UV Sterilizer Optional?

I am looking to get a new and better canister than the one I have and I have found a 4 stage with a uv sterilizer for 85$ shipped. I know the light will kill bacteria whether good or bad.

I guess my question is: Should I only used the sterilizer after my tank is very well established or would it be a good thing to go ahead and use it now? I have heard it can kill linkia and other bacteria feeding starfish's source of food.

Was wondering will it kill copepods and very small reefpods aswell?

 

I would only use it if you have ich, other wise I wouldn't run it. but thats my opinion

 

Most ick will not passing by the bulb.

I would wait to run the sterilizer until after the cycle ends. The way a UV sterilizer works is by mutating the RNA and DNA of the organism that passes it. These mutations do not allow it to make viable offspring or clones depending on the organism. Unless you run the sterilizer at a low flow, it will clarify the water more than anything. Unless you have a bacteria bloom, algae issues, or murky water, running the sterilizer is not needed. I had a huge bacteria bloom in 29G a few months after I set it up. The sterilizer took care of the problem within about 48hours. I continued running the sterilizer and have found my water to be clearer and look healthier than when I do not have it plugged in.

What wattage is the sterilizer? What is the max flow? How much flow will be being pushed through it? What size tank?

 

not true, it definitely won't remove all the ich(i.e ich on the fish or doesn't pass through the filter) but you see ich is free floating until it attaches to the fish.
It can make the difference between a mild infection and the fish being overwhelmed, it will atleast give you some more time to catch the problem.

 

Unless it is huge it will not kill pods, so no worries.

I agree it is really only a useful item for algae and bacterial blooms.

Personally I would not spend money on one.

Routine water changes, inspecting all new inhabitants, dipping corals, QT all fish, and reducing addition of nutritents to the tank is much more effective than a UV. It will not effectively treat the majority of marine diseases you are going to see routinely.

So very opitional IMO ;D

 

Most bacteria in our tanks are not free-floating/swimming, and therefore won't be drawn into the sterilizer. It only kills what passes through the light.

Pods will most definitely be affected; However, any filter or skimmer will also remove a certain percentage from your system.

Cheers

 

I have 2 LFS's about 3 miles apart. One store swears by them and the other says they arent worth the price. the one that swears by them has to order them, and the one that says they are junk keeps them on the shelf. Its hard to know if you are actually wasting your money or not. I can believe that there can be benifits (like clearer water, killing bacteria that passes throu it) if you see a change when you run it. I am under the belief that if you believe it will help after doing your research and you get one and see a difference then it is worth the money. I am on the fence about them right now.

Got an idea.....lets call myth busters

 

LOL

It's a known scientific fact that UV, given proper exposure, has detrimental effects on nearly every living creature. I beleive that the negative ideas are 50% FUD and 50% "bad science". The trick is to get the proper size unit for your system and install it properly. IE you need the flow low enough to provide proper exposure, but high enough to ensure optimum turnover rate for your tank.

Cheers

 

Like so many things in this hobby there are many opinions on their use and effectiveness.
I upgraded my very old 10 watt UV to a 30 watt due to a ICK outbreak. I believe that it helps with this problem as ICK is almost gone from my tank. Also, the amount of algae in my tank has decreased. Again not completely but a noticeable reduction. I got my 30 watt used and with the cost of a new bulb and gasket set was 50% of the cost of a new unit.

 

Well, the thing is, they rate UV units at flow rates that are 5x faster than what's necessary, and 1/5th the real size needed, to actually kill anything at all. The ratings on the units are utterly worthless numbers.

Also, ich is really a horrible thing, in that it's only free swimming for one night before it dies off. That's a really small window, especially since the ich has a start point of the sand bed, and an endpoint of a fish right near the sand bed. The odds of even 10% of your ich parasites ending up in that properly-sized, gigantic UV filter are 0.