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To UV or not to UV That is the Question

lefkonj

lefkonj

I hear so many different takes on this and was just wondering what people's experiences were. Additionally from a sizing perspective how have people dealt with this piece of equipment? I read that some folks only run them for a few hours a week, so do you purchase a smaller unit that the entire water volume or no...

Any specific brands that people have had good or bad experiences with?

Thanks
 
asonitez

asonitez

I have never run a UV sterilizer but like any other gadget in this hobby I wouldn't mind picking one up at a decent cost. I actually might in this order from reefshops.com - like aquatraders.com for about 30/40 bucks each its not that bad. From what I hear the benefits outweigh the costs. Take for example ich...

Say you added a new fish and shockingly.. it has Ich... First you try heavy feeding, and garlic, and then you start with kick ich and then you start getting pissed that nothings working and ich is spreading to all your fish. Most people buy fish spontaneously. Its happened to everyone and unless you have the space to keep a quarantine tank running all the time then you usually rush home to setup quarantine tank or do like I do and toss the fish right in. Having the UV running 24/7 could kill ich on a fish that comes in with it and then has them drop off to form the trophont stage. When they hatch water movement and such will inevitably push them past the UV and nuke them. At least that's the theory.

According to the experts the UV sterilizer bleaches the water. Anything that's in contact with the UV sterilizer gets nuked as long as it has enough hang time. The benefits I have heard are

Reduced Green Algae on the Glass
Waterborne Parasites get killed from water turnover and constant running of the reactor.
Reduced nuisance algae particles
Kills Ich in the swimming stage

Cons
Will Nuke beneficial bacteria and copepods that get caught up to some degree.




Cost wise... you can go name brand and spend couple hundred dollars on a UV sterilizer OR you can spend like 40 bucks and get one from china that does the same exact thing. Shine a light on water to kill microscopic bugs. They all use the same standard bulbs. At this point its about build quality but even that is "made in china" then rebranded in the states. I wouldn't worry about build quality TOO much as the sterilizers don't have any moving parts. Its a light in a tube seperated from the water by acrylic or plastic with coiled inner tubing for "hang time". personally i wouldn't break the bank on one but its your money i dont know how deep your pockets are buy mines a "shallow lagoon" for reef toys.
 
Hawkeye

Hawkeye

i wouldn't bother.

Why not take that money, spend it a 10 gallon tank, light, filtration and set up a QT. it's FAR more effective.

Think about it - the premise here is you want to PREVENT anything from getting into the display. A UV is all about what happens AFTER something is in the tank. In my opinion once something has infected/entered your tank - you are on the losing end of a battle.

To use a baseball analogy, a QT means you have the best starting pitcher in there to keep the hitters/infectors off base (not in your tank). A UV is like bringing in a relief pitcher with men on base already and hoping the pitcher gets a double play or triple play to eliminate the guys who are on base (in your tank) already.
 
lefkonj

lefkonj

QT vs UV I guess is a good question. I really don't want to do a UV as they are just so large physically and cost so much. I might just go to Petsmart and grab a 20gallon kit that includes the light and such and then make that the QT tank. POOPERS
 
TanksNStuff

TanksNStuff

Officer Emeritus
Officer Emeritus
I like Phils analogy to the baseball terms. I also agree that QT is better than UV. Besides that, it's debated that UV can also remove beneficial bacteria as well.
 
adesimone1

adesimone1

We run a uv sterilizer on our tank our water is crystal clear. The tank is loaded our fish couldn't be healthier. Our
system is loaded with pods. We are looking to get smaller units for our aqua pod and Cardiff.
 
S

SHLUZER

I've used small HOB on 55 g for a while. No complaints, no ich either. So it seemed to work.
One note about built quality - on couple models I've tried the kwartz bulb enclosure did disconnect from its base. ON first it allowed water to bulb, thus killing the unit (fishtank was OK for some reason and I never got zapped). On second I've noticed it when I removed the unit for cleaning. It was dry inside.
I'm not sure if any models are safe from this problem. Current UV owners, any comment?
 
lefkonj

lefkonj

I am actually doing a few things. Right now I grabbed a 30 gallon tank with a heater and filter to create a hospital tank. Going to fill it with water change tomorrow, then add copper based medicine and then the fish. Then I will most likely be buying the Coralife 18W UV for my DT. Run the DT with just inverts for a few weeks, treat the fish in the hospital tank and then I can reintroduce.
 
AJ1080

AJ1080

If you are going to do a new QT tank be sure to keep an eye on the ammonia and nitrate levels. It will essentially be an uncycle tank.

Id pick up an aquaclear sponge from a lfs and just drop it in your tank now so that it has some life on it. Once your ready with the QT put the sponge in your filter.
 
lefkonj

lefkonj

My QT tank is empty. The thought was that I would use my water change to seed the tank with good water and maybe a piece of rock or two. Then add the fish to QT them and move on.
 
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