Opinions on using uv sterilizes in tanks with carpets and other anemones

Tango451

New member
I have a 36 watt uv sterilizer from an old tank and haven't hooked it up to my new system.

So far I have heard that uv's are great and from others that uv sterilizers should not be used especially with anemones because they kill the good bacteria anemones/ corals need too.

Any thoughts/ past experiences?

Would you recommend the running of a uv sterilizer with carpets or not running one?
 
UV sterilizer use florescent technology to kill everything in the water. Smaller the live, the quicker they are kill. It is mainly use to control parasites and infection.
I believe in biodiversity in a reeftank so UV sterilizer should not be use.

Unless you have specific problem, like Ich break out or similar diseases where there is a segment of the life cycle in swarm freely in the water, UV sterilizer is not effective in treating it. If don't have a disease, then you should not use UV.
Anemone are not filter feeder, so UV will not effect them. Clams and other similar filter feeder will be more effected by them.
Over all, when you use the UV sterilization, you will kill a lot of the smaller floating animals and algae. If you have a lot of nutrients in the water, you also will likely prevent a bacterial bloom (clear up the water). For a well run reeftank, there is no place for UV but UV will not effect your anemones.

Also the spectrum and intensity of Florescent tube decreases with time. Older bulb in UV sterilization will not be anywhere near as effective as they are when they are new.
 
I just purchased a 50w uv light. I am going to set it up so I can add it to either tank setup in the event of a problem.
 
In disease control/prevention UV makes only sense to reduce the chances that an infection spreads from one tank to another in a connected water system. You find this usually at systems of livestock wholesalers. But for that purpose you need a high power industrial grade UV sterilizer (>250W).
The low power units they sell in fish stores are usually not strong enough for that purpose and only good for fighting algae or bacteria blooms.

It is also to consider that UV sterilizers bulbs have a very short lifespan - 6 month at the vey most with the efficiency constantly going down. This is because the strong UV light changes translucency of the glass for UV light.
 
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