UV Sterilizer poll

[hroberge]

Does the community;

Use the sterilizer 24 hrs a day?
12 hrs on 12 hrs off a day or another combination?
Only use as needed ie. algae bloom ?

I appreciate your valued input very much !

 

[JayA]

I use as needed.

 

[blaxsun]

There's no poll, but yes - 24/7 - with phasers set to kill (90,000 µw/cm2) not stun.

 

[WVNed]

As needed also
Haven't needed it yet since I took it down though.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I run uv 24/7 on my display tank.

 

[CanuckReefer]

Lamp on 6 hrs a day, pump all the time. I dose live phyto so thats why I shut it off for the 18 hours.
If on a timer be aware though that the lamp doesn't tend to last as long with the cycling...should that happen to be the route you end up going.

 

[Courtney Aldrich]

24/7. 80 watts at 600 gph. I agree that it is not necessary for an established tank with a balanced microbiome and good quarantine protocols and in fact may be even harmful by reducing the microbial diversity, but for newer tanks, I think UV is a useful tool to control parasites as well as nuisance algae and bacteria.

 

[Miami Reef]

I know UV has many purposes (dinos, fish parasites, bacterial blooms)

But I personally feel like it’s just an extra chore. Especially since I switched to ich eradication. There’s no need for it anymore.

Plus, corals naturally consume free floating bacteria. I think a healthy mature tank will not have a UV sterilizer. I personally enjoy running 1 micron filter socks for the stubborn algae blooms, and Dino’s.

 

[takitaj]

24/7 unless dosing something living then it gets turned off for some period then back on again, set to an Apex feed timer.

 

[BriansBrain]

I’ve ran one for almost a year 24/7 for bacteria/algae, unless I dosed bacteria or something. It’s now off. I feel there’s too much of a push for making a tank as sterile as possible, and more gear is better, making it more difficult

I think I’m going to only run it as needed in the future. I’ve listened to a few PhD level folks say they’d only run it as a tool to help with a specific issue. There are types of beneficial bacteria that live in the water column that is absent when UV is used

 

[BroccoliFarmer]

I run mine about 8 hours a day. Havent had a bacteria bloom leveraging this method.

 

[Spare time]

Does the community;

Use the sterilizer 24 hrs a day?
12 hrs on 12 hrs off a day or another combination?
Only use as needed ie. algae bloom ?

I appreciate your valued input very much !

I like phytoplankton and bacteria. I keep lots of things that eat them so a UV would be counterproductive for me.. UV sterilizers are a tool for temporary issues such as an emergency solution to some bacteria bloom or for public aquarium uses in touch tanks and what not. They don't prevent disease. They don't prevent all algae. They are a tool for specific purposes but are grossly overused in my opinion.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I use mine as needed. I run it when I blow off the rocks and stir the sand as well as bacterial/algae blooms.

 

[t5Nitro]

Mine is running continuously, save a few hours after dosing live phyto.

 

[GoVols]

24/7 unless dosing something living then it gets turned off for some period then back on again, set to an Apex feed timer.

+1

 

[mdb_talon]

Only as needed. Only ran it once actually and that was when i had a torch get bjd. I have no idea how much it helps( if at all) to prevent spread, but figured it would not hurt. Now i just keep it around in case another use comes up.

 

[takitaj]

24/7 unless dosing something living then it gets turned off for some period then back on again, set to an Apex feed timer.

Also I didn't start out quarantining so I'm doing Ich management. I run it at protozoan levels plumbed into the return. I know it's in there but haven't seen so much as one spot since a couple days after starting UV. (40w Pentair) Even after accidentally leaving it off for 2+ weeks. Algae & bacteria grow too fast and still flourish. I still have to clean my glass every 2nd day.

 

[Waters]

24X7

 

[hart24601]

24*7 for Dino’s. I have shut it off a few times and tried to live out the Dino’s. It the livestock starts to suffer so back on the UV goes.

 

[Rick's Reviews]

My light caused a massive algae bloom meaning all was green! Water changes was green, glass cleaner green, I brought a UV sterilisar and cleared my aquriam within 46 hours, no more green now brown, definitely worth the money as it cleared my aquriam, my aquriam is small but definitely done the job, I only use when lights are on