered soup.

 

[Duncan62]

Really? I run a Zeo tank and contrary to what even KZ recommend I run UV. Anything I want feeding my corals is dosed at night when my UV is timed to go off. In nature “micro biomes” are all good and well. In a puddle of a box with salt water in it that “biome” is more like powdered soup.

Lots of the things you need it for are in the water column at night.

 

[Roscovitch]

Lots of the things you need it for are in the water column at night.

My UV runs during the day bud.

 

[Spieg]

Really? I run a Zeo tank and contrary to what even KZ recommend I run UV. Anything I want feeding my corals is dosed at night when my UV is timed to go off. In nature “micro biomes” are all good and well. In a puddle of a box with salt water in it that “biome” is more like powdered soup.

Powdered soup? Most people go to great lengths to assure they have good microbes in their tanks to procecess ammonia, nitrate and to keep things like algae, dinoflelates, cyano bacteria at bay. If you listen to Eli at AquaBiomics talk about the test differences between tanks that run UV and those that don't, you might change your thinking.