Dino and UV Sterilizers.

[HaloPhenom27]

So I have a second outbreak of Dino. My goal is to attack it naturally this time by outcompeting it with beneficial bacteria and running a dirty tank essentially. My tank is currently in a 3 day blackout just to knock it back some before addressing the issue.

I have never considered my tank to be too clean with regards to Nitrates (sits between 8-10) and Phosphates (pretty steady at .25). The only time my Phosphates were lower is when I ran GFO through a reactor and they went down to 0. I stopped using GFO because of that.

Back to the heart of my question. In my plan which seems to be a pretty popular one on Reef 2 Reef, it recommends using a UV sterilzer. So my question is whether or not a UV sterilizer will kill the beneficial bacteria I am going to be dosing into the system? Also, would it kill the algae I want? I am dosing Phyto Feast as well to get that algae quicker as my system is newer. I raise the question because if it does indeed kill those things than running it would be counter productive in my new reefer mind lol. Can anybody answer this?

I love this hobby being new to it but one of the clear problems is that you can't get anyone to agree about anything. Tons of conflicting views with regards to everything in the hobby and it is mind boggling at times.

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

Before you spend a lot of money on a UV sterilizer, I would try and determine the exact strain of dino that you have. Some strains, prorocentrum and osteoporosis, go into the water column at night and are therefore very susceptible to a UV (as long as it is powerful enough)
Other strains such as amphidinium (sp) don't go into the water column so a UV is pretty useless.
A 55w UV on my Reefer 250 was definitely the major contributing factor in getting rid of my dinos, prorocentrum.

 

[HaloPhenom27]

Before you spend a lot of money on a UV sterilizer, I would try and determine the exact strain of dino that you have. Some strains, prorocentrum and osteoporosis, go into the water column at night and are therefore very susceptible to a UV (as long as it is powerful enough)
Other strains such as amphidinium (sp) don't go into the water column so a UV is pretty useless.
A 55w UV on my Reefer 250 was definitely the major contributing factor in getting rid of my dinos, prorocentrum.

Already did so and it is Osteoporosis which is why I asked the question.

 

[Tom Stevens]

Yes, I believe the UV will kill bacteria in the water column. I turn my UV off for 4 hours to allow the bacteria to take hold on the surfaces.

 

[HaloPhenom27]

Yes, I believe the UV will kill bacteria in the water column. I turn my UV off for 4 hours to allow the bacteria to take hold on the surfaces.

So am I to assume that it will only kill bacteria in the water and any that gets on the other surfaces such as rock is good? And, would it be better to simply run the UV only at night when the Dino is dieing off and going into the water column?

 

[Pennywise the Clown]

***ostreopsis

Auto correct for the win

 

[Tom Stevens]

So am I to assume that it will only kill bacteria in the water and any that gets on the other surfaces such as rock is good? And, would it be better to simply run the UV only at night when the Dino is dying off and going into the water column?

You are correct, it only kills bacteria in the water what passes in front of the light. You should pay special attention to UV flow rates and size. The UV manufacturers web sites have suggested sizing depending on the size of tank and what you want to accomplish. I use an Aqua UV which I am happy with. Once you have the right size, you adjust the flow depending on what you are trying to eliminate. The flow will determine what survives once it passes by the UV.

Not sure about running only at night. What you suggest sounds logical though.

 

[HaloPhenom27]

You are correct, it only kills bacteria in the water what passes in front of the light. You should pay special attention to UV flow rates and size. The UV manufacturers sites have suggested sizing depending on the size of tank and what you want to accomplish. Once you have the right size, you adjust the flow depending on what you are trying to eliminate. The flow will determine what survives once it passes by the UV.

Not sure about running only at night. What you suggest sounds logical though.

Thank you. I am looking at them now and researching flow rates and so on. I have a 13.5 nano so I don't need a big UV sterilizer. I know Pentair makes great UV sterilizer but that would be overkill I think in a tank my size.

 

[Tom Stevens]

Also consider how the UV will be installed. If it is part of your return line then all of the water will pass in front of the UV at some point; the UV will be less effective otherwise.

 

[HaloPhenom27]

Also consider how the UV will be installed. If it is part of your return line then all of the water will pass in front of the UV at some point; the UV will be less effective otherwise.

Yea, that is my one issue because I have a Fluval 13.5 which is an AIO. I have to figure out if hooking to the return is even feasible.

 

[Auqaman]

Before you spend a lot of money on a UV sterilizer, I would try and determine the exact strain of dino that you have. Some strains, prorocentrum and osteoporosis, go into the water column at night and are therefore very susceptible to a UV (as long as it is powerful enough)
Other strains such as amphidinium (sp) don't go into the water column so a UV is pretty useless.
A 55w UV on my Reefer 250 was definitely the major contributing factor in getting rid of my dinos, prorocentrum.

I also have a reefer 250 and was thinking about putting in a uv sterilizer to control the dinos. 55w seems huge. I thought I could get away with a 15w. Did you hook it up off the return pump in the sump?

 

[Cory]

It depends on the flow rate to kill certain things. However 8-12 gallons per watt is recommended to kill bacteria. For algae you can go much higher like 30-60 gpw.

Uv works on dinos. It will destroy basically everything that goes into it. Organics, bacteria cells, algae and even nitrites and nitrates. But not sure of those last two in saltwater- freshwater is proven.

 

[Auqaman]

We’re you able to fit that 55w in your sump? I’m in the middle of dosing my tank with hydrogen peroxide and it kills me to do it.

It depends on the flow rate to kill certain things. However 8-12 gallons per watt is recommended to kill bacteria. For algae you can go much higher like 30-60 gpw.

Uv works on dinos. It will destroy basically everything that goes into it. Organics, bacteria cells, algae and even nitrites and nitrates. But not sure of those last two in saltwater- freshwater is proven.
[/QUOTE

 

[Cory]

We’re you able to fit that 55w in your sump? I’m in the middle of dosing my tank with hydrogen peroxide and it kills me to do it.

I have a 90 watt lifegard smart uv. It fits in my sump area. Dont use peroxide it just kills your pods mostly. Dinos will come back with peroxide. I dosed tons and they came back. Uv works.