UV Sterilizers
 

I've never used one. Are they worth the money? Which brand? Suggestions?

you busy can i call you about them

You want to borrow one let me know I have one sitting in the shop, I run one on my mom's fish only tank, 6 years never lost a fish to disease, It won't hurt anything but free floating critters (good and bad). If you want to buy one the Coralife turbo twist is probably the best bang for your buck, and nice and compact.

i had one on my 170 the corallife 36X and IME it was a waste of money and all my fish still had ICK , once you get ick forget it its going to stay in your tank until you tear it down.....

GARLIC will keep it in check. However having Tangs really isn't doing alot for you tank with the ick. all tangs will catch the icky bug.

The flow rate thru the sterilizer has to be much slower than recommended for it to be effective, and the bulb should be changed about every three to four months for it to be of any use, I have installed close to a dozen sterilizers for pond and tank owners and they have all proven beneficial. Most notably was a 6000 gal pond, prior to installation water was so green you could only see in a couple inches, a week after installing sterilizer you could count the grains of sand on the bottom of the pond (6 ft deep)

Pentair (formerly Rainbow Lifeguard) has a pretty good reputation.

Cheers,
Vic

Sound Advice
 

Lance,

First, I should tell you this: A UV should only be augmenting your existing filtration. Dont rely on it as a miracle solution. That being said, UV's are an excellant way to get rid of free-floating microbes, parasites etc, and are extremely effective if used properly. The user before that said that he/she still got alot of ick before with a UV probably made some sort of error. Here's my advice: get one. They're really helpful. Go as large as you can, as larger is better. And dont push more than 25-30 gph per watt UV.

Drop me a line if you need more advice.
Good luck!:biggrin:

One more thing
 

Hi Lance,

forgot to mention, AQUA UV and PENTAIR LIFEGUARD are excellant choices. Pick the one you have easy access to spare parts for (bulbs, sleeves, o-rings etc.) :biggrin:

Thanks for the advice. I've had a 25 watt sterilizer lent to me, so I will see how well it works.