UV instead of QT & treatment of ick

[my2rotties]

Greenspottedpuffer's post about QT had me thinking.

Instead of QT new fish can a person run UV for 2 weeks in the community tank to ensure that any parasites that might be attached will be killed if there is an issue. I know the fish might be infected, but would running UV prevent it from taking hold in the tank any further?

If there is an ick outbreak is running UV a viable option instead of using chemicals? What would be the pros and cons of such an endeavor? If UV kills all bacteria and parasites, it seems that it would stop ick in its free swimming form before it had a chance to attach to a new host. I mean why use chemicals that kill ick in its free swimming form when UV can be used to do the same thing. The fish still must go through the cysts growing and forming, which is the hardest part. At least with UV the fish would not have to be stressed out with moving and being bombed with chemicals. They would still be in their display tank, happily eating and the parasites would be killed like chemicals would do in QT, right?

If you are dealing with ick or any disease would UV help the fish at all. I had an ick outbreak and it was awful earlier this year. I ended up treating with cupamine but I lost fish and the stress of chemicals took its toll on the fish. I hated using chemicals but knew no other options. I still had the helplessly watch them deal with the parasites in their gills, and wait for them to drop off for the chemicals to work...UV just sounds like a much better option since I would not need to QT the fish and they have to deal with the cysts and wait for them to drop off anyways.

Also is water flow and circulation a factor in preventing the ick to attach again. I read it gets fish when they are sleeping in quiet areas of the tank. I assume if I had very good circulation and made sure to use my wave makes and blowers, the ick might have difficulty attaching in the first place. I would imagine such tiny parasites would not be strong swimmers and if flow and circulation were factors, it would make it hard for the ick to get back onto the fish.

Sorry if my question seems a little vague, but I hope you understand my silly newbie question. Should UV be run on occasion to prevent outbreaks of ick? I have read posts that say UV did clear fish up, but most posts said to use chemicals or let the fish fight it off... If using UV helped eradicate the parasite while the fish were fighting ick, would it not be the way to go instead of chemicals.

Can you tell I have no idea of what I am talking about?

Thanks in advance for any help in giving me clarity on this subject.