do uv sterilizers stop fish getting sick??

if i get a uv sterilizer will it help to stop saltwater fish getting sick?

 

it helps eliminate bacteria/parasites in the water. but doesnt kill things attached to your rocks, sand etc.. it also kills good bacteria in water to though.. Some people use them some dont. I wanted one for the longest time, but dont have any room for it in my sump.. they do have inline ones though.

 

it can...but the best thing really is keep them well fed and dont move ur rocks all around everyday and all that jazz.....keep ur params stable and they wont get sick...and there is this product called garlic extreme u ssoak ur flakes or ur algae strip for ur tang in it and that boosts there immune system. hope that helps!

 

I had a coralife turbo twist 9x and I installed it on my 55 but I never really noticed a difference, i put very low flow through it so that the water has more contact time with the UV light (nothing got sick) but I have pretty hardy fish in there anyways. Needless to say, my UV filter is stuffed in a box of spare equipment.

 

Just to clarify, they only kill bacteria in the water. They won't kill the beneficial bacteria on your live rock, or filter. If you search on-line, some people are under the misconception that they can ruin your natural biological filter. I'm not saying that Night-Rida was implying this, I just wanted to make it clear.

I purchased a coralife turbotwist to control a phytoplankton bloom. Within 2 days of installing it, I went from green water to crystal clear water in a 110 gallon tank. However, that didn't treat the cause of the problem. I had low mg levels. So, I also took steps to treat the cause.

At the time, we thought that we would be listing our house for a quick sale, so I needed a quick fix for the unsightly green water.

As for disease/parasite control, think of it as an extra preventative measure. It's not a crutch to compensate for poor husbandry practices.

You also have to be careful to balance the water flow going through them. If you have too much, organisms won't be exposed to the light long enough to be killed. If you have too little, you may not really be treating enough gph to make it worthwhile.

 

good info there! K+

 

I have a Smart UV installed but its never on i only have it bc i bought it at my LFS for $25 during one of their garage sale events. it may have 100hrs of operation time in my 2 year old tank. I'd turn it on if there was an algae break like and Toronto Guy said nearly all the beneficials are colonized on your rock.

It will help prevent a parasite outbreak and will help fight an existing one but wont solve the underlining issue.

 

I initially got a Turbo Twist 9W sterilizer to help in the eradication of ich that I got a couple of months back.
IMO, it helped to rid the water of the parasite since there's no visible signs of the parasite in my tank. I know it must still be there but *knock on wood* no fish have gotten sick since.
Now, I'm a bit baffled since I don't know if to just pack it away or keep it in operation.
I plan to build an algae scrubber on sunday and I am not sure if the UV light will hamper the production of algae in the scrubber.
I will start a thread on this topic sometime tonight.
BTW, my nitrates are high; 20ppm and my tank is crystal clear.

 

I run mine 24/7. Can I prove it REALLY helps...No. But with that said, I have not had any Algae since I added it and got through the green hair attack. I also have not seen Ich or any other issues I used to have on occasion.

 

I DO run a UV on my 120g FOWLR with great success. no algae, clean sand, no sick fish going for 1 year now. but i just dont like running one in my reef... cant get over it.