UV is pointless on a tropical tank.
From Mycobacteriosis− the Stealth Disease
by Diana Walstad (January 2009)
Author of Ecology of the Planted Aquarium
The recommended course was to tear down the tanks, disinfect everything, and start over. However, my three established tanks contained fish and plants that I had had for many years. Unsure of what to do next, I decided to add a UV sterilizing filter to each of the three tanks (45, 50, and 55 gal). My reasoning was that even if I could not save the fish, I could protect myself from infection.
I set up the UV filters so that water from the biofilter flowed through the UV filter around the internal 8-watt UV lamp before returning to the tank. I kept the UV sterilizers on 24 hr a day with a gentle flow rate, thereby maximizing the water's exposure to the sterilizing UV light. Results from the UV sterilizers were unexpected and amazing. Fish deaths stopped. A couple fish with symptoms actually recovered. Whether the UV sterilizers were killing the bacteria responsible for MB or were killing pathogens causing secondary infections was irrelevant to me. My fish were getting better!
From
http
/www.bookmaste...mycoarticle.pdf
The article is quite long and goes into a lot of detail on the disease and how UV helped. There is wuite a long reference list at the end of the paper as well. It points who studies involving fw and UV uses.
OK i'll rephrase it, UV is pointless in a tropical tank for the vast majority of hobbyists
you were right first time, Tizer. they are pointless in any tropical tank.
lol, this is empiric evidence that UV can do things it cant. the best the above has done, is mask the problem.
@Samuran. UV cant fix bacterial problems, only reduce them. only a Whole tank at once treatment can do that. whatever UV sales blurb says.
this means meds, not UV.
as i said,over estimating (believing the sales talk) the power of UV is common.
in a tank with uncontrolled light, they can be a boon. and they can be used to reduce the bacterial load, prior to using a treatment. but that's about the limit of their usefulness.
this is another subject that's been covered here, many times. yet not one shred of, real evidence is ever offered. sure we get "but I've seen how much better my tank is with one". followed by, "you just wont understand till you get one". like somehow they have found something nobody else has noticed. oh yeah, and all that sales talked, dressed with nice graphs and charts. often refered to as PROOF UV works.
believable me. If UV were a must for a tropical tank, we would all HAVE to use them.
but we dont, and wont. as UV simply cant do what, most, claim it can.
misunderstanding how a UV works in a tank, is the basis of this Fishkeeping wife's tale.
and thats ignoring the fact that, Sterilising a tank totally, is the last think we want to do. after all, the Bio film (covers all surfaces in a mature tank) is built from different bacteria and living organisms.
yet even UV protected (lol) tanks develop a bio film. proof, if it were needed, that UV simply doese not do what it says on the box.
nice toy, with some uses. but needs kept in the draw, until needed.
not sure what you mean "no haters". but I'll post as i wish. deal with it!
