UV Sterilizers and Reef tanks

[fishman]

Do any of you run UV's on your reef tanks? I thought I heard somewhere that you cant run UV's as it will destroy something pertaining to reef tanks?
Also if you do, what are the better ones?

 

[loganj]

It has been said that the UV will destroy the plankton in a reef tank. I have come to the conclusion though, that most reefs don't have enough plankton to make a difference anyway. You might kill a few pods, but a healthy tank will have enough of these even with a few losses due to the UV unit. IMO, the benefits of UV will outweigh whatever detrimental effects it may (or may not) have. There's a couple of good articles in the articles section of this site on UV that you might want to check out. My favorite is the Aqua Ultraviolet brand. These are well built and are available with a wiper which makes keeping the quartz bulb sleeve clean much easier.

 

[fishman]

Well I had one in my tank when it was just FO and I had TONS of pods...so I would think this would be a sure sign as you said that UV's dont kill pods...or at least that many...
Really I have found that asking WHO has them and for how long usually is a good indicator is something is bad or not...I think most people have them for sure.
Thanks for the info and please feel free to post more opinions..