UV Sterilizer......pros and cons ?

[KRMNAL1]

Found a great deal on an Aquatic 25w UV sterilizer and I'm not sure if I need it but it's such a good deal. How would this benefit my tank ?

 

[Krish]

Hey Mike! I guess it will be a matter of personal opinion here. Some people would feel lost without one and then you have some people who never use them ever. From what I understand about them, they are good to have to kill free floating algae spores, free floating parasites etc. On the downside, I could be wrong, but I think it is said that they can kill some things that are needed or that you wouldn't necessarily want killed if exposed to the UV light to long. I personally have never used one and everything is going fine my way so far. I guess you will have to wait to get a bit more feedback from the others. I just thought I'd throw out my personal opinion here

 

[jammet]

UV can be helpful, specally if you are having problems with green water or your fish and corals are getting sick all the time. I would not personally run them often but like Krish said, it comes down to what you like. It can be helpful in preventing problems before they happen but it might cause problems of its own. I personally like them quite a bit on hospital/Quarantine tanks though, specally after you cycle a fish in to your tank from there. I think it helps when you have to put another fish in to be quarantined or because they are sick the bactieria from the previous one is not still floating around in a living state.

Good luck

 

[liveforphysics]

IMO, very very bad idea. I belive the life in in the water collum to be very important. I've also never had ich spread, and when I take rescue fish from the LFS's, and other members that have ich, its never transfered to any other fish, and its always just faded away within a week or so of being in my tanks.

I do remember having a couple ich and paracite problems with my first 2 tanks. That was back in the days when I protien skimmed.

IMO, very bad, very detrimental, do not use.

 

[les]

I feel that a UV sterilizer is just as important as a protein skimmer or any other forms of filtration out there. I lost about $400 worth of fish due to ich and have since added a UV sterilizer to my tank. Just recently I added an Achilles Tang (after qt for 3 months) and it came down with ich. Within a week or so it was over the ich and this is the second fish that has responded well after having ich.
In my opinion a good and properly sized UV sterilizer is just as critical as the tank that holds your water in.

 

[Krish]

I do remember having a couple ich and paracite problems with my first 2 tanks. That was back in the days when I protien skimmed

So protein skimmers cause ich and parasites now???

 

[NaH2O]

IMO, there is nothing wrong with running a UV sterilizer, and there is nothing wrong with not using one. It is just another piece to mechanical filtration. Also, the UV Sterilizer will only kill/alter/mame things that pass through the unit. As for ich, it really doesn't eliminate the problem, as much as it might cut down on the numbers in the free swimming stage of the lifecycle. Again, these would have to pass through the unit. Another point to keep in mind, the sterilizer will need to be kept cleaned, or else it won't function to its full potential. I take mine off periodically and clean the sleeve. I also run mine 24/7. Here is some more reading for you...on how to select the proper UV unit: UV Sterilizer Overview and How to select a UV Sterilizer

Hope this helps!

 

[liveforphysics]

I belive that ich takes advantage of unhealthy/highly stressed fish. From my observations of placeing fish crawling with ich into my displays with angels and tangs and other ich prone fish, and seeing the ich fade away to nothing, and never spread to other fish, I think that something that kills ich in the water is like a pain-pill type of fix. The pain-pill doesnt fix the problem, which is unhealthy/stressed fish, but it does have a nasty side effect of killing a ton of bennificial things in the water that help to keep a strong ecosystem working in the tank.

Once again, this is just my $0.02. I have no formal education in this area, only what I have observed and learned through observation.


To try to sumarize here, what is the reason you want the UV? Are you plauged with frequent ich and paracites? If so, I belive you need to find what is stressing the fish and repair the CAUSE, rather than treat the symptoms.

If you dont have ich or paracites problems, I belive your tank would only notice a decline in the effectiveness of its eco-system.

$0.02

 

[DonW]

Once youve had one for a long time there may be a chance youve killed all the ich in a tank. Its only gong to kill what gets sucked it to the feed pump. The chances of UV being bad for a tank are also slim to none. Although Ive never had a ich problem. I saw no improvement or decline in my tank after I gave the UV away.

Don

 

[NaH2O]

The only way ich disappears from a display system (if a fish has been introduced with the parasite), is if it is fishless for an extended period of time....and all fish QTed in hyposalinity environment before being reintroduced in the tank.

 

[Krish]

I've never had a UV sterilizer and never had ich or parasites in any of my saltwater tanks even with having wild caught fish in my tank.

 

[liveforphysics]

Exactly. Ich is in the water. I know ich is in the water in all my tanks.

However, no fish ever have ich problems.

I belive the solution is to have healthy fish, and POOF! Ich has no chance, and UV has no purpose beyond killing a wide range of helpful animals in the water collum. I dont know what your tanks look like at night, but mine look like a seamonkey and pod swarm. I know those little guys are all eating things(detritus etc), as well as provideing food for corals. I would never want to do anything to kill off that part of the eco system.

The only paracite I am worried about is the type the swims/jumps quickly and can bite right through human skin, or devour entire fish sections in a few days. I think it would take more than healthy fish to fight those things off, but again, I dont think UV would do much good either, as they wait holding onto rocks for a fish to swim by, so I dont belive they would get to run through the unit. I think it would require starving them to death by removing all the fish for an extended period to fix those buggers.

 

[jetaero]

Pros - kills bad things that pass through it

Cons - Kills good things that pass through it

It's really up to you to decide whether you care about what your losing through it

-Josh-

 

[DonW]

I think with the way the original question was phrased hes just wondering wether or not its a good investment. The answer is pretty neutral. No it wont kill of all the bad ich and or other parasites. Just the free swimming ones that happen to make it to the feed pump. Will it cause your tank to starve to death? Absolutly not. It may make your water a little clearer, thats a good thing. Personally I think the money would be better spent on a skimmer upgrade. But really its your decision and there is no right or wrong.

 

[Krish]

I agree Don. The same as with everything in the hobby. A lot of diverse setups/techniques which all can yield positive results.

 

[steve-s]

Exactly. Ich is in the water. I know ich is in the water in all my tanks.
However, no fish ever have ich problems.

That one doesn't wash, sorry Luke. This particular parasite won't live beyond two days once it excysts from the tomont without infecting a fish.
If none of your fish ever get sick, how does the parasite continue to exist in your tank?
Also, if none of your fish exhibit symptoms, what leads you to think it's there at all?

Cheers
Steve

 

[Brenden]

I run one somethings. It will only kill things that go through it good or bad. I do not agree that it will harm you tank. Nor do do I believe it will cure ich simply because it is impossible for all the water to go through it. I do believe it will polish your water by killing spores etc and make your water crystal clear. That is what I use mine for.

 

[KRMNAL1]

Thanks guys/gals for the input, I am just an amateur with an expensive hobby and I think real life experience is worth more than mathematical equations and I really appreciate the senior members throwing up links to relevant threads :shock:

I run one somethings. It will only kill things that go through it good or bad. I do not agree that it will harm you tank. Nor do do I believe it will cure ich simply because it is impossible for all the water to go through it. I do believe it will polish your water by killing spores etc and make your water crystal clear. That is what I use mine for.

Brenden, I am able to get a $200 dollar unit for about $75 bucks, that is why I asked for the pro's and con's. I guess what I am really asking is....is $75 bucks for an Aquatic 25w UV Sterilizer a good deal or should I pass on it ??

 

[liveforphysics]

If you are plauged with ich break-outs spreading to other fish, PERHAPS its worth 75$

If your fish are healthy however, it would be $75 spent, another piece of clutter under the tank, and a very important part of an eco-system (at least in my method of reefkeeping) destroyed/damaged.

 

[jetaero]

I really wouldn't use it for the case of ich, it really doesn't help much to that IMO. Just keep the fish healthy enough, so that they can fight infection.

I would primarily use it to keep greenwater "tinge" under control, keeping the water crystal clear.

-Josh