Whats a UV Sterilizer?

i have never used one and have only been exposed to one at a friends house in very limited applications.........BUT, i still disagree with alot of this rubbish posted. sorry jameson, cite references please if you can.

uv from what i have seen is mostly for bacterial and virus control. the small nasties you really can't see. yes it does have expensive bulbs that need to be replaced regularly. and that's about all i can go along with......

it *might* have uses with green water, but i tend to doubt it, i just don't see it as the right type of application....... it will NOT filter the water and that is more whats needed.

ditto for ich, that's mostly bull, it will kill some i am sure, but very limited numbers from what i remember reading.... same as above: it will NOT filter the water and that is more whats needed.

either of those 2 problems would be much better handled by diatom and/or good tank maintenance......

uv "sterilizer" ........ sterilizer, that means it kills germs.

in a perfect world i would own one for each of my tanks for bacterial problems and sickness, or at least one you could swap between tanks. but this isn't a perfect world and honestly i don't have the money for mostly superflous equipment yet........

just my opinion
 
UV "Insurance"

I'm glad I have one for my Discus..
Most aquariums probably don't need it, but I prefer to have it. ;)
 
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80GJoe,

Dont let the others discourage you. UV STERILIZERS work wonders on your tank. Not needed, but helps IMMENSELY if anything enters your tank environment.
 
just wondering, but what "wonders" is it working? :confused:

just clarifying-- i have nothing against UVs outside of reef tanks. I would most definatly have one if i was going to be stocking my tank with expensive fish... Just a precaution.
 
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well... their is SO MUCH to say about them. I would NOT ADVISE anyone to buy them, unless they have delicate fish or problematic tap water.
 
I did some research and picked this UV sterlizer:
 
heres how i see it

unwanted free floating microscopic water borne bacteria, parasitic, fungal, viral, algae, and other unfriendly pathogens out of aquarium water by exposing it to high intensity ultra-violet (UV) light
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green water.... caused by high phosphates and nitrates in the water, do water changes and lower it, no more green water,

as far bacteria and infecting fish... ill leave it MADman, who used to post here

The common pathogens in the environment are not sufficient in themselves to cause disease. If they were, every animal would be ill all the time. An animal becomes ill when something changes in its body or in its environment that gives the pathogens an opportunity. Too much of our medicine focuses on eliminating the pathogens while ignoring the environmental factors ...factors such as water and air quality, plumbing, and the health of our neighbors have a great deal of effect on our health. Pathogens will always be with us, but if our environment is healthy, we are much less likely to become ill.

"The same goes for aquarium fish, but perhaps to an even greater degree, because we have so much control over their environment. In the last four years or so, the only disease I've seen in my tanks has been fungal fin rot— and that has always been brought on by cichlid aggression, clearly an environmental factor. Aggression aside, my fish do not get sick. They do not get sick because their environment is balanced and stable.
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furthermore
It is important to remember that a healthy aquarium
depends on beneficial bacteria typically growing on media in your
filter which neutralize ammonia. At most, your sterilizer can kill
some water born pathogens, but total sterilization is not possible or
desirable. Aquarists who practice prudent quarantine procedures for
newly acquired fish generally do not need to sterilize.
Click to expand...
(written by the members of http://groups.google.com/groups?group=rec.aquaria)
 
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