UV sterilizer

Cleo642 · Jul 19, 2015

I may have to check out the BR one day but Raceland is a drive. I'll have to check it out online first.

Cleo642 · Jul 19, 2015

Humblefish said:
@Cleo642 I just noticed your location says "St. James Parish, Louisiana".

You are not too far from some pretty good LFS - Aqua Hut & Reef Coral in BR. Coral Fever in Raceland.

Where are you from? Louisiana?

Humblefish · Jul 19, 2015

Cleo642 said:
I may have to check out the BR one day but Raceland is a drive. I'll have to check it out online first.

Aqua Hut (actually in Prairieville) is probably the nicest LFS in the state. I buy livestock & frozen foods from them sometimes and transport back to North Louisiana.

Cleo642 said:
Where are you from? Louisiana?

From New Orleans, but currently living in Monroe. Wife & I hope to be moving soon. Yes, Monroe is that bad.

Cleo642 · Jul 19, 2015

Humblefish said:
Aqua Hut (actually in Prairieville) is probably the nicest LFS in the state. I buy livestock & frozen foods from them sometimes and transport back to North Louisiana.

You gonna move back to N.O.? Duck Dynasty is in west Monroe.lol I guess that's cool but I would not wanna love north louisiana either. Not cajun country, which I am. It would be cool to have a knowledgeable person who lives in the same region.

From New Orleans, but currently living in Monroe. Wife & I hope to be moving soon. Yes, Monroe is that bad.

You gonna move back to N.O.? Duck Dynasty is in west Monroe.lol I guess that's cool but I would not wanna love north louisiana either. Not cajun country, which I am. It would be cool to have a knowledgeable person who lives in the same region.

Cleo642 · Jul 20, 2015

Humblefish said:
Aqua Hut (actually in Prairieville) is probably the nicest LFS in the state. I buy livestock & frozen foods from them sometimes and transport back to North Louisiana.

From New Orleans, but currently living in Monroe. Wife & I hope to be moving soon. Yes, Monroe is that bad.

Not to mention, it's away from the plants,where I hope to be gainfully employed soon! Not of this reef aquarium dream will be possible without the career first and foremost.

Humblefish · Jul 20, 2015

Cleo642 said:
You gonna move back to N.O.? Duck Dynasty is in west Monroe.lol I guess that's cool but I would not wanna love north louisiana either. Not cajun country, which I am. It would be cool to have a knowledgeable person who lives in the same region.

Wife & I are actually trying to move back to Europe (long story). But I'll always be around here and on the local forums. I have too many friends/family that are reefers from New Orleans to Lafayette. Somebody needs to setup a reef tank inside Oak Alley..

Cleo642 · Jul 20, 2015

Humblefish said:
Wife & I are actually trying to move back to Europe (long story). But I'll always be around here and on the local forums. I have too many friends/family that are reefers from New Orleans to Lafayette. Somebody needs to setup a reef tank inside Oak Alley..

If you go back to Europe, you can take your tank with you? Just seems complicated. Are you a veterinarian? I know I had asked before but you just seem so knowledgeable.
I know I am talking too much.

Humblefish · Jul 20, 2015

Cleo642 said:
If you go back to Europe, you can take your tank with you? Just seems complicated. Are you a veterinarian? I know I had asked before but you just seem so knowledgeable.
I know I am talking too much.

It's all good. I'm not a vet. Just someone who has been doing this for a very long time, and has done a lot of research/experimentation on saltwater fish diseases. It just became my niche in the hobby. However, I'm the last person you'd want to ask about LED lights or how to build a stand from scratch.

Cleo642 · Jul 20, 2015

Humblefish said:
It's all good. I'm not a vet. Just someone who has been doing this for a very long time, and has done a lot of research/experimentation on saltwater fish diseases. It just became my niche in the hobby. However, I'm the last person you'd want to ask about LED lights or how to build a stand from scratch.

Lol, don't worry, I don't like LED'S. I just think they are the new fad, I guess I am just old fashioned and I am going to go with the trustworthy metal halide. Actually, mh/T5 combo. And I will buy my stand.lol

jonb27 · Jul 20, 2015

I use a UV sterilizer mean green it doesn't kill any good bacteria

Virtualbasil · Jul 20, 2015

3FordFamily said:
No because many medications when used in conjunction with UV sterilizers can and will poison your fish.

I did not know that

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 20, 2015

FWIW, I've never used a UV because I specifically do not want to kill the bacteria in the water column.

I dose vinegar to promote bacterial growth. I'd rather they stay in the water alive and provide food for organisms, than break apart into dead bodies, dumping some of their nutrients and becoming dead detritus.

Cleo642 · Jul 20, 2015

Randy Holmes-Farley said:
FWIW, I've never used a UV because I specifically do not want to kill the bacteria in the water column.

I dose vinegar to promote bacterial growth. I'd rather they stay in the water alive and provide food for organisms, than break apart into dead bodies, dumping some of their nutrients and becoming dead detritus.

Vinegar? Ascetic acid doesn't mess with the pH?

Exodus · Jul 20, 2015

I suggest watching what Ryan has to say.

jonb27 · Jul 20, 2015

Like I said UV sterilizer does not kill beneficial bacteria beneficial bacteria stays on your rocks it is not in your water column it kills the inside of bad bacteria so they cannot recolonize

klp · Jul 20, 2015

Good bacteria may not live in the water column but it does spread in the water column. I have used UV sterilizers in the past. It may be good for clear water but I have not seen it stop or cure anything in the dt at least for me. If it does clear a tank then it is clearing bacteria. Is the bacteria good bacteria? I do not know but some of it must be I would think. It might help in a quarantine tank but be careful of the heat in a small tank. In my use it was an expensive waste of money. Others may have had a better experience.

vm70 · Jul 21, 2015

I think the UV usefulness should be evaluated on a case-by-case basis. For example, in a continuous-feeding NPS reef, the waterborn bacteria can get easily out of control, especially when dosing carbon. Excessive bacteria, fueled by large amounts of unused food, is no longer an ally. It turns the water milky, and some gorgonians may get smothered in a bacterial mat.
In this case, I noticed very positive effect when continuously running UV and ozone. The FaunaMarin NPS manual strongly recommends it.
The extra food is removed by oversized skimmers/refugiums/algaescrubbers/water changes.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 21, 2015

Cleo642 said:
Vinegar? Ascetic acid doesn't mess with the pH?

If added slowly (as I do with a dosing pump spreading it over the light cycle), it has no more impact on pH than vodka or any other organic, all of which lower pH as they are converted into CO2. The vinegar just does more of its drop when first added and less later.

Randy Holmes-Farley · Jul 21, 2015

jonb27 said:
Like I said UV sterilizer does not kill beneficial bacteria beneficial bacteria stays on your rocks it is not in your water column it kills the inside of bad bacteria so they cannot recolonize

If by "good" you mean those doing nitrification and denitrification, I agree, but I do not agree that all suspended bacteria are somehow "bad" and that all benthic bateria are good. Cyanobacteria are a perfect example of the latter.

Suspended aerobic bacteria are a perfectly fine user of added organics (such as vodka or vinegar) and when they grow they reduce nitrate and phosphate in the water. They are also good food for many filter feeders, which I encourage in my tank.