UV Sterilizers

[dm6464]

I have a question regarding uv sterilizers. Do they effectively reduce or prevent potential threats to my fish? I attempted to find an answer in existing threads; however, I was left confused. If I should have posted this in an existing thread I apologize, the only one I found was closed. I do not need the scientific explanations, nor do I want to reignite the petty bickering that took place in the previously closed thread. I purchased a cheap, submersible sterilizer from Petsmart. It is the 24 watt Green Killing Machine. According to the box it is sufficient for 100g and my tank is only 38g. I assumed the flow would be correct as the pump comes with the unit. I do not have a problem with GW, the only reason I bought it is that I want to provide the best environment possible for my fish. I currently run the xp3 and a diatom filter. I have 60 days to return it if I actually wasted my money. If it provides even minimal improvement in water quality I intend to keep it. Can anybody provide a simple, layman answer? Thank you.

[Eddie]

Here are my idiotic thoughts on it....where are the bugs in the water? They are mainly on the fish right. Unless the fish is swimming through the UV sterilizer, you ain't killing nothing. Maybe somebody can say that my thoughts are incorrect....:o

Now, thats just my 2 cents since I don't use them and never have.

Eddie

[poconogal]

There are "bugs" (bacteria, parasites, algae cells, etc.) throughout the water which healthy fish effectively deal with without any problems. A UV can greatly reduce a number of these things, but not all of them at once. You need to target the specific thing you want to control and then get a UV sized for the job and the important thing is to have the proper flow rate through the UV. Let's say you want to be rid of bacteria. If the flow rate through the UV is too fast, the water will not have the proper contact time with the UV to kill the bacteria. Same goes for algae, etc. Different flow rates are required for different things. Many have used UVs to control algae in planted tanks with great success. I think its eliminating parasites via UV that's the hardest task due to exposure time thru the UV and the required size of the UV.

So, depending on what it is you are looking to control and the flow rate of the item you purchased, you may or may not have wasted your money. Properly sized with the correct flow thru the UV, a UV can improve the environment for your fish.

[FLGirl1977]

Yes it will keep certain things at bay. 24 W. is a good start. It will effectively kill things that go through it provided that the water flow is slow enough for it to spend any significant through the tube.

It may not kill the bugs ON the fish, but it will reduce the amount that will be floating through the water. It's good as a preventative in some measures.

HTH...

[dm6464]

Well there you have it, three straight forward answers... Thank you very much folks. The flow rate is 94g per hour with a 24 watt bulb, hopefully this gives adequate exposure time. In another thread I was arrogant enough to claim I had only experienced one death in my tank in over a year and it was a neon tetra. In the past week, five more tetras have died. I have not noticed any erratic swimming, bloating or lumps on them; however, I did see one large white spot on several of their mouths, One of the remaining tetras has one white spot on his tail fin too. It is only one spot and does not look like ick. I was hoping the sanitizer might help prevent the transfer of whatever is going on to my other tetras and I am now a little concerned about my discus as well... Any thoughts?

[Chad Hughes]

Well there you have it, three straight forward answers... Thank you very much folks. The flow rate is 94g per hour with a 24 watt bulb, hopefully this gives adequate exposure time. In another thread I was arrogant enough to claim I had only experienced one death in my tank in over a year and it was a neon tetra. In the past week, five more tetras have died. I have not noticed any erratic swimming, bloating or lumps on them; however, I did see one large white spot on several of their mouths, One of the remaining tetras has one white spot on his tail fin too. It is only one spot and does not look like ick. I was hoping the sanitizer might help prevent the transfer of whatever is going on to my other tetras and I am now a little concerned about my discus as well... Any thoughts?

Sounds like your fish are just stressed. Have you tried the heat/salt method for ICH? You mentioned white spots.

I have a concern about your diatom filter...

How often are you running this filter? You cannot run a diatom filter full time. I would recommend only runningit an hour a day,if at all. Diatom filter are typicall kept on hand to "clear" a tank of suspended debris, algae, parsites, etc. If you run this filter continuously or too frequently, it will exhaust your fish, they will become less resistant to disease and will succom to it.

What else do you have in this tank? Neon tetras are also sensitive to tank mate stresses like being chased, nipped, etc.

Beat wishes!

[FLGirl1977]

I have a concern about your diatom filter...

How often are you running this filter? You cannot run a diatom filter full time. I would recommend only runningit an hour a day,if at all. Diatom filter are typicall kept on hand to "clear" a tank of suspended debris, algae, parsites, etc. If you run this filter continuously or too frequently, it will exhaust your fish, they will become less resistant to disease and will succom to it.



Actually, this is true dependent upon how large your tank is. Say if he has a 120 gallon tank for example, provided there are areas where the fish can escape the current from the outflow of the diatom filter... it's only the current that exhausts the fish. If it's a large enough tank it shouldn't be an issue. If it's a small tank however, that's why the manufacturers’ directions state to only run a certain amount of time to not exhaust your fish.

[Chad Hughes]

He only has a 38 gallon tank to my knowledge. If he's running this filter constantly, he's turning over his water very rapidly.

[dm6464]

The tank is 38g and I usually run the diatom for 24-48 hours after each water change, which is 70% once a week or every 6 days. Filtering the water to 1 micron supposedly removes ich from the water. By the way, thanks for correcting my spelling... lol. It will not remove it from the fish but as I said I do not think that is what it is as none of the other fish show any symptoms. Tank mates are 10 tetras, 3 discus and 2 clown loaches. Up to this point there have been no problems. Fins look fine as far as nipping goes so I don't really know. This is the same program I have been using for a little over a year and this is the first sign of any trouble. I guess the current could be an issue as the xp3 does 350g per hr, the diatom 330g and the uv sanitizer 94g per hour. The tank is 36" tall and I try to direct all outputs as close as I can to the top of the water. Also, temp is 82, ph 6.8, kh 4, nitrate 10, nitrite 0 and ammonia 0.
I also inject pressuirized CO2 and according to the C02-KH-PH table the C02 is about 20.

[Chad Hughes]

Hmm....

That is interesting that you have been working with this sytem for as long as you have and no negtive results until now. Any new stock added to your tank lately? Plants, anything?

Could just be an Ich outbreak from a new addition.

[FLGirl1977]

He only has a 38 gallon tank to my knowledge. If he's running this filter constantly, he's turning over his water very rapidly.

Gotcha... yeah, that is too long to run on that size of a tank.

[dm6464]

Okay, I'll try shutting down the diatom for a couple weeks to see what happens, Really it doesn't even need it, it's just borderline ridiculous how clear it makes the water and I am now used to having it that way. No new additions by the way so I really don't know what is causing this. I just removed the other tetra with the white spot on his tail fin because upon closer inspection he was swimming erratically.

[Chad Hughes]

Okay, I'll try shutting down the diatom for a couple weeks to see what happens, Really it doesn't even need it, it's just borderline ridiculous how clear it makes the water and I am now used to having it that way. No new additions by the way so I really don't know what is causing this. I just removed the other tetra with the white spot on his tail fin because upon closer inspection he was swimming erratically.



Good plan! I love diatom filters for clarity! If you still like to keep that water like glass, just put it on a timer and run it for an hour a day. That's all you'll really need, especially in a small tank. Keep us posted!

[dm6464]

Is there a way to run it on a timer? My experience is after the filter shuts off all the powder falls off the bag. If it restarts without the input and output hoses being in a seperate container all the powder will blow back into the tank. In other words, the powder has to recoat the bag before cycling again. Is there another way to go about it? I know you can kink the output hose until the bag recoats but if it was on a timer I may, or may not be around when it comes on.

[Chad Hughes]

I used a lamp timer. I ran mine for about 3 hours daily in a 110 gallon tank. When it came on, you would get a small puff of diatom powder from the filter, but I never saw ALL of the powder settle. If you dose the diatom correctly, all of the powder should adhere to the bag pretty well between uses. Too much powder will cause more to fall off. BTW, the diatom powder will not harm your tank.

[dm6464]

Thank you everybody and you were right Chad, I turned the filter off for a couple hours and the bag recoated without hardly any powder spraying back into the tank. Thank you!

[Chad Hughes]

No worries my friend!

Best wishes!