UV Sterilizer?

[hennaartist]

Whats your opinion? Who has them?

I recently purchased one for my 55 gallon, after a lovely algae bloom due to a phosphate fluctuation in tap water. I've had it a week and so far I am in love. I was told to be cautious that it could destroy the good bacteria in my tank. So I've been testing parameters daily.

I never realized my water was cloudy until I the day after I got the UV Sterilizer. Looking at my other tanks, which managed to avoid the algae bloom, I'm realizing that my water was always a little cloudy. So, I am thinking of purchasing one for my other tank as well, but don't want to regret it later.

So, who has them? And what's your opinion?

 

[aqua_holic]

I run them on my show tanks. My opinion is that they are beneficial, or else I wouldn't be using them Just gotta remember to replace the bulbs. To be completely honest I don't know that I can tell a difference with or without.

 

[Ruffers99]

they wont kill off your bb, but if ur going with inline, you must make sure that you have a powerful enough unit that can handle the amount of flow (or above) for you system, otherwise its pretty much a fancy pipe connector.

I am going to invest when i get more funds a little bit down the road .. they also will obviously help kill off disease that may be introduced to your tank.

 

[Cthulhu]

Most UV sterilizers will only be useful to get clear water.
One that is effective against bacterias, viruses and parasited will cost much more.

A good article on the subject
Aquarium & Pond UV Sterilization | How to use a UVC Sterilizer

 

[Brookster123]

My tank went green, very very green, added a sunsun with built in uv. Cleared the tank in 2 days. It's now so clear it hurts my eyes

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[hennaartist]

My tank went green, very very green, added a sunsun with built in uv. Cleared the tank in 2 days. It's now so clear it hurts my eyes

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That's my exact story lol, and exact sterilizer.

 

[Brookster123]

That's my exact story lol, and exact sterilizer.

That's crazy.. everyone says they're useless...

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[aqua_holic]

I say the integrated UV is useless, for anything more than clearing green water. The more complex an organism is, like a parasite for example, the more power and exposure time is required to kill it.

 

[Brookster123]

I say the integrated UV is useless, for anything more than clearing green water. The more complex an organism is, like a parasite for example, the more power and exposure time is required to kill it.

That's a whole notha discussion entirely.. hop in on the sw thread they have going now

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[aqua_holic]

I haven't see it.

 

[Brookster123]

I haven't see it.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/showthread.php?t=322898

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[aqua_holic]

Thank you for the link - not sure why I couldn't find it. Nothing new there really, but I'll not be posting there since I don't do SW tanks

 

[Ruffers99]

I say the integrated UV is useless, for anything more than clearing green water. The more complex an organism is, like a parasite for example, the more power and exposure time is required to kill it.

I havent seen negative comments about integrated yet, but I am looking to get an inline that can handle my gph (fx6)

Amazon.com : Coralife 15602 12X Turbo Twist UV Sterilizer : Aquarium Cleaning Supplies : Pet Supplies

going to have to save up for it though!

 

[aqua_holic]

Yeah 36 watts and a flow that wraps around and around the bulb to maximize exposure time is a powerful unit.

 

[hennaartist]

I say the integrated UV is useless, for anything more than clearing green water. The more complex an organism is, like a parasite for example, the more power and exposure time is required to kill it.

I have a 55 gallon tank. I got an adjustable flow sun sun 13 watt. It's rated for a 150 gallon tank, so I've adjusted the flow to the minimum setting allowing longer exposure for the circulated water.