UV sterilization for AIO

[ANissan]

I want to add a UV sterilizer for my 20gallon AIO setup but my delima is of course space. I was thinking of adding this basic UV sterilizer in my return chamber compartment what your thoughts? I want UV sterilization for parasitic control but not sure of very many nano options. My AIO compartment only has just over 2.5in of width.

 

[Jay Hemdal Verified Community Expert]

I just saw these showing up in the market last year - they scare the heck out of me! Not UL listed, and I don't think most are even CE listed. Bare UV bulbs, even low wattage, shouldn't be looked at with the human eye. One I saw said "silica glass cover" - but that won't work, it needs to be expensive quartz glass, as regular silica blocks the UV. Finally, the dose/kill rate is totally uncontrolled, so you really have no idea if you are going to see any benefit or not. These are primarily sold to reduce free floating algae in FW tanks.
Even the cheap imported enclosed UV units are suspect - I bought one for a seahorse exhibit, and the bulbs burn out, or the unit floods so often, we've replaced it about every 6 months....

Jay

 

[happyhourhero]

Which AIO?

 

[Brady4000]

I agree with Jay, bare bulb is crazy to have in the tank. Too risky.

Risk vs gain :
Risk - Yours of anyone with access to the tank eyesight.
Gain - UV in tank that “might” work.

Maybe try something like this, this is what I have.

Coralife BioCube UV Sterilizer for Aquarium, Mini

 

[ANissan]

Which AIO?

It’s an AquaJapan AIO

 

[ANissan]

I agree with Jay, bare bulb is crazy to have in the tank. Too risky.

Risk vs gain :
Risk - Yours of anyone with access to the tank eyesight.
Gain - UV in tank that “might” work.

Maybe try something like this, this is what I have.

Coralife BioCube UV Sterilizer for Aquarium, Mini

I might have to give that a shot! How do you like it?

 

[canadianeh]

Innovative marine also make UV sterilizer for AIO. Check them out!

 

[Brady4000]

I might have to give that a shot! How do you like it?

It’s “ok”. Kinda get what you pay for. But it works. Since it doesn’t work amazingly, I run it 24/7 seems to keep the water nice and clear.

Best I could find that fits inside the AIO in my Biocube. Other option would be to run one outside the tank, and I was not going to do that.

Also doesn’t seem to hurt my pod population.

 

[Cigarman]

It’s “ok”. Kinda get what you pay for. But it works. Since it doesn’t work amazingly, I run it 24/7 seems to keep the water nice and clear.

Best I could find that fits inside the AIO in my Biocube. Other option would be to run one outside the tank, and I was not going to do that.

Also doesn’t seem to hurt my pod population.

Coralife makes one for the biocube. It goes in the line of return pump to DT works great. Coralife Mini UV.

 

[JumboShrimp]

As others have said in a round-about-way, I note that the IM UV for their AIOs have an on/off power toggle switch; there is also a black foam piece which covers the top. To protect your eyes, always turn it OFF before working with it (i.e., lowering it into the tank, or raising it out.)

 

[Spare time]

Honestly if you get a parasite, I doubt UV is not going to stop it. It may cause it to not be as intense in numbers, but UV sterilizers (in my opinion) are a waste of money for our reef tanks. You just need to QT the fish.

 

[Brady4000]

Coralife makes one for the biocube. It goes in the line of return pump to DT works great. Coralife Mini UV.

That’s what I am talking about.

 

[Brady4000]

You just need to QT the fish.

Oh my, I am not sure this thread is ready to go down that rabbit hole just yet… like so many before it lol.

 

[ANissan]

Honestly if you get a parasite, I doubt UV is not going to stop it. It may cause it to not be as intense in numbers, but UV sterilizers (in my opinion) are a waste of money for our reef tanks. You just need to QT the fish.

I understand that it won’t eliminate them, but I’m going down a “management approach” due to my space availability at the moment. In the future I will definitely do a quarantine system when space permits.

 

[JumboShrimp]

I have the IM UV in my 20-gallon AIO IM tank. Mostly I used it for algae control, because as you probably know, it is a passive unit. The water flow that gets past it “is what it is” and I wouldn’t consider it to be for disease/parasite control. That said, my water is always very clear, though I am finishing up some uglies. I use the UV, Vibrant from time to time, peroxide from time to time, and bottled bacteria every now and then. My own special cocktail. Lol.

 

[Brady4000]

management approach

I do the same, but I keep it a secret, it’s like talking politics lol.

 

[Spare time]

I understand that it won’t eliminate them, but I’m going down a “management approach” due to my space availability at the moment. In the future I will definitely do a quarantine system when space permits.

Even then, ich goes from the sand bed to the fish. It would have to tank a weird route to get from the sand, skip the fish, go through the UV, and then get in contact with the fish once it has been damaged.

Oh my, I am not sure this thread is ready to go down that rabbit hole just yet… like so many before it lol.

Not saying that you can't have a tank with ich and fish surviving, but that I doubt fish are not built for ich management with constant reinfections of the parasite as these fish are not trapped in small boxes in the wild with the same parasite over and over again. I really never understood why ich management vs QT is an argument. One absolutely works, the other is just saying welp I guess I'll see if it dies or not. It is not really comparible as they are not doing the same thing (in fact they are doing the opposite). I am not saying that everyone must QT or they are irresponsible as its not practical for everyone, but I think that ich management is just a polite way of saying I am not going to stop my fish from repeatedly getting sick, and every new fish I get is either going to die or survive.

 

[Brady4000]

Even then, ich goes from the sand bed to the fish. It would have to tank a weird route to get from the sand, skip the fish, go through the UV, and then get in contact with the fish once it has been damaged.



Not saying that you can't have a tank with ich and fish surviving, but that I doubt fish are not built for ich management with constant reinfections of the parasite as these fish are not trapped in small boxes in the wild with the same parasite over and over again. I really never understood why ich management vs QT is an argument. One absolutely works, the other is just saying welp I guess I'll see if it dies or not. It is not really comparible as they are not doing the same thing (in fact they are doing the opposite). I am not saying that everyone must QT or they are irresponsible as its not practical for everyone, but I think that ich management is just a polite way of saying I am not going to stop my fish from repeatedly getting sick, and every new fish I get is either going to die or survive.

The Other Way to Run a Reef Tank (no Quarantine)

The other way to run a reef tank (No Quarantine) I was asked by my friend Humblefish to start a thread on my practices of running a tank with no quarantine, hospital tanks, medications, dipping or almost anything else. It is "not" just to take...

www.reef2reef.com

Ooooorrrr trying to keep ich out, might just be making things a lot worse, because when it dose show up, to our fishes compromise immune system….

Politics….

 

[Union Atlantic]

Your tank is pretty small but make sure you get one big enough to do the job well.

This article may help: https://reeftankresource.com/reef-tank-uv-sterilizer-guide-pros-cons-install/

 

[Fink]

I used the green killing machine they sell at petsmart to fight a bloom in my son's tank, and to help kill dinos in my 32g biocube. It's cheap, relatively small, and it works.