UV disappointment......kind of

[Dr.Nate]

Well, I kinda wanted to post this in case anyone was considering purchasing a UV sterilizer. I have a 55gal tank with 20 gal sump. I got a turbo twist 9W with a Rio 1 pump (90gph pump, but at 1 foot of head is 54gph).

According to the turbo twist instructions, the flow has to be 55gph or less to be effective against parasites....

Well, it's been a several weeks, and wow, is my tank clearer than it has ever been! I guess I had way more free floating algae in my tank than I had thought, because it has made a huge difference there.....and in my opinion, it's been worth the money just for this alone.

My tang still has ich, however, and it's hard to tell if it's getting better or worse. (Please, no lectures, I've done everything right with him)

So I'm curious now if I should try an 18W unit? I am scared of high temps, though cuz the 9W has raised my temp 2 degrees (82.5)

What should I do? Thoughts?

 

[Salttanker]

UV's are good for controlling parasites, but if the Tang already had ich it wouldn't resolve the issue you currently have.
I would, as most people would say to QT the Tang and treat with meds. Don't treat him in your main tank.

Mike

 

[Brenden]

I have a 36W turbo twist on my tank. I currently have it off. I have never noticed a rise in temp from it. More likely the pump if anything. A UV will only kill parasites that goes through it. If ich is in your tank there is not way for the UV to treat what is in your sand etc. I agree with mike QT the tang and treat it there. How many other fish do you have in the tank? To do it correctly they all should be taken out and go through hypo and leave the tank fallow for 6-8 weeks. Steve-s taught me that. I have been through it and it is no fun, but after it was over I felt like I had won something.

 

[beblondie]

Have you cleaned the inside of the sterilizr yet?they need a monthly cleaning -Anne

 

[Dr.Nate]

I have been through QT, fallow, etc. already.....like I said, I did everything right, and still have ich.

I have four other small fish which show no signs of it.

Have not cleaned the sterilizer yet, it's only 2 weeks old....will soon, though

 

[seaham358]

I think everyone covered it..
You could have a 100 watt UV on the tank and it would not make a difference, if the ich is in the tank and does not flow through the UV unit it will not kill it. It sounds like you need to treat the fish again and take out all the other fish for 6-8 weeks.

 

[Dr.Nate]

yeah, but doesn't the ich detach itself from the fish and gro through a free-floating phase to multiply? If so, it would then be exposed to the UV there and die, correct?

 

[Brenden]

No way to guarantee all the ich will be exposed to the UV.

 

[seaham358]

Only if it flows through the unit... So if the pump for the UV does not pick up the ich in the free floating stage the ich has time to go in the sand and lr and live to infest another day.

 

[Guest]

You have a couple of choices for treating your tang. If you don't have any inverts, or could find a temporary home for them, you could drop the salanity in your ST to 1.009 (hyposalanity) for about 6 weeks. You'd need a refractometer to be sure you're accurate - a regular swing arm hydrometer just won't do. Also, keeping it at the SG is crucial. Next would be to remove the tang and treat with copper. Not really recommended with them since they're very sensitive to copper. Third would be a three day transfer method. Kind of complicated and would more than likely stress the fish out more making death more likely. I'd go with hyposalanity and leave your ST fishless for 6 weeks. Doesn't matter if any others show signs of ich, if there's fish then the parasite will continue to run its' cycle. Good luck.

KG

 

[sango]

One way I control ich in my tank is I keep the temp at 80-81 and I keep my salt at 1.019-1.020 with 2 cleaner shrimp. I know I have ich but this has worked for me for sometime now with no deaths. Oh and I also soak all my food in garlic