Uv sterilizer

saltwater2999 · 03/25/2013, 01:32 PM

What's a good uv sterilizer for my reef tank. Should I look at inline, hang on the back ,or those in water ones with powerheads pushing water through the uv part

Is there any noticeable pros and cons for having one.

wooden_reefer · 03/25/2013, 01:34 PM

Pro is that it vastly reduces many waterborne pathogens such as viruses and bacteria.

Cons is that it renders many drugs useless or even harmful perhaps.

I consider a UV necessary if one is quite interested in fish.

The UV is in general useless against ich, however.

sporto0 · 03/25/2013, 03:30 PM

Useless waste of money in my opinion.

thegrun · 03/25/2013, 03:37 PM

They kill indiscrimately and are not effective against ich. The con's outweigh the pros in my book.

MiracleFish · 03/25/2013, 03:42 PM

I never thought they were help for reef tanks IMO, personally believe UV's are only helpful for a marine tank, not so much reef.

saltwater2999 · 03/25/2013, 04:23 PM

Well right now I have one of those 9w uv in water that has a small powerhead pushing water through it. Should I just remove it

saltwater2999 · 03/25/2013, 04:25 PM

Also I believe the uv bulb case is clogged a little cause the water flow is almost nothing right now

sporto0 · 03/25/2013, 05:26 PM

That's another problem with them, you have to make sure the water flow is not too fast or the light doesn't have time to be effective, I used to run them on my FOWLR tank & honestly I saw zero difference in the tank. I don't think it will hurt anything, but I wouldn't buy a replacement bulb for it, just retire it after the original bulb has worn out.

03/25/2013, 01:32 PM	#1
saltwater2999 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: illinios Posts: 170	Uv sterilizer What's a good uv sterilizer for my reef tank. Should I look at inline, hang on the back ,or those in water ones with powerheads pushing water through the uv part Is there any noticeable pros and cons for having one.

03/25/2013, 01:34 PM	#2
wooden_reefer Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Posts: 4,670	Pro is that it vastly reduces many waterborne pathogens such as viruses and bacteria. Cons is that it renders many drugs useless or even harmful perhaps. I consider a UV necessary if one is quite interested in fish. The UV is in general useless against ich, however.

03/25/2013, 03:30 PM	#3
sporto0 Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Posts: 2,924	Useless waste of money in my opinion.

03/25/2013, 03:37 PM	#4
thegrun Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Location: Garden Grove, Ca Posts: 17,023	They kill indiscrimately and are not effective against ich. The con's outweigh the pros in my book.

03/25/2013, 03:42 PM	#5
MiracleFish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Posts: 307	I never thought they were help for reef tanks IMO, personally believe UV's are only helpful for a marine tank, not so much reef.

03/25/2013, 04:23 PM	#6
saltwater2999 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: illinios Posts: 170	Well right now I have one of those 9w uv in water that has a small powerhead pushing water through it. Should I just remove it

03/25/2013, 04:25 PM	#7
saltwater2999 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: illinios Posts: 170	Also I believe the uv bulb case is clogged a little cause the water flow is almost nothing right now

03/25/2013, 05:26 PM	#8
sporto0 Moved On Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Pittsburgh, Pa. Posts: 2,924	That's another problem with them, you have to make sure the water flow is not too fast or the light doesn't have time to be effective, I used to run them on my FOWLR tank & honestly I saw zero difference in the tank. I don't think it will hurt anything, but I wouldn't buy a replacement bulb for it, just retire it after the original bulb has worn out.