UV Sterilizers Question

[javi515707]

Can we hear the truth about UV Sterilizers…

I’ve been told by a few Local Fish stores that UV Sterilizers help kill parasites and they prevent diseases in my tank.
I bought one shortly after adding a brown powder tang to my tank to prevent any Ich breakouts.
Can anyone tell me if the purchase of a UV Sterilizer was just a waste of my money….

Would love to hear your opinion on this…

-Javi

[paveking1]

I run a uv on all my tanks most three years old . I havent had any problems with my fish since . what kind of uv are u using .

[Macimage]

I always run UV on my tanks.

Joyce

[javi515707]

I am currently running a Turbo-Twist 3X 9Watt
i have a 55g reef/fish tank. I lost my Powder Brown Tang last sunday from what I believe was Ich. None my other fishes are showing sighns of Ich on them...
I had that PB for over a year

[jdieck]

Although most UV units are not powerful enough (And should not be unless you want to also kill all your plankton) to really get at parasites, they help killing some algae and fungal spores which reduces outbreaks and seem to reduce fungal infections in fish which in turn can make them healthier and more likely to outlive an ich infection.
A couple of cleaner shrimp seem to also help at least with certain parasites.

[javi515707]

Good info guys !

[kdblove_99]

I also use one. Before a UV i had ich and after a UV i have never had a fish with ich. Maybe it's just luck but i am a believer

[95accord]

i had a bad phyto outbreak in my tank just last week. added a UV....cleared up in a couple days. i think ill leave it in there now.

[opiumpipez]

for some uv is a complete waste and for others uv is a beneficial addition to the tank.

im on board with the latter. i run my uv 24/7 (except when i dose for phyto which isn too often).

[gabe3d]

I have one, and a large one for my tank for that matter. I use it and see a noticeable difference in algae growth and water clarity.

[old salty]

UV sterilizers can be useful, but adding a UV light just to add one is not the best way to go about it. Consider what you want to kill; lets stick with marine ich for conversation purposes. Say you want to rid your tank of ich and you choose UV lighting to do so. You must figure out how much UV lighting is required to kill 100% of the ich that passes through it and you must also figure out how long ich must be exposed to said wattage. Exposing ich to a 5 watt bulb for 1 second isn't going to have the same results as exposing it to a 150 watt bulb for a minute.

Lets say ich must be exposed to 15 watts of UV light for 2 seconds to kill it (not real numbers, I made them up.) UV lights tend to lose up to 50% of their output after 6 months of use. If you purchase a 15w UV light, within 1 month, it will not kill any ich parasites because the dose it too low. For the next 5 months, your UV light is not doing what you intended it to do. Say you purchase a 30w UV bulb; now after 6 months of use, it is putting out 15w of UV light and still killing ich.

Of course, getting the ich inside the UV sterilizer is a whole other discussion.

Most of this info was given to me by the person that maintains the UV sterilizers where I work. If you need anything more specific, I can ask.

[javi515707]

Thanks old salty... Great info...
So if I understand correctly. You are saying that my UV 9w is not really doing much for my 55g. Please correct me if I'm wrong...

[old salty]

I have no idea what sort of marine organisms are going to live or die when exposed to 9 watts of UV light. Whether your tank is 55 gallons or 500 gallons has no bearing on the results; it's still 9 watts of UV light and will only kill organisms that cannot survive a 9w dose of UV light. If the ich parasite is capable of surviving 9 watts, then your UV light is not killing ich. If algae spores cannot survive the 9w dose, then you are killing algae spores. I hope that makes sense; I had to retype it a dozen times.

Apparently, quartz sleeves are deemed to be appropriate as they do not degrade with UV use. I learned this just before he left for the holiday.