Anyone use a UV Sterilizer?

[jontom]

Hi everybody...this is my first post.

I have had a problem with green water for awhile now and decided to try a UV sterilizer since I've read about them on the net. I was hoping to get some feedback from anyone who has used them before getting one. They are fairly expensive.

Thanks for your help!

 

[snakeskinner]

I have not used one but understand the basic principals behind them. As for experienced people, you'd be better off talking to a reef tank group because 90% of UV's are used in that case... Greenwater can possibly be controled with a UV filter but finding the source of the greenwater is the main goal you need to focus on. Kyle

 

[ejk0799]

We have one on our 75 and our 37. They are worth every penny. Do your research to find the right one for your tank. Drs. Foster & Smith have some helpful info on their site.

 

[ragc]

Actually I would NOT use one in SW. They are very useful in FW to control algal and bacterial bloom (green water and white water). In SW reef tanks they kill the live microorganisms many corals find yummy.

A UV sterilizer can be set at different degrees of sterilization, depending on flow. If you power one with a powerhead get one sized right in gph, preferably an adjustable one. The slower the flow through the UV unit the more stuff you kill. A fast rate kills free-floating algae and excessive free-floating bacterial populations. A slower rate kills the free-floating stage of many diseases, including ich.

I have a 5W unit in my 30 gal cichlid tank and love it. 5W is as small (and cheap) a unit as you can get. Get one rated for your tank size or larger. I got mine on sale at petsolutions.com . The good doctors may have good prices also.

 

[aardvark1]

Got two 9 watt ones from PetSmart a couple weeks ago.

Seem to work great in the 29 gal community and the cichlid tanks...

 

[jontom]

Thanks for everyone's opinion. I purchased an 18V Coralife Turbo Twist last night. It is probably much larger than I need, but it isn't too large. Hopefully in a few days I will know how it is working and will let you know.

 

[randyk47]

I'm adding a AquaStep 10W to my freshwater tank. There's no way I can seem to control the green water problem. Talked to my LFS and part of the problem is my house....just too many windows and too much sunlight. Moving the tank is out of the question, water changes don't totally solve the problem, I don't like chemicals, filtration certainly isn't a problem, and so I finally decided to go the sterilizer route and see if that helps. Of course it's mostly for me, the fish could care less as the water, other than this slightly green hue, is right on. It's interesting that for the most part we, at least me, worry and fret about keeping the tank in "showcase" condition when fish live in the wild in a lot worse.