UV users

[Sky042]

I read they remove micro-biological items. However wouldn't that also kill off the benificial bacteria in the tank slowly? Also they supposedly remove tiny algae to help make the water crystal clear. Anyone have experience with these?

 

[arcticfox]

Hi there,I use an ultra-violet filter in my outside pond to great effect and I have heard of them being used in indoor situations but Im not convinced they are needed,its an entirely different situation isnt it? what they do is to breakdown algae that is floating in the water and it forms into clumps making for easy removal,it does work but you need to bear in mind these lamps only last for about 6 months,they are still alight after that time but have lost their effectiveness,so you DO need to change them at least 6 monthly if not more,its operated in conjunction with a biological filter,in which the beneficial bacteria build up,so you would need one of these too,I honestly dont think that you need to install one for aquarium use

 

[mrV]

http/fish.orbust.net/forums/index.php?sh...howtopic=31565&

but you need to bear in mind these lamps only last for about 6 months,they are still alight after that time but have lost their effectiveness

It depends on the lamp itself and the controller. Usually they last about 8-15000 hours, so keeping them 24h "on" per day, it means that tube lasts about 1-2 years and it doesn't mean that tube useless after that. But it doesn't work so well and the level, how good it "kills" organismes, reduces - so it isn't so effective after "xxxx" hours - then you can reduce water flowing and water stays in that tube longer so that organismes are exposed to uv-c light more.

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

UV units only kill off free-swimming organisms and so they don't harm your beneficial bacteria. They're not necessary in the aquarium but they do help prevent algae blooms, and they also kill off free swimming parasites etc and so can help prevent disease; I run one as a precaution.

 

[CFC]

UV sterilaisers are only really used in the freshwater hobby when you have several tanks running on one centralised system, the UV is placed at the beggining of the return pipe/hose and prevents cross infection between tanks. They are also very useful on large tanks which would cost huge ammounts in medication costs to treat a outbreak of ICH or similar disease as they kill the parasite in their free swimming stage before they can find a host.

 

[waterwatereverywhere]

They are also very useful on large tanks which would cost huge ammounts in medication costs to treat a outbreak of ICH or similar disease as they kill the parasite in their free swimming stage before they can find a host.

Surely they also have some value whatever the tank size - I'd rather avoid disease outbreak and the necessity to treat the tank in the first place.

 

[ddm18]

Hey, call me stupid, but this is a concern I've had for some time about UV.

Perhaps there are different types of UV, but as I understand it, all UV light is very bad for human skin, causing cancer and other such problems. How, therefore, does a UV light in a fish tank not cause the same problems for humans (and fish?) exposed to it?

Any ideas?
Dave

 

[CFC]

The UV light is housed inside a box which the water flows through to be sterilised, no one can see the light.