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RiversideGator
05/07/2012, 08:25 PM
I have a 75 gallon reef tank and my UV ballast went out a few weeks back. Are there any pros to not having a UV sterilizer in the reef tank? Is anyone not using a UV sterilzer in a reef tank and having good success?

Thanks

Matt

brandon429
05/07/2012, 09:44 PM
The minority of tanks have them

That's a 2004 trend

However, id not own a big tank without one, a huge oversized one meant for a koi pond. Considering what we've cured in threads with correct UV use I ask myself why go through that

Some people want to keep micro planktors alive longer so they fell out of popularity

I just feed my tank, don't need live plankton for the corals I keep. Certain specialty tanks would benefit not using UV, and in my opinion the usual reef tank is very benefited by at least having one on backup for rough times, they don't have to run constantly

am struggling to name any of my online friends with one, i'm sure there are some i'm forgetting but offhand 98% of tanks on this board have no UV apparatus other than lights on tank

a little googling in non reef tank circles will reveal a much less polar interpretation of the method.

Ron Reefman
05/08/2012, 05:11 AM
I only use a UV sterilizer in my QT. I considered it for my 350g system, but decided it isn't really that useful. I have all kinds of coral, fish and inverts and I've never had a problem. Never had ich, never had cyano... only had one small bout with hairy algae and GFO cured that in a month.

Palting
05/08/2012, 06:15 AM
Most people here do not use UV sterilizers. I had one for a time thinking it was good for prevention of disease, then took it offline. There is a good thread somewhere where it details the advantages and disadvantages of UV. Bottom line, it can be useful, but is not mandatory for a successful reef tank.

rainmkr07
05/08/2012, 06:23 AM
Bottom line, it can be useful, but is not mandatory for a successful reef tank.

I use one on my 150g mixed reef. I agree it's not mandatory, however, it can't hurt either. It can only help. I use mine to reduce ich in the tank and to reduce algae. For $100, I've wasted more than that on all sorts of things in the past. (PC lighting anyone?)

Here is excellent further info, and where I got my unit as well:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html

From their site:

Here is What a Properly Installed, Well Designed UV Sterilizer Can Do for your POND or AQUARIUM:

• Kill most suspended bacteria and many viruses in the water column, while not affecting bacterial colonies in filter media and substrate
• Clear Green Water in Aquariums or Ponds.
• Improve Redox Balance in aquarium or pond and thus improve the fish’ ability to fight disease
• Aid in the control of parasites such as Ich or Cryptocaryon by improving immune function and at very low flows (under 8-12 gph per watt) can more directly aid in parasite control of parasites in the water column

a.browning
05/08/2012, 07:07 AM
I just sold my UV from my tank, wish I never had gotten one. They are a bandaid fix for bigger issues. If you're having algae issues, yes, a UV can help. But the algae isn't there because you don't have the UV, there is another issue at hand that needs corrected. Same thing with diseases/ich. A UV cannot eliminate ich in an aquarium. Proper QT is the correct solution for that issue.

Basically, the UV is far from necessary, but may help in some tanks. Just understand that it isn't a fix-all gadget, merely a bandaid fix to bigger problems. If it were me, I wouldn't buy one again for any size tank, unless maybe it's a fish only. Seems to be an outdated trend.

brandon429
05/08/2012, 07:30 AM
Gfo and phosphate binders seem like a bandaid too, after all the true culprit is the food we add and large bioloading animals we stock. To me this makes all forms of algae control even bandaids.

Since all reef tanks will become racked with algae without compensating factors, I can't make a distinction between UV/peroxide/manual removal/gfo etc, all are pretty equal and secondary to the real source of nutrient.

Additionally, another indicator is how a bandaid requires ongoing cost or repeats unlike nature where its self regulated

Gfo and phosphate media is re purchased, UV bulbs are replaced etc

Palting
05/08/2012, 07:39 AM
I think the OP just wanted to know if it is alright to NOT use them, and if there are any pros to not using them. He wasn't really asking about their general usefulness. I think :).

So, in direct response, yes, it is alright to go without a UV sterilizer. Lots of successful reefkeepers go without one.

Are there pros to not having one was the other question. UV sterilizers pretty much kill anything that's in the water that goes through the unit, depending on the flow rate. So, if copepods, amphipods, rotifers, plankton, etc go through the unit, they will be killed. Not all of them that's in your tank, only the one's that go through the UV sterilizer. Without the unit, you will have more of them. Depending on your tank requirements, that can be a good thing, as these can be food for your fish and corals. For my tank, it's a good thing.

GeorgeMonnatJr
05/08/2012, 07:42 AM
Here is excellent further info, and where I got my unit as well:

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html

From their site:

Here is What a Properly Installed, Well Designed UV Sterilizer Can Do for your POND or AQUARIUM:

• Kill most suspended bacteria and many viruses in the water column, while not affecting bacterial colonies in filter media and substrate
• Clear Green Water in Aquariums or Ponds.
• Improve Redox Balance in aquarium or pond and thus improve the fish’ ability to fight disease
• Aid in the control of parasites such as Ich or Cryptocaryon by improving immune function and at very low flows (under 8-12 gph per watt) can more directly aid in parasite control of parasites in the water column

I run a UV sterilizer on my 125g, partially out of professional curiosity (optoelectronic engineer). That being said, the third bullet above was refuted by Randy in another thread (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showpost.php?p=20216016&postcount=13).

rainmkr07
05/08/2012, 09:12 AM
UV sterilizers pretty much kill anything that's in the water that goes through the unit, depending on the flow rate. So, if copepods, amphipods, rotifers, plankton, etc go through the unit, they will be killed. Not all of them that's in your tank, only the one's that go through the UV sterilizer. Without the unit, you will have more of them. Depending on your tank requirements, that can be a good thing, as these can be food for your fish and corals. For my tank, it's a good thing.

UV Sterilization will NOT kill off copepods and other small life forms in a Reef or Nano Reef Aquarium.

Copepods live at or near the bottom of live rock piles, they are not active in the water column. If properly installed, the UV should have at least a fine pore sponge filter media as a pre-filter, which will further stop the “ingestion” of these and other minute life forms.

Even “pods” that do manage to find their way into the UV Sterilizer are rarely killed due to size as the typical flow rate of 20+ gph is not low enough to kill them.

The only truth to this statement is that UV Sterilizers can destroy some microscopic food sources needed by some of these organisms (usually planktonic algae, although timers that turn the UV on during certain hours is an easy remedy for this possible problem).

Reefin' Dude
05/08/2012, 11:27 AM
i think that they are fantastic tools if used properly. most people do not use them properly. they do not have them plumbed properly to make the most use out of them. they should be plumbed so that all algae/bacteria/the occasional invert (if powerful enough) is sent immediately into the skimmer for removal. if not, then the UV is just creating a way to increase the nutrients in the system by allowing these entities to rot away elsewhere in the system.

G~

567234ta
05/08/2012, 11:38 AM
I have a UV on my R/O D/I unit, not that anything terrible could live in chlorinated water but it came with it.
I run them on my Koi pond just to kill floating algae but in a salt tank pretty much a waste of electricity. If you got something in your water that needs killed by UV chances are you need a huge unit to do it, and you will never get it all.

GeorgeMonnatJr
05/08/2012, 11:47 AM
i think that they are fantastic tools if used properly. most people do not use them properly. they do not have them plumbed properly to make the most use out of them. they should be plumbed so that all algae/bacteria/the occasional invert (if powerful enough) is sent immediately into the skimmer for removal. if not, then the UV is just creating a way to increase the nutrients in the system by allowing these entities to rot away elsewhere in the system.

G~

Excellent point, I need to re-plumb mine. :twitch:

RiversideGator
05/08/2012, 03:03 PM
Thank you all for your posts and your time. I feel much better about not running one.

Matt

RiversideGator
07/01/2017, 08:27 PM
After re-considering my previous post I purchased one a few years ago and am running it 8 hours per day on a timer.

Ron Reefman
07/02/2017, 05:19 AM
Well? Have you seen any differences in the tank?

JTL
07/02/2017, 10:26 AM
When I set up my first saltwater aquarium in 1985 I bought one and it didn't do anything from what I could tell. Back in those days if was FOWOLR. Bio-balls in the sump were all the rage. I had two lion fish, that I would feed live goldfish to, a flame angle, a powder blue tang, a trigger fish, a boxfish and others that I don't even recall anymore.

RiversideGator
07/02/2017, 12:01 PM
Well? Have you seen any differences in the tank?

My water looks good and my tank doesn't smell (also running Chemi Pour Blue carbon and a protein skimmer). I think UV it is a good option for tanks that don't have perfect conditions such as detectable nitrates and phosphates. I typically change my tank water every 3 weeks (13%) with corals and fish.