Uv sterilizers!

[v3pulsar]

Hello fellow mates,
i have a newly setup 88Galon Custom all glass aquarium.i think its abt a week old. Planning to setup a anemone (gbta,rbta) tank and adopt compatible fish for the same!. so i was quite confused abt this UV sterilization kit. is it helpful?
coz some ppl claim benefits of the UV sterilization unit like killing of pathogens and other problem causing minute creatures.!...but but but..it kills/vaporise beneficial bacteria..!
should i buy/install it. or a quarantine is much better option! also will it affect my anemones or the fish!

Ps : please correct me if i am wrong.

[Alex T.]

I never really bought into the UV craze. UV sterilization kills good stuff too. Bob Fenner's book explains that a much better source of bacterial elimination can be had with running ozone. i don't do that either. Save yourself the cash and run a monster skimmer with good husbandry and maintenance routines.

[tkeracer619]

A good skimmer and a media reactor with carbon and GFO (phosban) will go a long way to reduce pollutants in the water.

A uv will need a bulb replacement after 6-12 months. It will not prevent all bad and good things. It will kill some bad and good things.

A uv and a qt are not interchangeable. Always QT fish to make sure you don't bring anything nasty into your reef.

[v3pulsar]

ok just abt 2 min ago i saw some minute "things" swimming. not too many but some!
skimmers are good i agree to that.. i have 2 skimmers installed waiting to pump bad stuff out of the water.! i heard you are not supposed to start skimmers like before 3 weeks! is it true?

[tkeracer619]

you can start them whenever. I start them on day one.

[v3pulsar]

that good i'll try that.!.hope it takes out the pathogens.!.!..
btw : i have a uv florescent tube.which is already installed..can i switch that on since there's nothing live in my tank>!

[lordofthereef]

I will leave my own opinion out about UV sterilizers since there always seems to be someone who comes by convinced that "if set up right" they are the almighty cure to all diseases in the tank and that if it doesn't work you have simply set it up wrong. Someone recently provided this link to a study done on sterilizers, that I think is very helpful in understanding their limitations and in what specific situations they may be useful.

http://www.int-res.com/articles/meps/6/m006p295.pdf

[SS21CA]

Unless you develop a huge algae problem or decide to keep tangs or ICH prone fish, I wouldn't worry.

[v3pulsar]

the article was quite interesting..
so there are a probability of pathogens tht might survive..!but they will be < than before.!
nice.!

[wooden_reefer]

I always use UV whenever I can.

The role of UV is limited but within that role it is very essential.

I will never be in the disadvantage of stocking new fish without UV.

[d2mini]

Does anyone use their UV intermittently, either random or on some sort of schedule?

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Does anyone use their UV intermittently, either random or on some sort of schedule?

Actually, long after stocking new livestock the UV can be used intermittently.

You cannot use a timer on some models, which requires you to hold down a button switch.

[NeighborTomita]

Some of the good things a UV will do is is kill unwanted free floating algae spores, parasites, and *certain* protozoa's, helping to keep their populations under control. The UV will not treat ick if that is what your looking to do, but kill any free floaters that pass through the light. Some cons are that it can kill some of the good microbes, bacteria, and algae spores that you would probably want to keep. One of the things people often look over is the fact that Ultraviolet light is a catalyst in many chemical reactions. Minerals will tend to collect on the sleeve (or the lamp itself in non-quartz-sleeve units) and it must be kept clean or UV light will not penetrate the water passing through it.

[wooden_reefer]

The UV properly used will drastically reduce waterborne bacteria population. Why this is useful may not be obvious to many people, but it is.

The UV will not kill many parasites.

The UV will degrade most drugs so cannot be used with most drugs.

The UV in the batch/recirculation mode will never sterilize even just the water in a tank.

Even with these limitations the UV is still very essential. I will never go without it.

The UV will not kill any beneficial microbes significantly, except perhaps sperms and eggs of some inverts.

[v3pulsar]

ok so we have some pros and cons on UV sterilizers..which are totally agreeable..
But do the same things apply to the UV florescent tube.?

[d2mini]

Originally Posted by wooden_reefer

The UV properly used

Can anyone explain what this would be?

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Can anyone explain what this would be?

To understand the UV in the batch/recirculationn mood, it is neccessary to have basic knowledge in several disciplines, fluid mechanics, some high school or freshmen math, and some basic understanding of immunology.

It is no wonder that very few people understand how the UV works in this mood.

1. When the flow is slow, water flows in sheets without eddies. The contact time is self-attaining when the flow is slow. The flow near the walls will be slow enough for contact time. Even experts get this wrong when they calculate the contact time. even 100% kill per pass matters little in the batch mood. The UV in this mood works on repeated passes.

2. Think about this. Every hour you cut 1% off a ten foot PVC pipe. After 10 days you will still have a thin washer worth of pipe left. And, pathogens regenerate, a pipe does not. Think that every hour you glue a washer 1/16 inch thick back onto the pipe, and you keep cutting 1% of the total length. This is how the UV works in batch mood. It will gravitate toward a very low but non-zero concentration, if the UV is powerful enough.

3. Why does it help to drastically reduce bacterial concentration in the water? Concentration matters even without prior exposure, and exposure produces antibodies eventually. White blood cells is a defense that does not require previous exposure, but is very limited in capacity to defend.

[d2mini]

Right, so how exactly does all that translate to our tanks?
What is the correct way to implement one, like my 18w Turbo Twist in my own tank?
I understand the flow needs to be slow, but if the UV is not inline and is just sucking sump water out and spilling back into the sump (like in-sump skimmers), are they really that effective? Definitely seems to resemble the 1% pipe metaphor to me.

[JDMhoes]

Before I got my UV I had clams in the tank and I know something was bothering the clams. I think there were unwanted parasites in the water and until i got a UV these clams seem much more happier. Before that I had Ich problems with my clown fishes. I leave my small UV on 24/7.. good luck

[wooden_reefer]

Originally Posted by d2mini

Right, so how exactly does all that translate to our tanks?
What is the correct way to implement one, like my 18w Turbo Twist in my own tank?
I understand the flow needs to be slow, but if the UV is not inline and is just sucking sump water out and spilling back into the sump (like in-sump skimmers), are they really that effective? Definitely seems to resemble the 1% pipe metaphor to me.

The turbo may really be more efficient due to a longer path.

For straight UV, I say about 7-8 gph per watt.

For the turbo may be significantly higher.

Manufacturers seem to think that recommending a slow enough flow hurt sales.

Useless against ich but effective aganist bacteria.

I'd go about 180 gph for an 18 watt turbo.

A by-pass or a dedicated small pump is needed, generally.

[d2mini]

It's not currently running it, but i have a maxi-jet 1200 for it.
Too big, eh?


I'm just afraid to run it continuously because i have sponges in the tank and was worried the UV would be killing the only thing they can actually eat to survive.

[niles1967]

In my opinion, UV's are only effective in ponds. Outside of that they are the biggest scam since getting people to buy water. There is no substitution for a 6 week QT on each and every fish.