UV Sterilizer for Ich Management

Hugh Mann · Oct 4, 2020

I've almost given up trying to eradicate ich. It just refuses to die out, so I think I am going to try management. So far a solid diet seems to be working. Even my converted mollies aren't showing anything, but my Hippo Tang had a mild outbreak.

I have heard UV sterilizers can help reduce free swimmers, but what wattage? I have seen two figures. 10 watts per 75 gallons and 50% of tank volume in wattage.

Recommendations on brands/models that won't break the bank?

dreamcatcherr9 · Oct 4, 2020

Lots of interesting info here you can research.

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Vette67 · Oct 5, 2020

I don’t know about the math, but I’ll tell you what I did. I fought ich for 2 years. How many times can you go fallow in 2 year’s? That’s what I did. Every time, within 2 days of returning my fish (after treating them in copper) and going fallow for over 90 days, the ich would return. Very frustrating. I finally got fed up and “nuked” my tank with UV. I have about 350 gallons in my system. I added 2 - 40 watt UV sterilizers on my tank. In my case, I have a single return pump that branches into 2 tank. I put one sterilizer on each branch so that every drop of my recirculated water was sterilized. And guess what? After my last fallow, no more ich. I used the Lifegard QL-40 sterilizers. Since I have a basement filtration room, it didn’t bother me that these units are about 3 feet tall. So, where you plan on mounting UV will determine how big you can go, and whether you need units that can be mounted vertically or horizontally. The units I had, need to be mounted vertically.

I would suggest sizing a sterilizer that can handle the flow of your return pump, instead of installing a loop with a secondary pump. I think it’s more effective to sterilize all of your recirculated water. But that is my opinion and of course, what worked for me...

Hugh Mann · Oct 5, 2020

My current tank is a 55 gallon without a sump (with solid plans to upgrade to a 265 by the time the Hippo grows), so my options for plumbing it in are somewhat limited. I will however, keep that in mind when I set up the big tank.

dreamcatcherr9 · Oct 5, 2020

Hugh Mann said:
My current tank is a 55 gallon without a sump (with solid plans to upgrade to a 265 by the time the Hippo grows), so my options for plumbing it in are somewhat limited. I will however, keep that in mind when I set up the big tank.

Not to cause a big discussion on application, but UV don’t have to run in line to tank, and can be run separately (from sump to sump). Even BRS acknowledged it was possible in a video (but didn’t give details). My point is you have options. Good luck!

Hugh Mann · Oct 5, 2020

dreamcatcherr9 said:
Not to cause a big discussion on application, but UV don’t have to run in line to tank, and can be run separately (from sump to sump). Even BRS acknowledged it was possible in a video (but didn’t give details). My point is you have options. Good luck!

I know, seen all sorts of off brand sterilizers that include a pump and whatnot. I'm leaning towards something like that, as I don't have an abundance of space in or around the tank. Or plugs for that matter. Just want to confirm the wattage is sufficient.

SPR1968 · Oct 5, 2020

If your going to use a UV you basically want to get the most powerful you can fit into your system Also try and get one with UV-C as there more powerful.

Part of the ich life cycle is the free swimming stage and if it passes through a UV-C at high enough power, around 72000 micro watts/sec/sqcm it should kill it. It’s not a cure for ich, it’s a method of ich management. So if you using it for this like myself, I’ve got a very powerful unit and low flow.

I use a DD Professional 80w UV-C which is roughly equivalent to a 160w conventional unit.To be effective you need to know the power rating and then do a bit of maths to achieve the correct flow rate. If you don’t, and as already said, many hobby grade UV’s are not powerful enough to be effective

It will also kill anything else that passes through it, provided the power is high enough. Thats why you don’t run one when setting up a new tank with bottled bacteria or when adding additional bacteria to a system.

Hugh Mann · Oct 5, 2020

SPR1968 said:
If your going to use a UV you basically want to get the most powerful you can fit into your system Also try and get one with UV-C as there more powerful.

Part of the ich life cycle is the free swimming stage and if it passes through a UV-C at high enough power, around 72000 micro watts/sec/sqcm it should kill it. It’s not a cure for ich, it’s a method of ich management. So if you using it for this like myself, I’ve got a very powerful unit and low flow.

I use a DD Professional 80w UV-C which is roughly equivalent to a 160w conventional unit.To be effective you need to know the power rating and then do a bit of maths to achieve the correct flow rate. If you don’t, and as already said, many hobby grade UV’s are not powerful enough to be effective

It will also kill anything else that passes through it, provided the power is high enough. Thats why you don’t run one when setting up a new tank with bottled bacteria or when adding additional bacteria to a system.

Looks like I may have to do some more digging, and be prepared to spend a solid chunk of change on a unit. Haven't seen UV-C specified, even on $600 units though.

SPR1968 · Oct 5, 2020

Hugh Mann said:
Looks like I may have to do some more digging, and be prepared to spend a solid chunk of change on a unit. Haven't seen UV-C specified, even on $600 units though.

This is the one I use, I have the 80w in my big tank and 20w in the S650 ‘frag tank’

D-D UV Sterilisers | D-D The Aquarium Solution

www.theaquariumsolution.com

You can see the maximum flow rate but I only run mine at around 1400 lph for extra power.

Saltees · Oct 5, 2020

I’m also running the DELTEC 80W UV on my RSR500 Peninsula of 500L combined display and sump water volume.

I deliberately choose an oversized UV to achieve the respectable 3X flow rate per hour through my whole system for protozoa control. DELTEC 80W UV rated for 3600LPH green water divided by 2.4 to 1500LPH for protozoa, all according to manufacturer’s recommendations.

Hope it helps.

ca1ore · Oct 5, 2020

Been using the TMC110 for a while now for ich management. You wouldn’t need one as big, but they’re good value.

TMC Premium UV Sterilizers; Only USA Authorized Seller

We carry the highest grade professional UV sterilizers. TMC Vecton, Titan, Advantage Pond/Aquarium, UV Sterilizer | Category A . Along with internal UV pump Filter

www.americanaquariumproducts.com

ichthyogeek · Oct 7, 2020

Late to the party, but you did mention you had mollies. Did you check your filter socks/sump for fry? I keep finding them in my socks, and if you miss a fish, the tank was never fallow in the first place...

Hugh Mann · Oct 7, 2020

ichthyogeek said:
Late to the party, but you did mention you had mollies. Did you check your filter socks/sump for fry? I keep finding them in my socks, and if you miss a fish, the tank was never fallow in the first place...

I do have mollies. Unsure if they have had fry yet, though one looks like it's about to burst any day now. I assumed fry would end up getting chopped up by the filter impeller, powerhead or eaten by other denizens of the tank, good call. Strangely enough, not one of the six mollies has it. Must mean they either have a resistance to it, somehow, or have rediculously strong immune systems. Same with all the other fish, which mind you are all super hardy.

I ordered a 24w sterilizer today. Probably underpowered, but it's only going on a 55 gallon tank. I hope it helps, but at the very least won't hurt.

My plan is once I have established my 265 gallon, I'm going to quarantine and treat all my fish prior to moving to the new tank, and pray no contamination. I think it's a better solution than trying to eradicate it from the 55 right now.

Paul B · Oct 7, 2020

Sorry but I think you are going about management completely the wrong way.
A UV sterilizer will hurt,not help your situation and if you plan to set up a new tank and quarantine everything that is really the wrong way to go.

They are two ways to go about this hobby, quarantine and Management. The two systems can't really be combined.

Your fish now have some immunity, you just have to strengthen that with the proper food.
A UV, meds or quarantine will short circuit the system and cause it to totally crash. Sorry but I have been doing Ich Management, which I prefer to call "immunity: for half a century and I never get a sick fish and they only die of old age.

Good luck whatever you do.

Hugh Mann · Oct 7, 2020

Paul B said:
Sorry but I think you are going about management completely the wrong way.
A UV sterilizer will hurt,not help your situation and if you plan to set up a new tank and quarantine everything that is really the wrong way to go.

They are two ways to go about this hobby, quarantine and Management. The two systems can't really be combined.

Your fish now have some immunity, you just have to strengthen that with the proper food.
A UV, meds or quarantine will short circuit the system and cause it to totally crash. Sorry but I have been doing Ich Management, which I prefer to call "immunity: for half a century and I never get a sick fish and they only die of old age.

Good luck whatever you do.

So what then, would be your recommendation? For diet, I was feeding brine, mysis, chopped squid, shrimp, and scallop with selcon, spirulina, omega one flake, with the odd clam when I can find them. Eel gets chunks of squid, shrimp, scallop with selcon. Minimal aggression in my tank that I am aware of.

Paul B · Oct 7, 2020

Hugh, my suggestion is to pick a system, either quarantine with meds or ich management ( immunity.) For a quarantine system you should get a UV or ozone and feed what you are feeding. When the fish get sick, take them out and medicate them or go fallow.

For an immune system you do not need any meds or UV but you would need to change your food.
You don't need brine, chopped squid, scallop, Selcon, Spirulina, Eel chunks or Omegs One flakes. Those are not complete or whole foods.

Those meaty foods that you feed are just the muscle of the animal and will not help with ich management or Immunity.

For that you need to feed animals with guts. Your mysis are OK but Mysis sold for fish food are mostly shell and that shell in not digestible. Clams would be a much better food because a clam is a whole animal with all the guts intact.
Fish in the sea eat "whole" animals with the guts and the contents of whatever that animal had in it's stomach.

When you feed squid, eel, scallop etc. you are only feeding the muscles of the animal. that is the parts we eat. But we are not fish.
Immune fish also need living bacteria. You get that from clams. Not the ones you can buy from an aquarium store, you need people food clams. If you can get them live and freeze them yourself that is the best food you can feed because it contains the guts along with the living bacteria.
Live blackworms or whiteworms are also a great suppliment. You don't need Selcon if you feed these foods.

LRS makes a great food but I suppliment that with live worms or clams. My fish have not been sick with anything in over 40 years and they are all spawning and only die of old age. But that won't happen on what you are feeding.

That is my recommendation that you asked for.
Good Luck