Is anyone using uv light or an ionizer on your tank? what are they supposed to do do? do they work? is it worth the investment? Is it for certain size tanks? Any info would be appreciated.
use of uv or ionizers
- Thread starter CRAZY4FISH
- Start date
I have been running an 8 watt Pentair UV unit on a 55 gal for a few months now. Prior to installing the UV unit, both of my tanks had chronic problems with heavy algae build up and incidents of 'ick'. Since installing the UV unit, my 6 gal tank continues to fight an ongoing battle with algae buildup and there have been two incidents of 'ick', but my 55 gal tank barely has a trace of algae and there have been zero incidents of 'ick' or any other parasite.
As I understand it, in one way of thinking UV water exposure works a bit like radioactivity. If the UV is strong enough and if the water is exposed long enough, it will kill almost anything. If the UV unit is marginally sized, and the water receives marginal exposure, free floating algae are killed off but most parasites like 'ick' remain unaffected. While the Pentair unit I chose isn't particularly powerful in terms of UV wattage, the huge module results in a very long exposure time for the circulating water. I deliberately chose to go this route vs. a smaller module with a more powerful UV wattage because ANY wattage applied to the water causes extra heating, and during the summer months it's difficult to keep my tank water temperature from rising significantly. Had I chosen a much higher wattage UV unit I might very well have needed to also add a water chiller, which would have been VERY expensive.
As I understand it, in one way of thinking UV water exposure works a bit like radioactivity. If the UV is strong enough and if the water is exposed long enough, it will kill almost anything. If the UV unit is marginally sized, and the water receives marginal exposure, free floating algae are killed off but most parasites like 'ick' remain unaffected. While the Pentair unit I chose isn't particularly powerful in terms of UV wattage, the huge module results in a very long exposure time for the circulating water. I deliberately chose to go this route vs. a smaller module with a more powerful UV wattage because ANY wattage applied to the water causes extra heating, and during the summer months it's difficult to keep my tank water temperature from rising significantly. Had I chosen a much higher wattage UV unit I might very well have needed to also add a water chiller, which would have been VERY expensive.
I think that they are not needed. All they do is use UV light (the same we get from the sun) to kill of any micro organisms in the water, including bacteria (not a big deal), algae, and other things. Yes, they do work. Dose it work it? No. In your normal tank they aren’t needed.
I recently installed a Coralife Turbo Twist 12 X 36 Watt U.V. Sterilizer to my tanks. I think it does a great job of reducing all types of algae. I have 4 tanks with a total of 470 gallons of water. Before I used to get alot of hair algae due to the high phosphates in my tap water. I have less worries about disease outbreaks also.
Her's a product description from - http://www.esuweb.com/cardfile.asp?ItemNumber=77072&IDProductRelationship=6
Coralife Turbo-Twist UV Sterilizers are the most efficient devices for ultraviolet sterilization on the market today. They feature a quartz glass sleeve with a PL compact fluorescent UV lamp surrounded by a revolutionary "Turbo-Twist" flow design to increase dwell time, which in turn increases efficacy. Continuous ultraviolet sterilization of your water eliminates single-cell algae for crystal-clear aquariums and also eradicates most harmful microorganisms on the initial pass through the chamber. Its triple-treatment time fully utilizes all the available UV output of the lamp and ensures that disease-causing pathogens cannot reproduce, thus decreasing the possibility of a disease outbreak in your system. Coralife Turbo-Twist UV Sterilizers have been designed for use in all freshwater and saltwater aquatic systems.
Her's a product description from - http://www.esuweb.com/cardfile.asp?ItemNumber=77072&IDProductRelationship=6
Coralife Turbo-Twist UV Sterilizers are the most efficient devices for ultraviolet sterilization on the market today. They feature a quartz glass sleeve with a PL compact fluorescent UV lamp surrounded by a revolutionary "Turbo-Twist" flow design to increase dwell time, which in turn increases efficacy. Continuous ultraviolet sterilization of your water eliminates single-cell algae for crystal-clear aquariums and also eradicates most harmful microorganisms on the initial pass through the chamber. Its triple-treatment time fully utilizes all the available UV output of the lamp and ensures that disease-causing pathogens cannot reproduce, thus decreasing the possibility of a disease outbreak in your system. Coralife Turbo-Twist UV Sterilizers have been designed for use in all freshwater and saltwater aquatic systems.
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The only pathogens a UV unit will affect are those that are found primarily in a free-floating stage, and those are few. UVs are quite useful to control green-water algae outbreaks that resist other cures, but they have limited capacity to control disease. Most diseases don't exist primarily in the water column, so UV has little or no impact on them.
On the other hand, there is little risk in using a UV. Just don't expect your fish to be healthier. Most of us keep healthy tanks without any UV at all.
HTH,
JIM
On the other hand, there is little risk in using a UV. Just don't expect your fish to be healthier. Most of us keep healthy tanks without any UV at all.
HTH,
JIM
About a month or so ago, I used the UV on the latest batch of driftwood that I got. The dozen pieces of driftwood that I got were way too large to be boiled, baked, or to be put in the dishwasher. So I just put all the driftwood in my empty 190g tank (when I 1st got it), filled it with water, then ran the UV sterilizer on it for about a week.
I don't know if this actually killed anything, but I sure do feel alot better that I did this instead of doing nothing.
I don't know if this actually killed anything, but I sure do feel alot better that I did this instead of doing nothing.
In my tank I have an 18 watt UV integrated into my ocean clear that does help maintain my algea levels but not enough since I'm running too high of a flow rate. If I had a slower rate my tank would practically be algea free.