UV sterilizers. Do they work? And on What?

[TomToro]

After reading another thread I got to thinking. What's the general consensus on UV sterilizers in the Reef Tank? I told a buddy I was running them because it's good for the tank and he said 'how do you know'. That's a good question. How do I know?

Do they work?

What are they used for?

Do they make enough of an impact to warrant their high price and energy used?

How do you determine the right wattage for your size tank, bioload, etc.?

I currently have two 57 watt Aqua's and am not sure if I'm going to run them or not.

 

[wicked demon]

They are very usefull, and have a couple applications;
#1- they kill water borne parasites (2nd stage of their life)
#2- they actually form a small amount of ozone and this increases your redox

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Do they work?

Yes, and no... they kill some bad things, but not all, and they kill some good things.

What are they used for?

Exposing organisms to U'V light which kills them.

Do they make enough of an impact to warrant their high price and energy used?

IMHO/IME no... in a multiple tank system that holds fish I might be inclined to consider one.


Tom, you do not want to run one on a bacterial driven system.

Tom Murphy had an excellent short summary of them in Reefkeeping magazine (about 3/4 down this page): Reefkeeping 101 - Bogus Information - by Tom Murphy (aka WaterKeeper) - Reefkeeping.com

 

[wicked demon]

Im sorry but I do not agree. I have a bacteria driven system, and the U/V has really improved the water clarity, IMO The organisms it kills is just a nice side effect. If you are not adding fish regularly parasites will not become too much of an issue as stress and stability are the main factors on whether a fish gets sick or not. I think bob fenner at wetwebmedia has a posting on U/V and redox, I will find it......

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

No reason to be sorry... FWIW, running a bacterial driven system along with a U/V sterilizer is counter productive... the full potential of the water bourne bacteria can never be reached as the U/V sterilizer kills them.

Not saying it won't work, just counter productive (as is a refugium with calerpa + probiotics, etc.).

IMO The organisms it kills is just a nice side effect.

It's not a side-effect, it's what U/V does. You're experiencing clearer water due to the fact that the U/V is killing water borne algae, wherein an established probiotic system they cannot survive.

 

[TomToro]

Thanks for the reply, Stun and Wicked.

Stun, I plan on only using this on the 240 which is my fish and easy coral tank. I'm only using the Bacter7 system on my 135 sps setup and shut off my UV when I started it. I stopped using it (Brightwell B7 and Vodka) on the 240 last week due to some problems. I appreciate the advice as always, though.

Just off the subject for a second, you eluded to no cheato in the sump. Am I supposed to wait for the cheato to starve out, or remove it? I still have some nuisance algae in the dt. Thanks,


Back on subject, thanks for the link. I'll read the heck out of it.
Tom

Yes, and no... they kill some bad things, but not all, and they kill some good things.

Exposing organisms to U'V light which kills them.

IMHO/IME no... in a multiple tank system that holds fish I might be inclined to consider one.


Tom, you do not want to run one on a bacterial driven system.

Tom Murphy had an excellent short summary of them in Reefkeeping magazine (about 3/4 down this page): Reefkeeping 101 - Bogus Information - by Tom Murphy (aka WaterKeeper) - Reefkeeping.com

 

[fragger]

i think if you can afford it (in your case you already have it) then do it but if it came down to a uv or other equipment on a reef tank (Ie phosban reactor). i would give priority to other equipment.

 

[Sikryd]

No reason to be sorry... FWIW, running a bacterial driven system along with a U/V sterilizer is counter productive... the full potential of the water bourne bacteria can never be reached as the U/V sterilizer kills them.

Not saying it won't work, just counter productive (as is a refugium with calerpa + probiotics, etc.).

It's not a side-effect, it's what U/V does. You're experiencing clearer water due to the fact that the U/V is killing water borne algae, wherein an established probiotic system they cannot survive.

+1

That is why we have to add bacteria ;)

 

[stunreefer Verified Sponsor]

Just off the subject for a second, you eluded to no cheato in the sump. Am I supposed to wait for the cheato to starve out, or remove it? I still have some nuisance algae in the dt.

You can leave it, no biggee, as you already know it will starve out, so be prepared to remove it or it can (and will) re-release nutrients into the water column.

 

[wicked demon]

The elimination of micro-organisms is not why I run U/V, thats why you see a IMO before that statement, here is the link to the ORP/ redox info I mentioned, it doesn't mention U/V specifically but any O3 addition will increase this level and all U/V sterilizers produce ozone in small amounts.

--->IMO<---ORP is the most important- not talked about subject in this industry/hobby.
http://www.wetwebmedia.com/redox.htm
BTW just because you kill micro algea and other micro-things does not mean that they are being removed from the water column, then they are dead floating particles. Just like a fish that dies doesn't dissappear, you have to remove it somehow, or it will end up being eaten partially and decaying into nutrients in your system.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I used a UV on my last heavily stocked FOWLR system and swear by them for that sort of tank. I do not recommend or use on on a reef system simply for the fact they inactivate good oocysts as well as bad and which are a necessary part of the food chain.

 

[TomToro]

I'm hopefully o.k. on that too, I have a pretty good size skimmer (actually 2) each rated for twice the volume of my tank which means it should be right:wink: You know how everybody over-rates their skimmers.

--->IMO<---ORP is the most important- not talked about subject in this industry/hobby.
ReDox
BTW just because you kill micro algea and other micro-things does not mean that they are being removed from the water column, then they are dead floating particles. Just like a fish that dies doesn't dissappear, you have to remove it somehow, or it will end up being eaten partially and decaying into nutrients in your system.[/QUOTE]

 

[TomToro]

I used a UV on my last heavily stocked FOWLR system and swear by them for that sort of tank. I do not recommend or use on on a reef system simply for the fact they inactivate good oocysts as well as bad and which are a necessary part of the food chain.

Cool. That's what I'll be using it on. Now do I use 57watts or 114 I have access to both? It's a 340gallon system, with 8 fish, 4 of them decent size tangs.

 

[TomToro]

i think if you can afford it (in your case you already have it) then do it but if it came down to a uv or other equipment on a reef tank (Ie phosban reactor). i would give priority to other equipment.

I agree with that. Good advice, Thanks.

 

[Blackhawk Fan]

Cool. That's what I'll be using it on. Now do I use 57watts or 114 I have access to both? It's a 340gallon system, with 8 fish, 4 of them decent size tangs.

114w for sure.

 

[cloakerpoked]

On a FOWLR I would always use a UV sterilizer...the more the merrier IMO/IME. Nitrates and other particulate are a MUCH smaller concern in these types of tanks, so who cares if you're running around 20 ppm nitrates? While stability is the best prevention of disease, running UV as a suppliment to that sure doesn't hurt anything, and can slow an outbreak considerably should one of your fish get sick.

 

[gilmour01]

i dont run one on my reef and my water is crystal clear. i think running one would depend on the needs of the system. its kind of a "to each his own" kinda thing.

 

[Blackhawk Fan]

I have a 25w Aqua unit on my reef that I turn on for a few hours after a water change. We all know water changes reduce the O2 levels, so my hope is that running the UV helps increase the O2 faster. My other reason for adding it was in case of a bacterial bloom. I'm experimenting in a bacterial driven system and my luck isn't the greatest. ;)

On a FOWLR or FO tank I would definitely have a UV on 24/7.

 

[AZDesertRat]

I would try the 114w and watch the heat gain, if its too much drop back to the 57w. I used a 18w Aquanetics on my old 90G and it added a quite a bit of heat believe it or not even with only a 18w quartz sleeve type UV.UV is dependent on multiple passes so slowly recirculating clean water past a lower wattage bulb is more effective than blasting it with high wattage light. If it was a once through system like we use in wastewater treatment plants then higher wattage is important because you only get one shot and the effluent has passed. Cleanliness is important though with any UV since oocysts hide behind particulates and don't get irradiated, feed it with the return pump or something that recirculates clean water not from the overflow.