Mudfrog said:I have a 9w built in to my canister filter. It does help with green water. I disagree with saying you don't need it if your parameters are in check, I had green water despite having good numbers.
...joey... said:So if your parameters are fine and your water is crystal clear its just a waste of money right???
So if your parameters are fine and your water is crystal clear its just a waste of money right???
Mudfrog said:It's still supposed to help with parasites but honestly I feel it's best used for green water. I wouldn't personally run one with clear water.
So basically if your water is green instead of doing more water changes every week and turning your lights off for longer periods of the day and maybe buying a tank cleaning fish which would all amount to £15 you should buy a uv steriliser costing you £100 plus! That really doesn't make sense to me! My water is crystal clear I only have an in lid filter system no carbon no bacteria building media just sponges I do a water change every two weeks my fish are healthy bright coloured get white spot once in a blue moon and that's it so I think it's just a case of dont be lazy and spend money on something for nothing and put some work into tinkering with your setup and see which ways put together work best.
Rivercats said:This statement is way off.... people who use UV's are not being lazy, just as saying doing WC's and turning lights down will rid green water. Green water issues are not that simple to remedy. In order for a UV to work properly you have to have the correct watt bulb and most importantly you need to have the proper slow flow rate especially if using it for sterilzing. UV's can clear green water and bacterial blooms overnight, which is proof they kill bacteria and algae in water that passes through them at a proper rate. They can help greatly in keeping bacteria counts lower in water (provided once again that the unit is properly sized and water flow passes through it at a proper rate). For water clarity they can literally polish water the same way a diatom filter can. I'm not talking clear water, I'm talking polished like glass, such a sharp clarity the fish look like they are swimming in air. They have to be maintained as any other piece of aquarium equipment and depending on why you want one is not a waste of money. There are good unit and not so good units and research must be done when buying one, but if you get a good unit and install it properly, and maintain it properly it can be a valuable tool in an aquarium, it is not a waste of money and does not mean people who use them are being lazy and aren't maintaining or servicing their aquariums properly.
Rivercats said:This statement is way off.... people who use UV's are not being lazy, just as saying doing WC's and turning lights down will rid green water. Green water issues are not that simple to remedy. In order for a UV to work properly you have to have the correct watt bulb and most importantly you need to have the proper slow flow rate especially if using it for sterilzing. UV's can clear green water and bacterial blooms overnight, which is proof they kill bacteria and algae in water that passes through them at a proper rate. They can help greatly in keeping bacteria counts lower in water (provided once again that the unit is properly sized and water flow passes through it at a proper rate). For water clarity they can literally polish water the same way a diatom filter can. I'm not talking clear water, I'm talking polished like glass, such a sharp clarity the fish look like they are swimming in air. They have to be maintained as any other piece of aquarium equipment and depending on why you want one is not a waste of money. There are good unit and not so good units and research must be done when buying one, but if you get a good unit and install it properly, and maintain it properly it can be a valuable tool in an aquarium, it is not a waste of money and does not mean people who use them are being lazy and aren't maintaining or servicing their aquariums properly.
This statement is way off.... people who use UV's are not being lazy, just as saying doing WC's and turning lights down will rid green water. Green water issues are not that simple to remedy. In order for a UV to work properly you have to have the correct watt bulb and most importantly you need to have the proper slow flow rate especially if using it for sterilzing. UV's can clear green water and bacterial blooms overnight, which is proof they kill bacteria and algae in water that passes through them at a proper rate. They can help greatly in keeping bacteria counts lower in water (provided once again that the unit is properly sized and water flow passes through it at a proper rate). For water clarity they can literally polish water the same way a diatom filter can. I'm not talking clear water, I'm talking polished like glass, such a sharp clarity the fish look like they are swimming in air. They have to be maintained as any other piece of aquarium equipment and depending on why you want one is not a waste of money. There are good unit and not so good units and research must be done when buying one, but if you get a good unit and install it properly, and maintain it properly it can be a valuable tool in an aquarium, it is not a waste of money and does not mean people who use them are being lazy and aren't maintaining or servicing their aquariums properly.