UV Sterilizer

Aren't UV sterilizers relatively inexpensive? I don't have one on my tank, but only because I don't have a sump. When I upgrade my tank I'll probably get one for my sump.
 
UV sterilizers do practically nothing against ich. They do help clear the water a bit. IMO they arn't really worth the money, mine just came with the tank.
 
Keeps my tank VERY clean and free of algae even though natural light hits my tank every day. And some people will say they do nothing and are a waste, personally it helps me sleep well at night. In pretty much every tank I had before the UV I had all sorts of odd (sometimes bad) hitchhikers that would show up months after setting up a tank, some people like that diversity, but personally I don't like the weird small things that have showed up in my tanks in the past, UV seems to have kept them away. :)
 
With the proper flow going through them, they will kill virtually anything that passes through the column. Including free floating ich.

You would be amazed at how much clearer your water becomes when running a properly sized uv sterilizer with the proper flow rate. :)
 
hmm well ich starts out very small in the water before it is ever on your fish, it may not eliminate the possibility of ich in the tank given a stressful situation where the fish may become susceptible, however, i think the chances are greatly reduced when a UV is in play. if you have a UV running all the time on a healthy tank, you shouldn't have problems with ich. however, would a UV kill of ich once its on all your fish? no. point is i think UV greatly reduces the chances of your fish getting ich.
 
I agree Laura.

I have had a fish only tank for about 8 years and have never had the dreaded ich.

Just lucky or............ :D

james, this is a very controversial subject. Many opinions on this matter.

I, like others, find piece of mind running a uv. Is it necessary ?

Dunno.

Can it be beneficial ? I believe, yes.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13294840#post13294840 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greenbean36191
I would recommend reading this article before buying one.
http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/6/m006p295.pdf

Personally, I don't recommend them. They're designed to be used on single-pass operations, which isn't how we use them in the hobby. At best they're extremely inefficient.
Click to expand...

Thank you, I remember reading that awhile ago, forgot where.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13294302#post13294302 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Just lucky or............ :D
Click to expand...

Do you QT all of your fish before you put them into the DT? Honestly, (if you answered no) I think you're lucky. Ich stays in your sand if it's not on the fish. A UVster might kill some but definitely isn't a solution to kill all of it if you were to have it.

PS- One of my LFS's recommended me to buy a UVster when I was asking them about tangs.. :confused: I found out that that is rubbish :lol: .
 
I was under the impression the idea was to only run these temporarily on your QT tank anyway?

I'll probably run one full time, but it won't be the one rated for my size tank. Just the 50-75$ one you can get from ebay for half that.
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13294840#post13294840 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by greenbean36191
I would recommend reading this article before buying one.
http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/6/m006p295.pdf

Personally, I don't recommend them. They're designed to be used on single-pass operations, which isn't how we use them in the hobby. At best they're extremely inefficient.
Click to expand...

I read the article and I am not convinced it is nothing more than fancy words and doesn't prove whether a uv stelilizer is beneficial or not.

I find them quite beneficial. Unfortunately, I have no fancy or graphs research to prove it.

I'll keep running mine. :)
 
Last edited:
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13297056#post13297056 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by EvMiBo
Do you QT all of your fish before you put them into the DT? Honestly, (if you answered no) I think you're lucky. Ich stays in your sand if it's not on the fish. A UVster might kill some but definitely isn't a solution to kill all of it if you were to have it.

PS- One of my LFS's recommended me to buy a UVster when I was asking them about tangs.. :confused: I found out that that is rubbish :lol: .
Click to expand...

Well I must be lucky because I have never quarantined a new fish. :D
 
HA. I'll back you up on that Billybeau, I always run UV, I never QT fish, never had a problem.


I must be lucky too...hmmm, I am sensing a trend here...LOL ;)



But FYI: your fish shouldn't be susceptible to ich unless you are doing something to stress them in first place (aka: doing something WRONG!)
 
I use 3 of them on my main display system 500gal(40 w,36w,18 w) and have for several years. They do not erradicate ich (crptocaryon irritans) and are no substitute for qt and proper treatment for fish disease in my opinion and experience. They do clear the water and kill anything that passes through them provided the radiation to which the organism is exposed ( a function of the wattage and dwell time/flow) is sufficinetly lethal for it's size.
The notion in the article noted above is that bacteria and parasites killed will be quickly replaced by those remaining in a ricrculating system by increased reproduction resulting in little if any overall effect. However, I think there may still be some weaking of pathenogens in terms of density and virulence.But, some parasites will survive and pose a continuing threat.
Crptocaryon irritans will attack healthy unstressed fish as well as weakened ones. You don't have to do something wrong for it to appear. QT and treatment as necessary before the fish enters your tank are sure ways to protect your system.
 
I read the article and I am not convinced it is nothing more than fancy words and doesn't prove whether a uv stelilizer is beneficial or not.
Click to expand...
Did you read the discussion? They don't just leave the issue with their theoretical examination. They cite several actual experiments that failed to show any reduction in infection rates with or without UV.

Also have a look at Gratzek et. al.'s paper, "Ultraviolet light control of Ichthyophthirius multifiliis Fouquet in a closed fish culture recirculation system." They tested UV as a control of FW ich, which has nearly an identical lifecycle to SW ich. Despite being able to demonstrate nearly 100% kill rates for ich and major reductions of bacteria in the water passing the unit, there was no reduction in either bacteria or ich infections in the main tanks when the unit was used on a recirculating system.

There are numerous tests of UV sterilizers on recirculating systems and they consistently find either no reduction in pathogens or no reduction in infection rates. About the only pathogens they've ever been shown effectively reduce are some bacteria.

FWIW, with about 30 tanks and 80 fish I don't QT and I don't use UV and I've never had an issue with ich either. I'm sensing more of a reporting/ attribution bias than a trend. ;)
 
I gb,

FWIW, I never said a uv sterilizer will control ich. That is just plain silly.

A properly set up uv will clear your water up quit a bit though by killing off the tiny, tiny organisms that can appear to cloud your water.

All I know is when I started running one, my water became crystal clear. So from that respect, I find them beneficial.

I certainly can find no down sides of using one.

Just stirring the pot buddy. :D
 
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