UV Sterilizer. Yes or no?

[fastrd400]

I have been running a UV Sterilizer on my tank now for.................I don't know, 8 years I guess. I am considering removing it from the system, and selling it off. What are the Pros and Cons to the sterilizers? I know not many people run them, thus I am thinking I really don't need one either.

Any input would be great, thanks.

 

[jim.crunk]

Since you already have the UV, just keep it to run on a QT when needed.

I don't run one, have'nt in years. I know the pro's, but there must be good things in the water column also.

 

[Ron Popeil]

i have never used UV on a tank, just never saw the need. however, i have a 57w unit i was given and so will be adding to my 200 gallon system in my garage. this is stacked tank system that houses different species of clownfish. i have the unit, figured it wouldnt hurt to get a new lamp and fire it up.

might actually be beneficial...?

 

[ntswift]

They'd be beneficial if you had pest like ich in your tank but if you have introduced anything new into your tank in a while I would just take it off and let your water column do its thing. It would be a great idea to put in on your QT if you have one though.

 

[Steved13]

I would keep it on the system. A properly sized UV is not a bad idea on any system.

I doubt an 8 year old UV is going to bring much $$$ on the used market, so for the money I'd keep it right where it is.

Out of curiosity, has it done a good job for you?

 

[okbishop]

I saw one put on a tank full of alge and within 2 weeks the alge was all cleared up. It was pretty dramatic.

 

[rkhettry23]

I have not had one single issue of fish sickness in 7 years of running my UV sterilizer. Is it a coincidence? Maybe? Maybe not? But my new 180 gal setup is sure going to get one...

 

[fastrd400]

Out of curiosity, has it done a good job for you?

How would I know? It fires up, stays lit, but I honestly have no idea if anything has ever been introduced for it to eradicate. I am also running bio pellets and fear that my water just may be too clean for my zoas and soft coral.

As of now, it is still in place and working (as far as I can tell).

 

[Mark Bianco]

Take this for what its worth. At my LFS that has been around for many years the owner and I was discussing UV's and he told me for his tanks at the shop he cannot run them because if a fish has been in a tank running a UV for a while, then gets transferd to a tank without one 7 out of ten times that fish will die. For what reason/s I do not know, he also stated that on all his own personal tanks he would not be without one.

 

[Steved13]

How would I know? It fires up, stays lit, but I honestly have no idea if anything has ever been introduced for it to eradicate. I am also running bio pellets and fear that my water just may be too clean for my zoas and soft coral.

As of now, it is still in place and working (as far as I can tell).

I guess, I'm asking...have you had any outbreaks that you would have thought the UV would take care of? I'm not sure of the size/flow/dosage so I don't know what it's capable of. But any Ich? Any algae blooms? Any troubles? If not for 8 years, I'm wondering why mess with success?

The "water is too clean" story, is pretty easy to correct...put some dirt in...Phytoplankton, oyster eggs, coral foods, reef roids, whatever tiny stuff.

I use a large UV and bio pellets, trates and phates are 0.00, I'm not concerned about "too clean".

 

[okbishop]

Do they make the water to clean? Can you use UV when you also have corrals.

 

[Steved13]

Do they make the water to clean? Can you use UV when you also have corrals.

UV can kill anything, it's radiation, it's all about the dosage. Algae is killed at a fairly low dose. Killing the algae that is in the water column makes the water very clear.

Yes, you can use it with corals.

 

[tkeracer619]

They have a use but installed in a closed loop on an aquarium serves zero purpose other then the little bit of ozone they create and reducing the free floating algae spores that it comes in contact with.

You cannot remove ich with a uv installed in a closed loop. You cannot kill ich without a properly sized sterilizer with proper flow rates (very slow).

Some people swear by the aqua equalizer. Doesn't mean it does anything. Just like the AE most of the uv on the market are all smoke and mirrors.

 

[Steved13]

They have a use but installed in a closed loop on an aquarium serves zero purpose other then the little bit of ozone they create and reducing the free floating algae spores that it comes in contact with.

You cannot remove ich with a uv installed in a closed loop. You cannot kill ich without a properly sized sterilizer with proper flow rates (very slow).

Some people swear by the aqua equalizer. Doesn't mean it does anything. Just like the AE most of the uv on the market are all smoke and mirrors.

This makes no sense? That's like saying you need a long time to go 2 miles without knowing how fast I'll be traveling.

UV is all about dosage. Dosage is the output of the bulb and contact time (which is flow rate). The more output, the higher the flow can be. to say (very slow) without having any idea of the output, makes no sense. Is 200GPH very slow? The dosage of my UV is ~300,000 (which will kill ich) at a flow of 200gph.

 

[tkeracer619]

:lol: let me see if I get this correctly. Your nit picking my statement that UV needs low flow to kill ich? :lol:

Yes 200gph is slow for your uv if your getting a high enough zap count to kill ich. Most people run that on their 7w turbo twist.

If your trying to kill ich in your tank I don't care what your zap count is. It's not doing much of anything if its plumbed into a loop.

 

[Steved13]

No nit picking intended , as I said, it doesn't make sense, and the spirit of it IMO is not really correct.

The truth is, to kill organisms that require a higher dose you need a UV that will give a high enough dosage at a higher flow. If your flow is very low, the organism will reproduce and multiply in the tank as fast or faster than you can kill it. If you can provide enough dosage at a high enough flow rate then you have a shot of getting in front of it. You could say for my unit 200 gph is a low flow, but the whole idea is to have a large enough unit so at a flow of nearly a full turn per hour of the system, the dosage is sufficient. Too often people talk about the flow needs to be "very low" and IMO that is setting someone up for failure.

All pumps on any tank are a "loop", I'm not sure what you mean by this statement. If you're passing the water column through the UV often enough you have a good shot. I understand many people will say some organisms may survive on surfaces, but reducing the water column population will help. I also contend that since these organisms are parasites, and their hosts are in the water column that's the place they want to be.

 

[tkeracer619]

A UV can stop transfer between tanks but in a loop where you are just trying to pull the ich out of the water column it has little effect at preventing your fish from getting sick.

They can help with the free floating stage but they cannot keep up with the parasite. I am very familiar with the EA UV and have used their residential and commercial stuff. If a 240w uv can't remove ich out of a tank I don't think anything will. If setup properly it does help with the ich in the water column but I hold the belief that purchasing healthy livestock and proper QT is more effective by large margins then using a UV for that purpose. Keep in mind not everyone has a good uv. Most of them are non thought out (not the proper internal volume) plastic tubes with a bulb in the middle driven by marketing.

I like UV. I have two but I am not currently using them because I didn't want to buy new bulbs :lol:

 

[jfb3]

What about brand? Whats the best.

 

[Hysa]

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

 

[Hysa]

This is a great article about using or not an UV, also they will recommend a good one ..... americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html