Seems too...when folks run a quality uv properly(10-20gph/watt) they enjoy crystal clear water and ick free fish...have not met anyone that ever didn't. I am a strong believer in UV...
UV sterilizers in a different light
- Thread starter Aquarist007
- Start date
Seems too...when folks run a quality uv properly(10-20gph/watt) they enjoy crystal clear water and ick free fish...have not met anyone that ever didn't. I am a strong believer in UV...
Wind Seeker
New member
Let me say up front that I am a firm believer in QT...for many reasons. However, I have not followed my own advice and have battled ich in the past.
I can now say, the single best purchace I have made is my UV filter. It is a 80 watt emporor with a red dragon 3K/hr pump attached. I intalled this monster for cyano control and hope that a by product would be ich control as well.
Well, after 8 months no ich and no cyno. I have not seen any white spots at all.
I know reefers worry about killing the good bacteria. I have biopellets in a ractor, so the bacteria is quite safe within the reactor. Also, biofilms on the rocks are away from the kill zone as well.
While this observation is not scientific nor conclusive, it is good enough for me. My only regret is I wish I intalled UV on my 400 gallon system from day one.
I can now say, the single best purchace I have made is my UV filter. It is a 80 watt emporor with a red dragon 3K/hr pump attached. I intalled this monster for cyano control and hope that a by product would be ich control as well.
Well, after 8 months no ich and no cyno. I have not seen any white spots at all.
I know reefers worry about killing the good bacteria. I have biopellets in a ractor, so the bacteria is quite safe within the reactor. Also, biofilms on the rocks are away from the kill zone as well.
While this observation is not scientific nor conclusive, it is good enough for me. My only regret is I wish I intalled UV on my 400 gallon system from day one.
My Little Clownfish
My Little Clownfish
:frog:I have a 100Gal Reef tank and a 37Gal (cycling Seahorse tank). The first two fish we put in our cycled reef tank were two small clownfish from the retailer who sold us our setup. Withing 6 days of coming to our tank one of the two clownfish died...no visible signs of disease, but stopped eating and died. The other little clownfish was fine, but alone.
We bought a second clownfish, same retailer. Within 10 days it was dead, having come down with a badly clouded eye. So, we bought a third clownfish for the guy we now call, Jigsaw. The third clownfish stopped eating within 10 days of entering our reef tank. We had some Chromis that began picking on him so we moved him into the 37 Gallon cycling tank that had two harmless Chromis. Then I made the second mistake...I moved Jigsaw into the 37 Gallon with him. The sick clownfish lasted about 16 days (total) before dying. I'd never dealt with Ich in all our 20+ years of reefing so I did not recognize it when he just stopped eating, was very lethargic, and wasted away. He died a very painful death and I vowed that would not happen again. Upon close inspection of the corpse, we saw the white spots, inflamed gills, and small lesions that were not noticeable previously. Now we knew what we were dealing with.
With the passing of the third clownfish, we noticed similar behaviors in Jigsaw. I never believed in treating sick fish beyond quarantining them and giving their immune systems time to deal with whatever ailed them. That only worked with injuries, never parasitic or bacterial infections.
I chose quarantine, FW baths and hyposaline as my weapons of choice. 7 days ago I began Jigsaw's treatment, slowly lowering the salinity from 1.026 to 1.020, where it will remain. I have watched him slowly recover even though the cysts, cottony patches and even a cloudy eye continued as the salinity came down. I do a 500ml waterchange every day using water from our fully cycled well populated reef tank. I soak his hiding blocks in boiling water during each FW bath (now up to 10 minutes without him ever hitting the level of severe Osmotic Shock he endured for the first few baths.
Today, day 7, Jigsaw is MUCH better. He swims around the tank, eats pellet food ravenously, and the lesions are fully healed or nearly so. I don't know that this treatment will be effective and am considering adding a UV sterilizer to the 7 Gallon hospital tank.
What do you think?
My Little Clownfish
:frog:I have a 100Gal Reef tank and a 37Gal (cycling Seahorse tank). The first two fish we put in our cycled reef tank were two small clownfish from the retailer who sold us our setup. Withing 6 days of coming to our tank one of the two clownfish died...no visible signs of disease, but stopped eating and died. The other little clownfish was fine, but alone.
We bought a second clownfish, same retailer. Within 10 days it was dead, having come down with a badly clouded eye. So, we bought a third clownfish for the guy we now call, Jigsaw. The third clownfish stopped eating within 10 days of entering our reef tank. We had some Chromis that began picking on him so we moved him into the 37 Gallon cycling tank that had two harmless Chromis. Then I made the second mistake...I moved Jigsaw into the 37 Gallon with him. The sick clownfish lasted about 16 days (total) before dying. I'd never dealt with Ich in all our 20+ years of reefing so I did not recognize it when he just stopped eating, was very lethargic, and wasted away. He died a very painful death and I vowed that would not happen again. Upon close inspection of the corpse, we saw the white spots, inflamed gills, and small lesions that were not noticeable previously. Now we knew what we were dealing with.
With the passing of the third clownfish, we noticed similar behaviors in Jigsaw. I never believed in treating sick fish beyond quarantining them and giving their immune systems time to deal with whatever ailed them. That only worked with injuries, never parasitic or bacterial infections.
I chose quarantine, FW baths and hyposaline as my weapons of choice. 7 days ago I began Jigsaw's treatment, slowly lowering the salinity from 1.026 to 1.020, where it will remain. I have watched him slowly recover even though the cysts, cottony patches and even a cloudy eye continued as the salinity came down. I do a 500ml waterchange every day using water from our fully cycled well populated reef tank. I soak his hiding blocks in boiling water during each FW bath (now up to 10 minutes without him ever hitting the level of severe Osmotic Shock he endured for the first few baths.
Today, day 7, Jigsaw is MUCH better. He swims around the tank, eats pellet food ravenously, and the lesions are fully healed or nearly so. I don't know that this treatment will be effective and am considering adding a UV sterilizer to the 7 Gallon hospital tank.
What do you think?
Bent
I got nothin'
Considering the size of the UV sterilizers we have at work to sterilize equipment, and the amount of contact time required for those enormous UVS to be effective, I'm dubious that the tiny UVS we use can do much in the way of pathogens.
The ones we have at work look literally like giant tanning beds.
The ones we have at work look literally like giant tanning beds.
slief
RC Sponsor
It's all about contact time.. The wattage is really only relevant to the tank size and amount of turn over you get from the tank through the UV at the flow rates needed to be effective. A good UV can kill the parasites no problem with the correct flow. The question comes as to whether you are turning the tank over enough for it to be effective in reducing the amount of parasites in the system. That's where wattage comes into play. Higher wattage units support higher flow.
That said, as has been mentioned in this thread and many others. A UV sterilizer will not eliminate ich from a system. It is not a cure. It can only slow the cycle down and limit it's ability to spread. I swear by UV filters and have used them in reef tanks for decades but ich isn't my reasoning. They eliminate and prevent bacterial blooms, help immensely with the spread and control of cyano and also reduce the spread of certain algae. In addition, they can improve ORP and obviously improve water clarity.
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For this, they are superb. I have two on my pond as well.
Flippers4pups
Home made abyss
I run mine only for water clarity, not expecting anything for pests. On a side note, if you run one on a reef tank, you must check and clean your crystal sleeve. Took mine out recently and it was completely covered in calcium perspiration. This will greatly reduce the effectiveness of the UV. I would recommend checking and cleaning, as needed, once a month.
I haven't run mine on the main system in over 6 years where I don't wan't or need to limit bacteria in my tanks. I don't get blooms but if I did I think a uv would be great to use . I do use them in fry tanks where more sterile environments are my preference ,though . They can be very useful.
d2mini
Premium Member
Like Jack (sirreal), I have never had a problem with ich, although I know it's been in my tanks. I've seen it on tangs that were newly introduced (stress induced?) but it goes away in a couple days. I've always believed that if this fish is strong and healthy it will fight it off like the common cold. Why ich devastates some people's tanks I have no idea. Different strains?
I also believe UV's are a great tool at decreasing (not eliminating) pathogens, giving the livestock a better chance at fighting off disease.
I also believe UV's are a great tool at decreasing (not eliminating) pathogens, giving the livestock a better chance at fighting off disease.
I am still nursing my little Clownfish, Jigsaw, away from "the light". His Ich resulted in a clouded eye, followed by severe inflammation of his right gill and a seemingly fluffy white material around the outside of that gill. When this occurred, the salinity in the tank was 1.018 and he was getting FW baths with PH adjusted RO water daily. He had resumed eating, albeit on a limited basis, within 36 hours of his first day in the hospital tank.
24 hours after the right gill inflamed, he developed patchy spots on the left side of his face. Being unfamiliar with THIS development, I thought he was suffering from Marine Velvet and that only Copper therapy might ]save him. So, I began using Cupramine 6 days ago. Within 24 hours of achieving a therapeutic copper level of .05, the inflammation in the gill had significantly diminished and his appetite had markedly improved (not "normal", but better), but there was still the patchy areas on his face and the odd substance on the outside of the right gill.
A local fishy expert said that it sounded more like Slime, a secondary bacterial infection, than Velvet and that I should remove the Copper from the tank with Carbon, do a major water change after 4-5 hours of carbon filtration, and treat him with Furan 2 within 24 hours of the water change or immediately if he was deteriorating quickly.
It was with GREAT trepidation that I began to carbon-out the Copper, followed by a 5Gallon water change in the 7 Gal. tank, and waited 24 hours to begin treating him with Furan 2. Just getting the Copper out of the water helped his appetite appreciably.
Yesterday was his first dose of Furan 2. Today was his second. He is FINALLY eating voraciously, like he did when he was well, consuming 6-10 frozen Brine or Mysis at all three meals. He is swimming around like a healthy clownfish and no longer seems lethargic, in fact, he ALWAYS comes to the front of the tank when he sees me, hoping to get something to eat. Tomorrow I will do a 25 percent water change and dose him with Furan 2 afterward. I hope that he continues to improve because I am fully invested in this fishy's recovery. He has taught me a lot about heart and spirit. I too am a "survivor". I know what it takes to muster every ounce of one's being to just breathe. I know what it is to be too sick to eat and I know what it is to be so famished that no amount of food is sufficient. I feel for Jigsaw. He is tough and he does not give up the fight.
I learned from this experience that there is no substitute for experience when it comes to fish disease diagnosis and treatment. I don't know that Jigsaw will "survive", but I have learned some valuable lessons about the disease diagnosis process and the course of such parasitic diseases as Marine Ich...Parasitic infestation, bacterial infiltrate, death. This fish keeping stuff...it's not for the faint of heart!
I know too, that not all strains of Ich will "wipe out" an entire tank of fish, as three clownfish died in our reef tank before Jigsaw was stricken with it (two I now know for certain died of Ich and Ich related complications) and, after 7 weeks, no other fish in that tank, has been stricken with it.
One of the last clownfish to perish was moved into my 37 gallon tank five days before he died. Jigsaw was moved into that tank two days before the clownfish died because when we separated them, Jigsaw became the target of 5 Chromis who decided he was in their spot. Two resident Blue Chromis who were riding out the 37 Gallon tank cycling have not developed Ich.
I stand by my original belief that Ich, in one form or another, is present in EVERY saltwater fish tank and is an opportunistic parasite that preys on fish who are stressed and become immunologically weak. I don't doubt that there are strains of Ich that are, like MRSA, pernicious foe and might even be resistant to conventional treatment like Copper.
What I find interesting is that while Clownfish aren't listed as "the most likely" to develop Ich like, for instance, Blue Tangs are, more and more reefers are experiencing quick killing Ich outbreaks with their Clownfish. Is it possible that, like in-breeding in Dalmatians that produced serious genetic defects still prevalent in the breed today, captive bred Clownfish have been made weaker, NOT stronger, from the breeder's efforts to breed for color/markings? My husband wants to get a pair of the original old Pecula Clownfish and see if they can survive in the reef tank where three other hybrid Clownfish did not.
24 hours after the right gill inflamed, he developed patchy spots on the left side of his face. Being unfamiliar with THIS development, I thought he was suffering from Marine Velvet and that only Copper therapy might ]save him. So, I began using Cupramine 6 days ago. Within 24 hours of achieving a therapeutic copper level of .05, the inflammation in the gill had significantly diminished and his appetite had markedly improved (not "normal", but better), but there was still the patchy areas on his face and the odd substance on the outside of the right gill.
A local fishy expert said that it sounded more like Slime, a secondary bacterial infection, than Velvet and that I should remove the Copper from the tank with Carbon, do a major water change after 4-5 hours of carbon filtration, and treat him with Furan 2 within 24 hours of the water change or immediately if he was deteriorating quickly.
It was with GREAT trepidation that I began to carbon-out the Copper, followed by a 5Gallon water change in the 7 Gal. tank, and waited 24 hours to begin treating him with Furan 2. Just getting the Copper out of the water helped his appetite appreciably.
Yesterday was his first dose of Furan 2. Today was his second. He is FINALLY eating voraciously, like he did when he was well, consuming 6-10 frozen Brine or Mysis at all three meals. He is swimming around like a healthy clownfish and no longer seems lethargic, in fact, he ALWAYS comes to the front of the tank when he sees me, hoping to get something to eat. Tomorrow I will do a 25 percent water change and dose him with Furan 2 afterward. I hope that he continues to improve because I am fully invested in this fishy's recovery. He has taught me a lot about heart and spirit. I too am a "survivor". I know what it takes to muster every ounce of one's being to just breathe. I know what it is to be too sick to eat and I know what it is to be so famished that no amount of food is sufficient. I feel for Jigsaw. He is tough and he does not give up the fight.
I learned from this experience that there is no substitute for experience when it comes to fish disease diagnosis and treatment. I don't know that Jigsaw will "survive", but I have learned some valuable lessons about the disease diagnosis process and the course of such parasitic diseases as Marine Ich...Parasitic infestation, bacterial infiltrate, death. This fish keeping stuff...it's not for the faint of heart!
I know too, that not all strains of Ich will "wipe out" an entire tank of fish, as three clownfish died in our reef tank before Jigsaw was stricken with it (two I now know for certain died of Ich and Ich related complications) and, after 7 weeks, no other fish in that tank, has been stricken with it.
One of the last clownfish to perish was moved into my 37 gallon tank five days before he died. Jigsaw was moved into that tank two days before the clownfish died because when we separated them, Jigsaw became the target of 5 Chromis who decided he was in their spot. Two resident Blue Chromis who were riding out the 37 Gallon tank cycling have not developed Ich.
I stand by my original belief that Ich, in one form or another, is present in EVERY saltwater fish tank and is an opportunistic parasite that preys on fish who are stressed and become immunologically weak. I don't doubt that there are strains of Ich that are, like MRSA, pernicious foe and might even be resistant to conventional treatment like Copper.
What I find interesting is that while Clownfish aren't listed as "the most likely" to develop Ich like, for instance, Blue Tangs are, more and more reefers are experiencing quick killing Ich outbreaks with their Clownfish. Is it possible that, like in-breeding in Dalmatians that produced serious genetic defects still prevalent in the breed today, captive bred Clownfish have been made weaker, NOT stronger, from the breeder's efforts to breed for color/markings? My husband wants to get a pair of the original old Pecula Clownfish and see if they can survive in the reef tank where three other hybrid Clownfish did not.
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