use of UV sterilizer on reef tank

[jimmyj7090]

Yes, but UV will not eliminate anything, just reduce it somewhat. In the case of a specific problem, it might be helpful.

Otherwise I would relate it to a person taking antibiodics all the time so they don't get sick. (The person won't be healthier, but their immune system may get weaker...)


That and UV will do nothing to combat the algae the OP is concerned about.

 

[darb85]

Proper UV usage comes down to the Flow rate through the UV and proper Wattage for the water volume.

This article is very useful for this I believe.

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html

It states that while it wont completly irradicate Ick and other paricites, it will help in keeping an enviornment that is not condusive the the paricites. Hyper-clean water will help keep incidences of Ich and other paracitcal outbreaks to a minimum as the fish will be less stressed due to the clarity and quality of water.

A large enough UV with the proper flow rate can and will iradicate paracites, the problem is that to properly do this a 120 gallon tank would require either 120 Watts of UV with a 800GPH flow rate or a flow rate through a minimum of 40 whats of about 200gph, less preferably. Very few systems have the proper flow rate/wattage set up due to the cost of doing this on such a system and the sheer size of the UV filter. Infact, I belive my UV filter to be Highly Undersized for my system but my flow rate through it is at about 120GPH on a 30w. However, with it not being inline, the impact of it is cut in half as all the water isnt flowing through it but only 120GPH. It helps as a clarity system right now, but as far as parasites, It doesnt do much due to the fact that its just pulling from the sump.

I do however notice a difference in the free algea in the system when I pull it off line for maintence or to running it on the QT System, bypassing the main system.

I do intend to incorperate a 80 watt UV inline on my system, which, when put in conjuction to the 30 watt will help control the parasites but again not completly irradicate them.


Also, one must understand that with UV, you can and will, if properly set up, lose some benificial fauna including but not limited to cocopods and isopods. however, with a healthy system and a proper refuge, these losses will be nelegible.

One very common misconception is that you will lose the benificial bacteria that we all strive for in or systems. This is simply untrue as very little of this bacteria is free floating in the water column and needs a surface to survive, hence live sand and live rock. While There will be small amounts in the water colomn, losing this will not stop the propigation of these beneficial nutrients/filters.

Again, I highly suggest reading the above article, I found it very informative, as well as helping in my own experimentation with UV Sterilizers.

 

[darb85]

good post,thanks

no prob, sorry about all the spelling errors though.

English Major Fail...:sad1:

 

[Aquarist007]

So you want to fight algae in the display (not green water) with UV?

There is some misinformation floating around here. UV will help with "green water", but it will do little to nothing to fight hair, film, or other common nusiance algaes. It may kill some free floating spores, but that's going to do all of nothing to fight algae that's already established in the tank.

Focus on nutrient removal/control. UV is NOT the way to fight algae (except green water).

For a green water situation which IMO is diatoms. To rectify that situation I run a diatom filter for 24 to 48 hours on the specific tank. That does the job.
I bought one for the business but there are people around and some LFS that will lend one out to you. Way cheaper then a UV sterilizer.

I still don't see the problem with qting all fish for 3-4 weeks for observation. I have never used a uv sterilzer on a qt and never had any evidence of bacterial infections occuring in the DT

As someone commented earlier---this may be a new thread but the topic has been discussed many time before. The consensus IMO is if you have a uv sterilzer then of course use it but it is not worth the price to buy it for what value you get from it.

There are many ways of controlling algae--with the concept that if you control the importing of nitrates and phosphates then you control the algae in your tank. To my knowledge UV's do nothing to remove nitrates and phosphates

 

[bertoni]

I'm not sure that UV will be all that effective against marine ich in any setup, since it's not clear how planktonic the disease is, but it's hard to say. 120 W per 120 g sounds more like what I'd expect a tank to need for UV to do much disease control, although it might not be enough, either.

 

[darb85]

I'm not sure that UV will be all that effective against marine ich in any setup, since it's not clear how planktonic the disease is, but it's hard to say. 120 W per 120 g sounds more like what I'd expect a tank to need for UV to do much disease control, although it might not be enough, either.

again though, it comes down to flow through the unit a 120w on a 120 gallon tank could, in theory, for Paricital intervention, run close to 800GPH. You could run an 60W at 300GPH and accoplish the same thing, but you would probably have to pull out of the sump rather than have it installed inline.

That Said, There is Proof that UV can and will kill Parasites, however, in a marine aquarium, its more likly that they are simply controlled from getting out of hand and allow the fish to fight minor infections quickly by not allowing the Parasite a condusive breeding ground. ANd this is if you subscribe the the school of though that Ich is always there, which until more imperical proof shows itself, Im going to hold my tounge on. Thats a whole 'nother conversation.

Basic rule on UV, Nessesary? NO. helpful? Yes. So set up your tank without one if you dont have one, but I would reccomend buying a proper sized unit for your set up when you have the ability. but thats just me.

 

[bertoni]

Well, there's some proof that UV can kill some smaller parasites, given an appropriate flow rate, if the parasites are going to be drawn into the UV unit in the first place. Something like a larger ciliate can choose its own direction, which is likely why the transfer method is useful for marine ich, but UV never seems to help.

As far as 60 W at 300 gph being as good as 120 W at 800 gph, that might or might not be true, depending on how quickly the parasites multiple and various similar factors.

 

[jimmyj7090]

Yup, the UV will likely kill the planktonic stage of the parisite that actually passes throught the UV. Problem is, that is far from 100% inclusive of the parisites in the system. You'll kill some, but never all.

BTW, wasnt the OP about fighting nusiance algae growing on the glass and rocks? :rollface:

 

[jenglish]

The link calculates ich/crypto kill rate at 10gph per watt, but it important to note most of his research was with true ich, not crypto and they are alike in symptoms but not related. IDK off the top of my head a size comparison but there may be some difference

 

[jimmyj7090]

Yes,
but again, that only applies to the water that actually passes through the unit.

 

[johny71]

I like mine, had it for about 3 weeks now, question is do I let it run 24/7 or not?

 

[bertoni]

[welcome]

24 by 7 should be fine.