Lhsquared Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 Looking for opinions / experiences / reviews for UV steralizers.... I have a 75g reef tank and am looking for a simple and effective setup. Are there any that come with the pump or is that always something you need to get separately? Any and all advice is welcome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Juiceman Posted November 4, 2012 Share Posted November 4, 2012 I have an all in one that I don't use, rated to 150g I think Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ckyuv Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 i use one that is in line on my return, cant say it works or does not , my fish still die Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I would setup a 15-25 watt sterilizer with a pump that pulls water from the bottom of your display tank and dumps back into you display tank. The pump and sterilizer should be sized so it maintains a proper kill rate with a turnover of one or two times per hour. I have run sterilizers between the return pump and display tank with inconsistant results, partly because the higher flow rate of a return pump does not allow for a long enough exposure rate to kill the larva immediately putting them back in the tank with the fish. I also suspect since larval are hatching out from substrate a pump in the bottom on the tank will pull in more larva than waiting for the larva to get sucked over the overflow. Do not trust the marketing hype on the packaging, look at the flow rates needed to maintain a high kill rate for external parasites, often the max flow rates and tank sizes given on the outside of the packaging or the initial teaser line on a webpage are for removing algae blooms from water (green water) which has a much lower exposure rate. One disadvantage is UV are also heaters so watch you temp. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
(Bio)³ Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 I'm curious of people opinions on UV bulb brands. I'm about to order a new bulb and was curious if anyone would order the UV bulbs off ebay or would they stick with the name brand phillips/coralife bulb? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 My question is what's your reason for wanting to get one? There are definitely times when they are appropriate like a hospital tank or treating some specific pathogen, but I think they would do more harm than good in many cases for a display tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lhsquared Posted November 5, 2012 Author Share Posted November 5, 2012 Ich. Trying to get rid of or more accurately cut down on ich in my system. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Timfish Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Unlike Jestep I do not see any harm in using them on display tanks outside of the heat issues. Choosing between have a UV and not having a UV i would not have a UV but I have run reef systems a year or more without any noticable adverse affect on the system. Considering potentially very long life cycle of ich once it's in a display tank the only long term effective remedy is a UV sterilizer. Many aquarists report success with food additives only and I mayself have seen ich cured spontaineiously in a healthy established reef tank, PRESUMABLY the corals feeding and have healthy fish is what allowed this to happen but it is not something I would rely on happening. Keep in mind the Regal Tang, Paracanthurus heptatus, when stressed out develops what superficially looks like ich but in my experience is not however if you did not observe it and it's tank mates closely through quarintine you have to assume it is. Here's a good research paper outlining it's life cycle: http://edis.ifas.ufl.edu/fa164 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jestep Posted November 5, 2012 Share Posted November 5, 2012 Opps, I completely missed the ich explanation. That's definitely a tough one. Do you have the ability to setup a hospital tank? THat's the most sure way to get rid of it assuming you can get all the fish out of the tank for 4 - 6 weeks. If only SW was as easy to treat as FW. Just raise the temp for about 2 weeks and done. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.