UV Sterilizer?
- Thread starter tommer725
- Start date
Ultraviolet light causes damage to DNA. So any living cell that passes through the UV sterilizer has some chance of DNA damage. Sometimes the cell can repair the damage, sometimes not (and the cell dies).
UV sterilizers do not affect anything that does not physically pass through it.
UV sterilizers do not affect anything that does not physically pass through it.
the UV will not directly affect the chaeto...indirectly it might as it does affect organics and bacteria and you should get more skimmate as a result. If more organics are exported through the skimmer, there is a possibility of less N produced as a result. So with less bacterial processes, less nutrients may be available for the chaeto.
troubadour11
Member
Here is a 2 part question on UV sterilizer use. I hope you don't mind me adding in tommer725.
swcc: you mention they affect organics and bacteria and could lead to more skimmate.
I typically here people say they are running their uv sterilizers on their return line. If you have a sump with a skimmer section, refugium, then return.
1: Does a uv sterilizer on the return line then have a negative affect on any pods (or other refugium organics) that might get caught in the current and carried into the display as possible food for reef inhabitants?
2: is it possible / would it be better to run the uv sterilizer on the drain line (pre-skimming) in order to immediately skim any waste after sterilizing rather then immediately dumping that waste back into the DT?
swcc: you mention they affect organics and bacteria and could lead to more skimmate.
I typically here people say they are running their uv sterilizers on their return line. If you have a sump with a skimmer section, refugium, then return.
1: Does a uv sterilizer on the return line then have a negative affect on any pods (or other refugium organics) that might get caught in the current and carried into the display as possible food for reef inhabitants?
2: is it possible / would it be better to run the uv sterilizer on the drain line (pre-skimming) in order to immediately skim any waste after sterilizing rather then immediately dumping that waste back into the DT?
troubadour11
1 yes it can kill anything ,,its mainly designed to kill microscopic organisms suspended in the water column they can still eat dead pods.... but would recommend a seperate pump or a "t" off the return water feeding the UV
2 Yes good way to set it up
3. check the flow rating for your sterilizer they come in many sizes and its important to get the flow right to maximize effectiveness..... i use a seperate pump so i dont have to guess...
1 yes it can kill anything ,,its mainly designed to kill microscopic organisms suspended in the water column they can still eat dead pods.... but would recommend a seperate pump or a "t" off the return water feeding the UV
2 Yes good way to set it up
3. check the flow rating for your sterilizer they come in many sizes and its important to get the flow right to maximize effectiveness..... i use a seperate pump so i dont have to guess...
I do not run a refugium and as such do not rely on pod's myself...but the UV may affect pods. It also may not as if they flow through the UV they may be consumed in the display so who cares anyways. the best way to run UV is in fact off the return. The second best is run it through the overflow. The primary difference being the overflow will mean you may need to clean the UV more often and achieving water clarity takes longer initially. Some folks believe the UV is better to be run through the overflow and whatever it affects will then go to the skimmer post haste... The worse way to run a uv is with it circulating through the sump... the effects are drastically reduced as it will just circulate sump water and continually pull water already 'treated'. I always run my UV off the return pump to the tank...and it works really well this way.
They do different things but, both help to achieve the same goal...reduction of organics and build up of nutrients in the water column. I run an UV and combined with my skimmer it is all the filtration I need to keep my tank low in nutrients. Some run both, some run only cheato.
troubadour11
Member
From my basic understanding of them, a UV sterilizer helps to clean/clarify/sterilize the water by killing and/or breaking down organics so the waste can then be skimmed out of the water column by a protein skimmer.
Where cheato helps to absorb nutrients from the water and once it's trimmed, the excess nutrients it has absorbed gets removed from the system by way of the trimmings. It then continues to grow as it absorbs more excess nutrients and the cycle repeats.
(please feel free anyone to correct any of this is my understanding is off)
so as SWCC stated: both help to achieve the same goal (better water quality)...
but as I understand it, they are different in their method of what and how they clean the water.
Where cheato helps to absorb nutrients from the water and once it's trimmed, the excess nutrients it has absorbed gets removed from the system by way of the trimmings. It then continues to grow as it absorbs more excess nutrients and the cycle repeats.
(please feel free anyone to correct any of this is my understanding is off)
so as SWCC stated: both help to achieve the same goal (better water quality)...
but as I understand it, they are different in their method of what and how they clean the water.
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