UV Sterilizer Worth it or Not??

[Powerdrum]

Im was debating on getting a UV Sterilizer for my 80 gallon tank, total Volume is 110 gallons with sump. I just dont know enough about them and if it is beneficial overall if so what do you guys use and what brand and wattage do you recommend.
Thx!!!!

 

[Ludders]

There are good arguments for and against them to be honest.

I personally have one, but I wouldn't beat a drum saying they are the best thing since sliced bread.

It was almost a flip of a coin decision for me, both sides of the argument are so compelling, so I would advise to read up on them and go with what your instincts tell you to do.

 

[ca1ore]

Hard to say. Certainly not mission critical, though potentially helpful. UV is mostly used as a clarifier, and it will absolutely help to keep your water clear by killing free floating bacteria and algae. It will also help to reduce the parasite 'pressure' of things like ich, though whether that results in a demonstrable benefit is somewhat speculative. Personally I do run one, and think they are worthwhile. In my case, I have it plumbed so that it 'isolates' my frag tank from the rest of the system.

 

[Ludders]

By the way, you have just reminded me that my bulb is due for replacement, so thanks for the inadvertent reminder

 

[Powerdrum]

Thank you for the input!!

 

[Denisk]

I had one during the time I had Dino’s. I had the type where the uv actually helped clear it up. Since being free and clear of Dino for sometime, I have removed the uv. I prefer less maintenance, less things of breaking and less expenses such as bulb replacement.

But I have seen successful reef tanks both with and without uv’s.

Best of luck!

 

[Powerdrum]

Ok thank you Denisk

 

[Sagecritter4life]

Also they do warm up the water a little if properly sized so if you live in a warm climate already or keep your house warmer it may push your tank over the limits of what you're comfortable with and would require you to install a chiller to cool back down so you might keep that in mind.

In my case my tank is a hundred gallons including sump volume and when I brought my UV online my heaters stopped turning on and tank runs real close to 80 now. Before UV the tank ran around 78.5 and occasionally heaters had to click on. Ran into this on a previous fresh water tank that still runs a UV also and no heater used there except for a backup set in case UV light goes out.

 

[Kmsutows]

They are definitely worth having in my opinion, providing they are properly sized. There are some charts out there of flow rates and eattage needed depending on what your goals are. Always try to oversize if you can afford it. I have a 57watt on my 150gal tank and only run it for a few days to a week when adding new fish or if I feel like I might see spots on a fish.

 

[nhlives]

it will absolutely help to keep your water clear by killing free floating bacteria

Yep.

 

[Ludders]

Just thought I would add, from a configuration perspective, I run a seperate pump to mine and keep a slow flow, directing the outlet to the intake of my skimmer to remove what it kills.

 

[zachxlutz]

I run a UV sterilizer on my system. I had to implement one to kill off an ostreopsis dinoflagellate invasion. Once it cleared up the dinos, I left it running. The clarity of the water is unreal, which I attribute to the UV and activated carbon usage. I'm not sure they are necessary, if you aren't fighting an invasion of dinos or working towards helping with free-swimming parasites. The water clarity it provides is next level though.

 

[Nezmo]

Here is a great place to learn about UV, and also to buy one if you decide to get it:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/UVSterilizers.html

 

[Chuck Lawson]

I had to implement one to kill off an ostreopsis dinoflagellate invasion. Once it cleared up the dinos, I left it running.

Likewise. Was fighting dinos and a bit of a bacterial bloom and decided to roll the dice on a cheapy "Green Killing Machine". It worked so well I went ahead and plumbed a permanent decent UV sterilizer into the sump.

Outside of the clarity, I'm getting rather fond of not having to clean the tank glass so much.

 

[shred5]

They are definitely worth having in my opinion, providing they are properly sized. There are some charts out there of flow rates and eattage needed depending on what your goals are. Always try to oversize if you can afford it. I have a 57watt on my 150gal tank and only run it for a few days to a week when adding new fish or if I feel like I might see spots on a fish.

That's a issue to many people buy these cheap small ones and do not have enough contact and can barely kill green water.

 

[Denisk]

I agree with you @shred5 but I have to say the jebao ones are great!

 

[crayon]

I run a three tube 42” high Lifegard Aquatics UV on my 4 Tank system that is plumbed to one sump. All water goes through the UV when it leaves the sump, as the UV is plumbed onto the output of the return pump.

Late last year I was picking up asterinas from fellow reefers to feed a harlequin shrimp in one tank. I did not rinse or qt the asterinas, just drained all water. Unfortunately the asterinas brought in a bacterial infection that killed my 5 year old wrasse (all 4 of them) in one tank. I am positive the UV prevented the bacteria from spreading to other tanks, as I had no deaths except in the one tank I added the asterinas.

This is a photo of the UV prior to installing, with pails for size reference. I thought it was ridiculous when it arrived, now I am considering getting a second one for the quarantine system.

 

[zachxlutz]

I agree with you @shred5 but I have to say the jebao ones are great!

Agreed. The jebao I'm using has been working perfectly.

 

[ArowanaLover1902]

I always run a UV light in my reef and have perfect health, or so I thought, about a month ago, I found that my bulb was out, and I'm not sure for how long, but I never noticed and I couldn't see any difference in my water or livestock, I'd say there is little difference if you have a good filter with a lot of media.

 

[zachxlutz]

I always run a UV light in my reef and have perfect health, or so I thought, about a month ago, I found that my bulb was out, and I'm not sure for how long, but I never noticed and I couldn't see any difference in my water or livestock, I'd say there is little difference if you have a good filter with a lot of media.

What is your basis for perfect health and how does the UV sterilizer play a role in that? UV and a "good filter with a lot of media" are two different things. Are you suggesting that a "good filter" filters the water to a perfect clarity? Or that a "good filter" will help eliminate free-swimming parasites/plankton, such as Crypto, Dinos, etc? I'm a believer in UV for enhancing water clarity and helping to eliminate certain pests from the water column. It's tough to make the comparison between mechanical/biological filtration and UV sterilization.