UV Sterilizer....Hype or Effective!?

[ReeferMaddness843]

Depends on your intent. I did a 55w on an 80 shallow with 40 Breeder sump to battle a major Dino outbreak that wiped out my sps. Plumbed the pump into the return section and discharge into the overflow section through a filter sock so I would get everything. Dinos were done in 48hrs. I did baste the rocks and kept it in the column at least 2-3 times a day.

 

[Bob Lauson]

I was battling dinos and nothing was working well until I put in a UV sterlizer. Of course the type of dinos I was trying to kill were Ostreopsis which liked to be in the water column. I have kept it in my system ever since and have no intention of getting rid of it.

 

[Kenneth Hooper]

What I worry about is the effect a UV has on copods and amps. Doesn't it hamper their reproduction so that they won't really get established in your tank?

 

[MichaelReefer]

I had very good luck with a UV Sterilizer on my FreshWater tank when I had a massive bacteria bloom.

Does the UV Sterilizer effect anything on a salt water tank in a negative way? Bacteria and etc.

 

[ScottB]

I've used UV to suppress dinoflagellates successfully in my frag system, but that has been its only purpose for me. My DT has been sufficiently stable and pest managed without UV.

 

[hart24601]

I will also chime in with my experiences. I used UV to eradiate dino on two systems. I removed the UV a couple of times and sure enough the dinos came back in both systems, so now I just use UV. It's all I use the UV for.

 

[Jon Fishman]

What I worry about is the effect a UV has on copods and amps. Doesn't it hamper their reproduction so that they won't really get established in your tank?

I have a ton of pods..... of course I also have no big predators of them

Either way, the only “negative “ I have from mine, is that it certainly raises my water temperature

 

[Ashish Patel]

UV is an effective preventative tool so certain organism and diseases don't get out of control. I've seen it effect on fish, corals, clarity, and Dinos. The only cons is they make them so Oversized and expensive.

 

[Thales]

Most of the time, people don't have the right sized unit, don't have the flow dialed in, and don't do the maintenance to keep it really working.
I have run them from time to time over the years, and every time I take them off a system I see no difference.

 

[LegendaryCG]

If used properly they work well. They aren't likely to make or break a system but are merely another component to it. I run mine when I notice bacteria blooms, excessive algae, etc. Yes it significantly reduces it back to a controlled amount after which I turn it off.

 

[thatmanMIKEson]

I run 2 tanks.

One with just a skimmer. Constant vibrant dosing keeps it “ok” but always have to clean glass etc. I barely feed the tank at all, and it has no fish, just CUC

Other tank is 140-150g with Ozone, skimmer, ATS, and 100W UV

Could be the ozone, or UV, or both, but I feed 2 big scoops of Reef Roids, and a lot of frozen and fresh to my fish/coral every day, and I have no algae at all really.

Actually surprised my snails survive

Don’t know about disease control..... I know I had ich “spots” on fish before UV, and have since thrown in a Gem Tang (zero qt) and he has been great for about 6 weeks now maybe

You say you dose vibrant constant? I have one experience with vibrant I used it the way it was directed for 2 weeks with the water changes, and it looked good for a couple months. I stopped and only did regular water changes about 3 months after I started seeing cyano growing in high flow areas. When I told my lfs guy his first response was "oh yeah you used vibrant, don't use that it gives you red slime"


What do you think about this and have you had any issues with vibrant, or is it the constant dosing that may make a difference? Thank you for your info!

 

[Kayanarka]

Lots of threads on this exact topic - search is your friend!

It is funny how someone says this in a thread, and then that thread becomes the one that pulls up first in a google search about UV lights (or what ever topic)