HELP UV Light Recommendations for Ich Reduce

[Ostri]

Hi Everyone,

I'm looking for a UV light that is strong enough to reduce ich in my DT. I'm not expecting eradication but I've just spent 1 month doing transfers and ich showed up again. I've been really busy recently so I'm looking for a temporary solution to keep the ich controlled before I'm able to take the fish out and do treatment.

My tank is 90g.

Looking for some suggestions for a cost-effective light.
Thanks!

 

[ThRoewer]

UV will only affect the free swimming Cryptocaryon theronts that that get actually sucked in by the circulation pump. So unless you have a pump and UV system that can process the entire tank volume at least 7 times in one hour it is pretty much wasted money.
In general UV is only effective to limit the spread of diseases from on tank to another in a connected system.

As for the units you are looking for, forget everything you can find in a pet store. What you would need are commercial or industrial units that you may find at swimming pools or water treatment plants, something like these: http://www.quantrol.com/products.php?category=14&subcategory=220 or this http://www.quantrol.com/products.php?category=39&subcategory=383

Here is a commercial system for aquarium use: http://www.qualitymarine.com/UV-Sterilizers/T.M.C./P4---220-W-Commercial-UV-Sterilizer-(up-to-528-g)

 

[Ostri]

UV will only affect the free swimming Cryptocaryon theronts that that get actually sucked in by the circulation pump. So unless you have a pump and UV system that can process the entire tank volume at least 7 times in one hour it is pretty much wasted money.
In general UV is only effective to limit the spread of diseases from on tank to another in a connected system.

As for the units you are looking for, forget everything you can find in a pet store. What you would need are commercial or industrial units that you may find at swimming pools or water treatment plants, something like these: http://www.quantrol.com/products.php?category=14&subcategory=220 or this http://www.quantrol.com/products.php?category=39&subcategory=383

Here is a commercial system for aquarium use: http://www.qualitymarine.com/UV-Sterilizers/T.M.C./P4---220-W-Commercial-UV-Sterilizer-(up-to-528-g)

Thanks for the reply. I do understand that it's not going to eradicate ich. I'm just trying it out to alleviate the situation and buy some time before I can handle tank transfers.

Now you talked about UV + multi tank I think when I do tank transfers I may just also add the UV as well so it can help with TT.

 

[Deinonych]

Now you talked about UV + multi tank I think when I do tank transfers I may just also add the UV as well so it can help with TT.

UV won't make any difference in the effectiveness of TTM. TTM eliminates the swimming stage (theront) from ever forming, so there will never be any parasites passing through the UV if you are performing TTM correctly. The multiple system setup ThRoewer was referring to involves connected systems like you would find in an LFS or wholesaler. You certainly would not want to connect systems together so they share the same water during TTM.

 

[ThRoewer]

In the end it comes down to a numbers game. If you can diminish the theront numbers enough sooner or later ich may just die out. But for that you may need to spend a lot of money for a UV unit that can cycle your entire tank volume in about a minute. Also you might need to keep the tank bare bottom and without any decoration. With such a setup you may actually be able to eradicate ich without any further measures.
But before going through that length you may as well just do TTM.

 

[ca1ore]

I use a UV to isolate my frag tank from the display, and any role it may play reducing ich parasite pressure is a bonus. Clearly it must help, but whether that help manifests in a greater system 'resistance' is unclear. As a temporary band-aid, running a diatom filter may be a better choice.

 

[ThRoewer]

How many Watts has the lamp and how often do you replace the bulb?

These bulbs have only a very short effective life.
The dangerous thing is that you won't see it as the bulb will just look as before. But the constant bombardment with UV radiation will change the bulbs special UV transmissive glass so that it will no longer let UV light through.

So if you don't replace it soon enough you may as well just switch it off.

 

[ca1ore]

Well, any number of things can go wrong, so if one is looking to fully 'isolate' one tank from another, full physical separation is required. With UV, it's not just timely bulb replacement, its also making sure the quartz sleeve doesn't become fouled with dirt or calcium buildup.

 

[snorvich]

UV will only affect the free swimming Cryptocaryon theronts that that get actually sucked in by the circulation pump. So unless you have a pump and UV system that can process the entire tank volume at least 7 times in one hour it is pretty much wasted money.
In general UV is only effective to limit the spread of diseases from on tank to another in a connected system.

As for the units you are looking for, forget everything you can find in a pet store. What you would need are commercial or industrial units that you may find at swimming pools or water treatment plants, something like these: http://www.quantrol.com/products.php?category=14&subcategory=220 or this http://www.quantrol.com/products.php?category=39&subcategory=383

Here is a commercial system for aquarium use: http://www.qualitymarine.com/UV-Sterilizers/T.M.C./P4---220-W-Commercial-UV-Sterilizer-(up-to-528-g)

I agree with all of the above. Matching water flow to UV would also be critical if using it for multiple tank isolation. I do use UV on my pond (AquaUV) as a water clarifier, but do not on my two aquaria.