Changing out fish - Page 2

divewsharks · 12/03/2008, 02:50 PM

1 thing to keep in mind is that UV's don't choose what they kill, good stuff or bad stuff.
Having said that I have a UV in my garage that was purchased a few years back, but never deployed. If anyone wants it, please PM me. Just pay for shipping and its yours.

Stuart60611 · 12/03/2008, 05:43 PM

Yes, UV is indiscriminate in what it kills. However, it has little, to no affect on biological filtering bacteria which pretty much only colonize surfaces and do not spend much time in the water column. If you have a reef system, I think that issue could be of greater importance since plankton and other small life in the water column are more important in terms of feeding corals. However, in a FOWLR system, I do not think there is much, if any, negative impact from running UV because of their only being fish in the system.

Aside from the degree of debaterd benefits UV provides in terms of parasitic control, it can be of particular benefit in a FOWLR for algae control and overall water quality which in itself has been shown to be one of the most important factors in combating disease. FOWLRs often have a unique problem with algae control (and water quality generally) because they usually cannot house inverts as cleaners combined with higher nitrates and phosphates resulting from hi bioload messy eating fish. I know that UV merely treats the symptom when one uses it to combat algae problems caused by high nitrates and phosphates because one in the best of circumstances should address the cause -- namely the high nitrates and phosphates. The reality is that most FOWLR systems housing large aggressive eaters will have higher than optimal nitrates and phosphates despite excellent filtration and dilligent husbandry. The higher nitratates and phosphates within reason have no significant negative impact on the fish, but they often lead to algae problems which are exacerbated by no clean up crew. Plus, UV does materially improve overall water quality by causing accelerated breakdown of organics and other things in the water column which is obviously beneficial in combating algae and improvies fish's immunity to disease generally through the improvement of water quality.

12/03/2008, 05:43 PM	#27
Stuart60611 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Chicago, IL Posts: 2,979	Yes, UV is indiscriminate in what it kills. However, it has little, to no affect on biological filtering bacteria which pretty much only colonize surfaces and do not spend much time in the water column. If you have a reef system, I think that issue could be of greater importance since plankton and other small life in the water column are more important in terms of feeding corals. However, in a FOWLR system, I do not think there is much, if any, negative impact from running UV because of their only being fish in the system. Aside from the degree of debaterd benefits UV provides in terms of parasitic control, it can be of particular benefit in a FOWLR for algae control and overall water quality which in itself has been shown to be one of the most important factors in combating disease. FOWLRs often have a unique problem with algae control (and water quality generally) because they usually cannot house inverts as cleaners combined with higher nitrates and phosphates resulting from hi bioload messy eating fish. I know that UV merely treats the symptom when one uses it to combat algae problems caused by high nitrates and phosphates because one in the best of circumstances should address the cause -- namely the high nitrates and phosphates. The reality is that most FOWLR systems housing large aggressive eaters will have higher than optimal nitrates and phosphates despite excellent filtration and dilligent husbandry. The higher nitratates and phosphates within reason have no significant negative impact on the fish, but they often lead to algae problems which are exacerbated by no clean up crew. Plus, UV does materially improve overall water quality by causing accelerated breakdown of organics and other things in the water column which is obviously beneficial in combating algae and improvies fish's immunity to disease generally through the improvement of water quality. Last edited by Stuart60611; 12/03/2008 at 06:06 PM.

12/03/2008, 02:50 PM	#26
divewsharks Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2004 Location: San Jose, CA Posts: 1,905	1 thing to keep in mind is that UV's don't choose what they kill, good stuff or bad stuff. Having said that I have a UV in my garage that was purchased a few years back, but never deployed. If anyone wants it, please PM me. Just pay for shipping and its yours.