UV or no UV?

[DeepSeaBeauti]

So my large orange shoulder tang has developed a bad case of HLLE, and with the new article coming out from Coral mag pin-pointing activated carbon as the source I'm looking for its replacement. Some one suggested a UV light to take the place of the carbon. So I'm looking for everyones input on this.

Is a UV light going to be good enough to replace carbon?
Will it effect my corals, fish, or refrigum?
Is there another option for carbon replacement other then UV?

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

From the findings on HLLE its not carbon thats the problem, its the dust particles of the carbon. IMO I would just make sure that you get a good grade of carbon like from BRS or something similar... dont get/use anything that doesnt rinse out very well with in the first 10 seconds. The reason here is the more you rub/move it the more fine particles you will make. You might think about only running it once in a while like once a month for a week.

HTH

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

I do use BRS carbon, have for sometime now. If I can eliminate it all together without adverse effects, I think I would like to give it a try.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

While I have no practical experience with UV, from my research (I thought about buying one) they only kill free floating algae and IF they are slow enough MIGHT kill ich. IMO this is not a replacement for carbon which is used to remove toxins from the water such as those that corals give off in order to inhibit growth of those around them or toxic warfare with in the tank. UV just cant do this as its not what its meant to do.

 

[NarnyTheGreat]

I would also like to add, (while using poor quality carbons is bad) good quality carbon is essential to removing many of the toxins in our tank. Some people dont use carbon, many others do. If you dont want to use carbon any more, more water changes is the best option.

Also, some macros have healing properties so you might look into some that you can put in your sump that would help with the HLLE.

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

heres a link to the article if others are interested.
http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/activated-carbon-hlle-smoking-gun-found

 

[DeepSeaBeauti]

heres a link to the article if others are interested.
http://www.coralmagazine-us.com/content/activated-carbon-hlle-smoking-gun-found