UV Sterilizer. Good or Bad?

[Jack]

Your poll is missing so many applications or reasons for using a uv sterilizer. I have used them in both reef and fish only aquariums and from my experiance they do help increase water clarity and reduce ich. I have also used them to get rid of bacterial or green water blooms in other aquaria. In my opinion they aren't needed but nice to have. They only have one real downside in a reef tank in that they kill plankton but in my opinion, after scubadiving and seeing just how clear the water is and realizing there's not a whole lot in there anyways, you can't go wrong using uv in a reef. Our corals don't need phyto in an aquarium to survive - they find other ways of feeding like fish waste and food juices etc. I think people stoped feeding DT's phytoplankton 10yrs ago. I can't believe that company still exsists.

[zum14]

Originally Posted by Jack

Your poll is missing so many applications or reasons for using a uv sterilizer. I have used them in both reef and fish only aquariums and from my experiance they do help increase water clarity and reduce ich. I have also used them to get rid of bacterial or green water blooms in other aquaria. In my opinion they aren't needed but nice to have. They only have one real downside in a reef tank in that they kill plankton but in my opinion, after scubadiving and seeing just how clear the water is and realizing there's not a whole lot in there anyways, you can't go wrong using uv in a reef. Our corals don't need phyto in an aquarium to survive - they find other ways of feeding like fish waste and food juices etc. I think people stoped feeding DT's phytoplankton 10yrs ago. I can't believe that company still exsists.

Again should of put an other tab. The thread is here for extra comments though. Thanks for the input.

[cwatkins]

I run bio-pellets and zeo (AA + Coral Vit) and also run UV 24/7 in my sump. If I had extra space on my controller's power bar, I would run my UV off of it so that it only came on part of the day.

I do dose Zeo during my feeding cycle while the return is off.

Sometimes I'll unplug the UV for a few days or so.

I know I do have Ick in the tank as one of my tangs and a mandarin have shown spots before. I've never had a full outbreak.

I am seeing the benefits of Zeo and Biopellets. I assume due to the lack illness in my fish, the UV along with my regement of supplements (garlic and selcon) are keeping them healthy.

[Bblinks]

I also run pellets and zeo. UV is on 24/7, I always thought it is the flow rate that killed certain things like bacteria or photoplankton... I set my with a flow rate to around 300 gph so it kills ick parasite.