Testament to UV sterilizers

[LoneStar45]

After much discussion I have read about the pros and cons of UV sterilizers, I decided to purchase one. I was constanly battling algae no matter what my water parameters were. I set up a algae refuge with Cheato and a reverse photo period to try to divert the algae from the display tank to it and raise little copes and all would be right with the world. I didnt have much sucess.
My tank had 3 algae meltdowns and my live rock spent much of its life in a closed trashcan.
Then I started reading up on UV's and the general consensus was that "they kill everything" and that must be bad.....
The statement, "they kill everything" is mostly true, but its good, not bad. They kill unwanted algae, they kill bad bacteria, they kill diseases that transfer from fish to fish. They dont kill your biological filtration, they dont kill maco algae. The Pros so far outweight the Cons. Most of the beneficial things that a sterilizer kills can be supplemented (copepods can be fed just like zoo and phyto plankton). My tank is now sterile and thriving. My water changes have dropped from once a week to monthly, (saves a hell of a lot in salt and water in a 150). My soft corals are once again spreading thier polyps and the fish are more active. I can now start adding sps corals.
I'm by no means saying it is a cure all for everyone. It was for me.

[jstraka1]

Hmmmm... You don't sell UV sterilizers, do you? :) j/k

[LoneStar45]

No, I promise. :P
I had a long conversation about them with a tech at Vivid Aqauriums. They use them on every tank they have. They also cultivate sps frags at their store. My main concern was with it killing off good things. The change in my tank has been overwhelming in just a few days. This piece of equipment has been the most effective thing Ive purchased so far. Even moreso that my Aqua C 1800 skimmer(and it's a good one).

[BenH98]

Does UV kill pods?

[RBU1]

Keep in mind in order for the UV to be affective all your water that returns to the tank must go thru it. So you need a large enough UV to support the flow from your main return pump. Most likely you want to get a pond UV unit.

[MCary]

No UV will probably not kill pods with the limited contact time they have with it.

[psimitry]

Oh I disagree that they won't kill pods. I could be wrong, but it's a pretty intense UV light that is used in most situations.

But that's not a terribly bad thing - it's equivelent to feeding prepared foods. They're both dead - one is just more fresh than the other.

[Billybeau1]

At the proper flow rate a UV will kill anything that flows through it.

[LoneStar45]

case in point, like Psimitry says, you use prepared foods. A lot of them have pods. Im not sure if they do or not either. But the benefit definately outweighs the downside. I recieved a bad batch of fish from saltwater.com and it spread velvet throughout my tank. Thats when I knew it was time for a sterlizer.

[RachelDex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6959998#post6959998 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LoneStar45
I recieved a bad batch of fish from saltwater.com and it spread velvet throughout my tank. Thats when I knew it was time for a sterlizer.



Quarantine tank.

[sttroyiii]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6959596#post6959596 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RBU1
Keep in mind in order for the UV to be affective all your water that returns to the tank must go thru it. So you need a large enough UV to support the flow from your main return pump. Most likely you want to get a pond UV unit.

From the little bit Ive read, I dont think this is true. There has to be a certain dwell time for the UV to be effective. If ALL the water returning to your tank had to go through a UV light, the light would be HUGE, and your return still wouldnt have a turnover rate high enough. The manuf. state the gpm that needs to be maintained to be most effective.

[collective21]

I am a firm believer in UV. Most of my pods that swim on my live rock never pass through the UV so they are not effected. When I feed phyto I shut the filter off so nothing passes through the UV for about 20 minutes. I have had no problems.

[RBU1]

Stroyyii do a little more reading it is true. If you want the true effect of the UV all water entering your tank must pass thru it. You will need a pond UV Coralife makes them. Just make sure the UV matches your return pump. Now I am not saying a smaller UV will not do anything. I am just saying to get the true effect it must go thru your return pump. Look up Coralife I think 36 watt Pond UV sterilizers. BILL

[MCary]

Most pods are not swimming in the water column much and don't go through the UV. But studies I've seen shows that pods being a larger and higher life form than phyto, algae and bacteria are not affected by the limited exposure flowing through a UV.

[LowKey]

Isnt UV a bandaid for a problem and not so much a solution?

[LoneStar45]

A UV is simply a necessary piece of equipment as is a protien skimmer. All tanks will have alage. Its unavoidable. At some time or another you will most likely get some form of parasite as well. A UV ensures control. I had read so many posts on RC and other forums that say not to use one. This is bad information obviously started by someones opinion. As far as pod life goes, assuming you have fish that feed on pods alone (very few), they will eat them dead or alive. If you use a refuge as a sanctuary for pods, they should propogate fine as only a few go through the sterlizer. I use mine in my sump to return to my sump. So not all the water that travels to my display tank are exposed all at one time.

[RachelDex]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6967411#post6967411 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LoneStar45
A UV is simply a necessary piece of equipment as is a protien skimmer. All tanks will have alage. Its unavoidable. At some time or another you will most likely get some form of parasite as well. A UV ensures control. I had read so many posts on RC and other forums that say not to use one. This is bad information obviously started by someones opinion.

"A UV is simply a necessary piece of equipment as is a protien skimmer, " is your opinion and a bad piece of information as well. There are many, many successful aquariums out there without a UV sterilizer as ther are with one. To put a UV on the same must-have level as a skimmer is incorrect.

[LoneStar45]

Let me clarify, It wasnt my intention of rating the two pieces of equipment as being the same to one another. A skimmer is essential. A sterilizer is just another piece of equipment for those of us not having as much success and constant algae problems(the majority). For US, it is a necessity. For you, try some Valium and pipe down.

[sttroyiii]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6961955#post6961955 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by RBU1
Stroyyii do a little more reading it is true. If you want the true effect of the UV all water entering your tank must pass thru it. You will need a pond UV Coralife makes them. Just make sure the UV matches your return pump. Now I am not saying a smaller UV will not do anything. I am just saying to get the true effect it must go thru your return pump. Look up Coralife I think 36 watt Pond UV sterilizers. BILL

Does anyone run ALL of their return water through their UV as RBU1 suggests? It is my impression that people run as much as possible, but running ALL of the return water isnt practical. I would like to see some backup on this, as I cannot find any.

The 36watt model says it is good for up to 300 gallons. The maximum flow rate for that model is 900gph. So thats a maximum 3x turnover . From what Ive read, a minimum of 5x turnover is recommended for a reef tank. Just going by the manufacturers recommendations means you would have to lower your turnover rate to get ALL of your return water to pass through the UV of recommended size. In order to 'match the UV to the return pump' you would be buying a model that is several sizes bigger than whats recommended to get the 'true effect' according to you. BTW, Im only talking about dwell times to kill algae, parasite dwell time is a little less than 1/3 of algae dwell time. Lets see if anyone responds that they run ALL of their return water through UV.

Last of all, I think it is pretty rude to tell someone to do more reading like they dont know what they are talking about. Whether I know what I am talking about or not, I specifically said 'I think' in my quoted statement so not to offend. If anyone needs to do more reading, it should be on the proper use of 'affective' and 'effective'. My screen name was even spelled wrong. I suggest drinking a green beer while you go back and read now...

[jumpincactus]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6959156#post6959156 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LoneStar45
After much discussion I have read about the pros and cons of UV sterilizers, I decided to purchase one. I was constanly battling algae no matter what my water parameters were.

Would you share more about what your water parameters were? I find it hard to believe that with proper nutrient export and great water quality you still battled algae. Was this a new tank algae bloom or is your tank a older well established reef. The reason I ask is with everything I have read,heard and know that if your water parameters are great algae should not be a battle.

Please elaborate on your water parameters and what types of cleaner crews you use. do you use a fuge, type of water purification you use, what additives do you use etc....

[reefgeek84]

Why wouldn't you put the UV before your sump, like the water that is coming from the tank, run it through the UV then into the sump and then back into the tank, wouldn't that prevent the flow issue people are talking about. Please no one jump down my throat I do not know much about them, but I have one and will be using it on my new tank so all this info. is good.

[Dudester]

jumpincactus
I find it hard to believe that with proper nutrient export and great water quality you still battled algae. I, too, have what I would consider "excellent" measurable water quality and am battling an algae outbreak. My 30g tank is 6 months old and it's accompanied by a 15g sump/fuge with chaetomorpha macroalgae, lit 24/7. I use a Remora HOB protein skimmer and dose B-Ionic daily to maintain Ca and alkalinity. My cleanup crew consists of an emerald crab, astrea snails, cerith snails and nassarius snails, as well as blue-legged hermit crabs. I perform about a 10% water change every other week (IO salt). For the past 2 months I've been battling bryopsis. After pushing alkalinity up to around 12 dKH and minimizing feeds, it's finally starting to regress. Equally problematic for me is the proliferation of other algae species such as valonia and a fine, short burgundy-colored algae that has covered almost every surface of LR in my tank. My ammonia, nitrate and phosphate all measure 0 by Salifert test kits, and I'm trying to decide upon UV or ozone. I opened by mentioning excellent "measurable" water quality since there clearly is something else going on in the water that we're not testing.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6970537#post6970537 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by LoneStar45
... For you, try some Valium and pipe down. - a little harsh, don't you think?

[reverendmaynard]

What's an "algae meltdown"?

How long have you had this thing running?

[MiddletonMark]

Folks, let's get back to the topic on hand and leave the commentary out of this.

[flamealert]

[ReefHotSpot]

Sizing a UV to a system is an extremely difficult thing to do and just slapping one on there is a waste of money. UV bulbs need to be changed on an 8 month cycle because they lose about 3 percent of their effective radiation per month. The clarity of your water also greatly effects the efficacy of the uv system. The reason they are very hard to size is because, sure you've got the wattage, but it is all about contact time. How much energy are you actually imparting to the animals travelling throughout he UV system. Flow rates are very difficult to measure accurately and when you mix that with a bulb that deteriorates quickly, well, you've got a hard piece of equipment to accurately size. Further, different "Bugs" require different amounts of UV energy to kill them. Again, tricky tricky not to waste your money. I run UV on my fish line and Ozone of my coral line. I have never run a UV on any of my reef tanks and have never actually seen the need for it. Sterilization? weird word to use in reference to reef setup. Sure, there are all sorts of things that need to be controlled but "sterilization" can only lead to the potential for instability, the biggest killer of any reef.

Max
reefhotspot.com