UV sterilizer

[dustin_P74]

what are the pros and cons of hooking on of these up besides it kills everything, can you still keep inverts and coral with a uv hooked up and what all does it actually kill?

[daugherty]

it will kill anything that passes throught it like pods, alage. they will help to keep your water clear but you will loose the purpose of a fuge if you have one because it wll kill the things before they get to the tank.

[reeffreak]

LIke daugherty said,a UV kills the good and bad.

Pros-
Kills algae spores going through the membrane making the tank appear cleaner and the water clearer.

Reduce some fish disease outbreaks by killing parasites/bacteria/virus.If you're trying to keep fish prone to Ich and other diseases than A UV is something to consider.

Cons-
Kills the beneficial bacteria(most are coating the rocks,glass after the cycle so it doesn't kill much).

Maintenance,the lining/sleeve needs to be clean periodically and bulb needs replacing.

Killing algae spores and other things can add even more nutrient especially if you are having excessive diatoms/film algae problems already.More and a larger amount of water changes might be needed for awhile.

*** I didn't list copepods and other fauna getting killed because there is a way to avoid/minumalize deaths***

[daugherty]

how do you avoid the pods and fauna

[reeffreak]

You can set the UV before water goes to the refugium and away from the drain end of a fuge.For instance,the skimmer chamber if it's before the refugium will reduce any copepods from getting zapped.

[Bifferwine]

Everyone else has got it covered. I have never had the need for a UV sterilizer in my tanks, and the people I know that do use them usually keep disease prone fish (like a lot of tangs). A UV sterilizer can be a great tool if you have fish that are susceptible to ich, but is usually not necessary for your average reef tank.

[dustin_P74]

well i fit in the category of keeping ich prone fishies, if you havent noticed yet

[Doc]

I swore by them for years. I had a big one on my 125. I found that good husbandry kept the disease at bad and I haven't had an ich outbreak in quite some time. I have a regal tank in my reef tank and there is no UV on that either and he has never had ich. I am not sure how necessary they are until you are looking at a massive system with a lot of fish, in which case ozone may be more appropriate (tanks over 500 gallons)

-Doc