Is A Uv Steriliser A Good Thing To Have?

[lukkylady]

is it a good investment to have a UV steriliser on your tank?

i know it doesnt prevent outbreaks like whitespot, algae etc, but can help lower the risk of outbreaks

so is it worthwhile running one along side water changes and good tank maintenance?

if so, any recommendations on make/model?

i have 240 litre fowlr tank, no sump

and can it kill good things in the tank as well?

 

[Musho3210]

nope, i think they shouldnt be used. Too many cons in my eyes.

But my tanks are mixed softie, lps, and sps tanks. If you have a primary SPS tank, then i would say its useful enough to spend the money on.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

They are good with heavily stocked FO tanks too

 

[SkiFletch]

UV sterilizers are more for tanks with fish prone to diseases and tanks heavily stocked with fish. They act to prevent the transmission of pathogens from one fish to another but will not cure a fish of ilness. So if you're keeping a tank full of Tangs, use one, otherwise, it's not really necessary

 

[ostrow]

I run one 24/7. My fish are healthy. My corals are healthy. My inverts are thriving. My sandbed it flush with life. The tanks all have various copepods, amphipods, etc crawling all over the place. Do some die when they pass through the UV? Maybe. But even if they do, they are fried treats for the fish. But UV kill is dependent on bulb strenght and flow rate. Normally, we set to kill parasites, which are infinitely smaller than are the pods we cherish. The pods normally pass through unscathed.

 

[Musho3210]

I run one 24/7. My fish are healthy. My corals are healthy. My inverts are thriving. My sandbed it flush with life. The tanks all have various copepods, amphipods, etc crawling all over the place. Do some die when they pass through the UV? Maybe. But even if they do, they are fried treats for the fish. But UV kill is dependent on bulb strenght and flow rate. Normally, we set to kill parasites, which are infinitely smaller than are the pods we cherish. The pods normally pass through unscathed.

UV doesnt kill larger zooplankton (pods) but rather their food source (phytoplankton). Not running the UV would probably give you more pods and i dont see how your fish and corals wont be healthy, unless something was wrong.

Most people run major systems with large amounts of SPS etc and fish with no UV. Protein skimmers kill enough pods.

 

[ostrow]

Yah. It's definitely not necessary. However, it is useful to have. I'm one of those who believes that crypt is always in our systems, and becomes a problem when adding new fish or something else happens to stress the fish. At those times you slow the rate of flow through the UV and it is a big help.

Last I read, I concluded from long threads on other boards that there is not much evidence to suggest that we are growing phyto at all in our systems. The preponderance of the evidence suggests that the levels of phyto are minimal at best even in the largest home aquaria. That's why DT's and Phyto2 and Reef Nutrition, and others, make money selling us live phyto -- it just is not prevalent in our systems. So, a UV is not very likely to kill phytoplankton as it isn't there to be killed.

They are expensive and add to the electrical costs involved in running a reef. It makes little sense to have one and not run it 24/7. It is not in any way needed. But I find it to be helpful and I find that more as many of the Reef Central TOTM winners run them as do not run them.

 

[Musho3210]

Yah. It's definitely not necessary. However, it is useful to have. I'm one of those who believes that crypt is always in our systems, and becomes a problem when adding new fish or something else happens to stress the fish. At those times you slow the rate of flow through the UV and it is a big help.

Last I read, I concluded from long threads on other boards that there is not much evidence to suggest that we are growing phyto at all in our systems. The preponderance of the evidence suggests that the levels of phyto are minimal at best even in the largest home aquaria. That's why DT's and Phyto2 and Reef Nutrition, and others, make money selling us live phyto -- it just is not prevalent in our systems. So, a UV is not very likely to kill phytoplankton as it isn't there to be killed.

They are expensive and add to the electrical costs involved in running a reef. It makes little sense to have one and not run it 24/7. It is not in any way needed. But I find it to be helpful and I find that more as many of the Reef Central TOTM winners run them as do not run them.

I do agree with you on the ich always being present, no matter how long you quarantine or how powerful your UV is, although UV wont make them extinct, they do help.

According to Eric Borneman, there is no way to tell how much phytoplankton is in a reef aquaria, but there is a considerable amount. I quote "The amounts of phytoplankton present in reef aquariums are not known but are probably considerable. However, they are also probably rapidly removed by grazing and export devices.

Similarly, the amounts required to produce an equivalent level to sustained natural seawater levels is not known, and is probably highly dependent on individual differences in tank stocking, but is likely a considerable amount."

Being the main diet of zooplankton (pods etc.), and since our tanks always have pods in them, im positive we have a considerable amount of it in our tanks. Ive never done it before, but im sure if you look in a microscope at your skimmate, you would see phytoplankton in it. Here is his article BTW.
[URL="http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/eb/index.php"]http/reefkeeping.com/issues/2002-10/eb/index.php[/URL]

And, lastly, most people with UV sterilizers have reported a loss in pod life.

 

[SkiFletch]

Interesting Musho. As you know, I use UV but don't have any pod population problems. In fact my refuguim is littered with copepods and amphipods. When she first noticed it, my girlfriend asked me why it looked like my chaetomorpha was moving... I told her to look closer, that's not the Chaeto that's moving, its all the pods. So I guess as Borneman hints at, each tank is certainly different.

 

[ostrow]

Interesting Musho. As you know, I use UV but don't have any pod population problems. In fact my refuguim is littered with copepods and amphipods. When she first noticed it, my girlfriend asked me why it looked like my chaetomorpha was moving... I told her to look closer, that's not the Chaeto that's moving, its all the pods. So I guess as Borneman hints at, each tank is certainly different.

Exactly.