uv

[tmkx3]

Do uv sterlizers kill your pods

 

[NaH2O]

Only if they travel through the unit, and even then they may not be killed. Here's a quote by Dr. Adelaide Rhodes from the thread: Let's Talk About ~Refugiums~

Hello - I'm not sure if all pods passing through a UV light will be done in. They actually have very good defenses to UV radiation because they end up in very exposed areas when their tide pools dry up. They have the stamina to crawl across what would be miles to a human being to get to a new pool of water. It has been demonstrated in arctic pods (think of how red Cyclopeeze is) that they can change coloration to combat the oxidation effects of UV radiation. I have recently helped out in a marine lab near my place in Santa Cruz and I placed a filter on the outflow of water which was passed through 2 sand bed filters, 3 canister filters in size ranges from 100 microns to 5 microns, and UV filter - guess what - there were still copepods coming through. We figured there was a leak in the canister filters, and the UV bulb was replaced, I believe to increase the chances of removing any remaining pods. These guys are tough!

 

[twilliard]

I was told by a local chemist here that UV sterilizes and doesn't kill...??

He stated that UV light keeps the "bad stuff from reproducing"
He is a chemist here at the water treatment plant that I just got done hooking up some MONSTER UV systems.
Is he not correct??

 

[NaH2O]

He is right, UV sterilizers sterilize, however, I don't look at it from that standpoint, especially since we are talking about closed systems with many levels of live organisms different from water treatment. The organisms we are talking about don't have long lifecycles (think about how long ich is in the free floating stage)....either they will be picked up as food for another organism (many possibilities here), picked up by the skimmer, or by some other form of mechanical filtration. If you are able to stop their reproduction, then you can eventually eliminate them....provided they pass through the unit itself. That's the tough part, things attached to surfaces in your tank won't be killed off, however, if an algae spores out, UV can stop the spores from producing more algae (if they go through the unit). What is going to happen to the algae spore that can't reproduce? From my point of view, UV provides a cushion in keeping things from getting to a large population (UV does not eliminate ich, however, it can help control its population if the free floating stage passes through the unit). UV is an optional piece of the filtration puzzle. Just make sure you keep the sleeve around the bulb clean (the dirtier it is the less effective the UV is), and you use proper flow rates through the unit.

This is my understanding of UV. Hope it helps a bit.