Vodka+UV good or bad?

[Nate R]

i read the reefkeeping artical about vodka dosing and they dont mention anything about the use of UV. Does anybody have any information on the topic?

 

[HighlandReefer]

Hobby grade UV units can kill some bacteria and algae. The idea of dosing vodka is to skim out bacteria and algae anyway. So as long as your skimmer is a good one and can remove the killed bacteria before they brake down and release the nitrate & phosphate back into the water column, I don't see a problem using the UV. Personally, I am somewhat skeptical as to how beneficial a hobby grade UV unit is in a reef aquarium. The larger organisms like ich parasites are too large to kill with hobby grade UV units. UV units do produce some ozone which can help brake down organics in your water column, which may be their best benefit. I have read many discussions regarding the use of UV in a reef aquarium and no definitive answers.

 

[Nate R]

thanks for the input Highland.

Although i dont have a problem with the high nitrates or phosphates... yet. i may get there some day and am wondering if Vodka dosing is a viable option.

FYI on your thoughts on UV in the reef...
I am experimenting right now with it still and see some positive effects but one negative in particular and that is the drop in ph was kinda shocking. I was running really well 8.1-8.3PH swing and now its like 7.65-7.9 swing so i am not sure how to deal with that. I was told that this would happen for some time and then allow the system to eventually run at higher rates like 8.4 peak levels not sure how long that takes but i will say that by my eye i think SPS have slowed down growing. Fish look great, water is invisible. i am just waiting to see were things go from here.

 

[wickedfish]

Nate I have recently started vodka dosing and shut off the uv and put it away. To early to tell but some heat was removed from the tank so that was good. Will keep you posted.

 

[M88A2]

from what i understand, the point of dosing vodka is to allow bacteria to use up the carbon along with nitrates and phosphates. by using a UV, it will kill these bacteria and hinder its multiplication. that is counter productive as you are attempting to "culture" and "harvest" the bacteria who have used the undesired elements in your water. please someone correct me if i am wrong, but thats how i interpreted some of my readings.

 

[Nate R]

Nate I have recently started vodka dosing and shut off the uv and put it away. To early to tell but some heat was removed from the tank so that was good. Will keep you posted.

please let me know what you find out thanks.

M88A2 from what i understand, the point of dosing vodka is to allow bacteria to use up the carbon along with nitrates and phosphates. by using a UV, it will kill these bacteria and hinder its multiplication. that is counter productive as you are attempting to "culture" and "harvest" the bacteria who have used the undesired elements in your water. please someone correct me if i am wrong, but thats how i interpreted some of my readings.

I agree but UV is only getting the stuff floating around there is lots in the rocks that would benifit form carbon dosing.....right?

 

[HighlandReefer]

Nate, the pH drop would be from the brake down of orgnanics in your water column from the UV production of ozone. Once the organics are broken down, then it may rise again.

This article provides a lot of details regarding UV in a reef aquarium:

ULTRAVIOLET STERILIZATION (How UV sterilization works). This article explains the benefits and myths about aquarium and pond uv sterilization;
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html

 

[Nate R]

any updates wickedfish?

and thanks for the Info Highland, i have read that article right after posting this thread and it is good info.

 

[wickedfish]

Sorry to leave you hanging I sent you a PM bro. I have all plusses to report especially a big cut in electricity chaching one frag for me.

 

[Nate R]

wicked,

love to hear about your ph as well, what is going on there? skimmate increases? i take it you arnt seeing any major diffrences in sps coloration or PE? are you keeping your alk closer to the NSW as suggested? sorry for the million questions and thanks for taking the time to share

 

[manix man]

Well I use a deltec nitrate filter which is a vodka based system. Not quite the same as you will be doing it directly into the tank.

Certainly with the unit running a UV filter makes absolutely no difference.

Personally I much prefer the vodka dosing with the nitrate filter over the direct into the tank method. It's less hit or miss and works a lot lot faster. The downside is of course the initial cost of the unit which in the UK was about £300.

Personally I have had good experience with UV unit and killing marine ich. I don't know what is available to you in the US but there are certain types in the UK designed to be able to kill the parasite and widley used for that. Quite often if I let the unit go onto the amber/red warning light my yellow belly hippo tang gets white spot straight away. Replace the UV tube and within 2 weeks no signs.

 

[Nate R]

I agree manix man

I hear and read all the anti UV opinions like they are not necessary in reef ect. But i am with you i experimented for some time to try and get my fish especially tangs to get healthy with food combos and additives and simply could not get it done. After the addition of UV i now have healthy Fat fish with super clear water. I really didn't want to mess with O3 mainly because of the risks involved in it, and i have a small fish room with seasons here that don't allow for constant air exchange to out side and that stuff is dangerous to your health.

 

[Genetics]

I agree but UV is only getting the stuff floating around there is lots in the rocks that would benifit form carbon dosing.....right?

Yes, adherent bacterial populations would still be around to utilize carbon sources. UV is a topic few people have taken a side on and when they do it is either it can or cannot be used. Personally, I would think you could use UV with carbon dosing. In fact, from what is sounds like with your tank, and why you hooked up UV in the first place, I would not turn the UV off for any reason!

 

[Nate R]

thanks for the imput Nate and thanks for your informitive artical you guys put out there for people on the subject.

I agree with you about not turning it off. I and the Fish mainly are enjoying the benifits from it no question. I think the only con for now is the low(er) PH than my system is used too that i believe has slowed the growth of SPS.

 

[jakester]

I have always run a uv on my reef tanks and have seen no negatives with it. And yes, it seems to add benefit to keeping my fish healthier and disease free. Not sure if there is data to back it up but I was informed by a very respected and experienced reefer that it will also help to neutralize some of the chemical warfare that gets into the water colum from corals getting to close. I am sure once your ph stabilizes your corals will start growing again. Another thing that could cause the slowed growth is a fast reduction of phosphates and nitrates from carbon dosing. Once the levels stabilize they should adjust and come back to growing. kalk in your auto top off will help raise your ph up a bit also if that something you are familiar with.

 

[om619]

how many hours a day do you guys run your UV?

 

[manix man]

24/7

 

[pompeyjohn]

wickedfish, any update on running vodka and UV?

 

[Allmost]

We dose Organic carbon, to reproduce bacteria to remove N and P, and be food for corals. Reference

our tanks, even with dosing organic carbon, lack bacteria. Reference

UV kills bacteria.


to me, the above 3 facts, are counter productive.

 

[FlyPenFly]

We dose Organic carbon, to reproduce bacteria to remove N and P, and be food for corals. Reference

our tanks, even with dosing organic carbon, lack bacteria. Reference

UV kills bacteria.


to me, the above 3 facts, are counter productive.

From your link:

The observation that, at least among this small set of aquaria examined, the water within the skimmed/filtered tanks had only ~ 1/10th of the population of bacteria that the unskimmed/unfiltered tanks had was a real surprise. It speaks to one aspect of aquarium husbandry in which a perhaps important parameter (?), water column bacteria counts from authentic and healthy reefs, is not reproduced at all effectively in these home aquaria. Sensitive corals, like Acropora, do not thrive in the high-bacteria-count/high-TOC-level tanks examined, although soft corals do well (see pictures). On the other hand, SPS corals do well in the low-bacteria-count/low-TOC-level tanks (Fig. 6).