UV Sterilizer, thoughts?

Z06-Hec · Aug 15, 2014

How many have them?
What are your thoughts on it?

Do they help with parasites?

I see they claim to kill algae in water.... do we really want that if we have algae eaters?

fi.na.tine · Aug 15, 2014

I have one and have gone through bouts of ich and a bad case of velvet that killed a bunch of fish. I almost wonder if it was worth it.

Z06-Hec · Aug 15, 2014

interesting....
I have had ich before and 1 tang died and he was a baby, tiny. Everyone else lived, with out a sterilizer. IMO i have good flow in the tank and i think that helped save everyone else... and good feeding.
The one that did die didnt eat as much, he couldnt hold his own against the clowns bullying him.
Oddly enough i had another baby tang that fought the clown back and makes sure she eats alot... she lived...

pickupman66 · Aug 15, 2014

So, a properly sized and operated UV sterilizer will do just that. sterilize and remove free floating parasites and such in the water. They do so indiscriminately. so they kill both good and bad. I have used in the past to rid some infection and it worked well. I dont use one now.

AZDesertRat · Aug 15, 2014

In the past with heavily stocked fish only systems I used a properly sized UV and swear by them for their ability to keep fish healthier. I dcould visually see the difference when the sleeve was dirty or the bulb was losing strength or when the flow/velocity was too high for a good inactivation rate.

I will not use one in a reef system though as already mentioned, they inactivate the good along with the bad so they cannot reproduce. They do have some effect on algae but I have never had an algae problem with my reefs without one.

Z06-Hec · Aug 18, 2014

interesting

DTz · Sep 3, 2014

pic 1 is with uv sterilizer on and pic 2 off

lefkonj · Sep 4, 2014

I have one, but I think its in the application. Some people don't push enough or too much water through the device. I know people who have it in line with the return and others have it as part of the media reactors... it really depends and doesn't seem to be an exact science or maybe its so exact we can't master it.

ReeferRookie · Sep 4, 2014

Its alright. I have one ive noticed cleaner water. Hasnt harmes anything to my knowlege since adding it ive seen improvement

Bernardhny · Sep 4, 2014

Pre UV my tank was susceptible to ich. Post UV I have never had any kind of disease attack my tank. I use a little 9 watt in tank unit. Is it working? Seems to be.

Ibassfsh · Sep 4, 2014

UV sterilzer

I bought one when I first entered into the hobby. I never did see a lot of value in it. I prefer ozone generators over UV sterilizers for water quality. Never had no luck with the sterilizer preventing ich as well or any other disease.

CBurgei · Sep 4, 2014

It sounds like a UV sterilizer is like an antibiotic, kills what is good and bad in the tank. Does that seem like it sums it up?

Jayellul · Sep 4, 2014

What are peoples views re water clarity, all other effects aside?

marke · Sep 4, 2014

I'm not sure a uv helps with water clarity. Uv in a fish only system are ok. Detrimental in a reef tank. Uv can kill bacteria. Bacteria is a major component in reducing nitrate and phosphates via denitrification. Some people dose vinager/vodka to increase bacteria so as to reduce nutrients Killing these bacteria is no good

Jayellul · Sep 4, 2014

Any biopellet users utilising UV?

I was planning on usy a UV on a new system i am putting together yo assist with water clarity. Not on 24/7 though, maybe just a few hours a day...

fish master · Sep 5, 2014

I use both ozone and a uv on my tanks ...I know some people would disagree but there are benifits to both . Orp in morning is over 425 and with the uv have had no outbreaks of any disease as of yet . Have been doing this many years . I did notice in this thread that someone looked like they were having a better look with yhe corals with the uv off . Can only speak for myself and public aquariums .

Randy Holmes-Farley · Sep 8, 2014

I'm not convinced a uv is worth the money as I doubt it helps much and I don't really want to kill most of the circulating bacteria.

Bernardhny · Sep 9, 2014

The UV filter is only going to zap the bacteria free floating in the water column that makes it into the filter. Most of the beneficial bacteria is going to be attached to the sand or rock. I thought the idea was to kill off the parasites in the water column.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Sep 9, 2014

Yes, bacteria performing the nitrogen cycle are certainly mostly on rocks and such and a UV won't impact them.

But I don't think a UV kills many "parasites" (at least not generally enough to treat ich, for example) and I don't want to kill the free floating bacteria. I want them to be food for creatures (that's a main reason I dose vinegar; to encourage bacterial growth to supply food to sponges and other filter feeders).

I don't prefer the bacteria in the water column to be dead hulks that spill their guts after passing through a UV.