uv or ozone?

[bergzy]

i was reading a thread where someone was contemplating getting an uv sterilizer.

my question is: if one of my fish were to get sick with ich or something, i would have to rip apart my extensive and elaborate rockwork which would not be a good thing.

would you consider getting a uv (which i had in the past and ran it for all the wrong reasons and sold it off ages ago) or an ozonizer to treat the entire tank?

[ButterfyBoy]

Both of these units can really only kill what passes through them. They are therefore useful as a prophylactic, as they will keep overall bacterial / parasite levels low; however, once an outbreak is underway they are of reduced value because once a pathogenic population is established you generally can't move enough water through either UV or Ozone to match the pathogen's reproduction rate. I guess the gist of what I'm getting at is that while they can help prevent an outbreak of ich or bacteria, they are not so handy once an infection is underway, which seems to be what you are asking. Unless you get a really *big* unit, you may find you have to tear the tank down anyway if you don't use the unit on a regular basis. Just my .02, and I hope it's of some value to you.

[grim]

I run both UV and Ozone, it'll do nothing about ich and parasites, but, I don't run them for that reason. It seems the current trend is to use these tools to improve water quality by breaking down compounds by photolysis (uv) and through oxidation (ozone), not because of anything having to do with parasites or ich.

jb

[alkataz]

I personally have both units. I don't run my uv anymore though. I like my ozone way better. It keeps my water nice and polished. A lot of people use uV's to control algea, but I think you should find out what i causing the algea bloom not just kill it with the uv.