• Welcome back Guest!

    MARSH is a private reefing group. Comments and suggestions are encouraged, but please keep them positive and constructive. Negative threads, posts, or attacks will be removed from view and reviewed by the staff. Continually disruptive, argumentative, or flagrant rule breakers may be suspended or banned.

uv sterilizers (1 Viewer)

Users who are viewing this thread

Mpolasek

Guest
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
428
Reaction score
79
Location
Houston
i have now lost a fish to ich (and also hole in head , fungus, and maybe flukes but they came on the last day of his life ) and i was wondering if uv sterilizers will help keep anything like this from happening again and if not is there some thing else i can do keep in mind i do not have a sump but i dont care if my tank looks like a hobos dumpster home as long as the fish are happy and i can see them im happy but i need to help them the ich is being treated but i need something to help make sure i never have to deal with this again.
 

webster1234

Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
669
Location
Pearland
A lot of times, issues like you speak of come on due to poor water quality. Water can be crystal clear and still be of poor quality. When was the last time you checked things like nitrates and phosphates. If you don't have any corals, you might not notice things like that. Corals are a good barometer for water quality but fish not so much.

I remember when I first got into the hobby, I had a fish die in my quarantine tank. I couldn't figure out why as there was no detectable ammonia, no algae, and the water looked great. Decided to check the nitrates and they were over 100. I can't recall what the phosphates were but I'm sure they were high too.

Not saying this could be your issue but I'd like to know your parameters and how often you check them. Do you have corals?

UV's work great and are a great addition to your tank. But if you aren't running a sump, what are you doing for nutrient reduction? Do you have a hang on back skimmer? It's almost impossible to keep water quality excellent without a skimmer or lots of water changes. How often and how much do you do water changes? How big is your system?

I know I'm randomly throwing questions out there but these are things that are important and anyone trying to help you will need to know.
 

MrJoe

Guest
Joined
Dec 21, 2018
Messages
85
Reaction score
63
Location
Baytown Texas
The best way is PROPER QT before you place in your display tank. Running UV at a Protozoa rate (high flow) will kill what is in the water column but not what is on your fish. fastest way to QT for ICH is the Tank transfer method. now since your tank has it you need to go 73'ish days fishless to let IT die out or always deal with ICH.

UV is a preventive measure for Protoza's and 100% for algae in the water column( lower flow) .
 

webster1234

Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
669
Location
Pearland
The best way is PROPER QT before you place in your display tank. Running UV at a Protozoa rate (high flow) will kill what is in the water column but not what is on your fish. fastest way to QT for ICH is the Tank transfer method. now since your tank has it you need to go 73'ish days fishless to let IT die out or always deal with ICH.

UV is a preventive measure for Protoza's and 100% for algae in the water column( lower flow) .
You're assuming he has ich. I'm not convinced that is his problem at the moment. Could be and 100% agree with you but I don't think that is what killed his clown.
 

MrJoe

Guest
Joined
Dec 21, 2018
Messages
85
Reaction score
63
Location
Baytown Texas
You're assuming he has ich. I'm not convinced that is his problem at the moment. Could be and 100% agree with you but I don't think that is what killed his clown.
its no assumption. he told us in his first sentence that he lost a fish due to ich. Now the question is what caused the ICH? new fish addition or bad water quality.
UV will help keep it away but not a Cure all solution. he needs to find the root of the problem.

side note. Its better to have more UV wattage then less. but know that a 120W UV will produce heat similar to a 120W heater so plan accordingly
 
OP
OP
Mpolasek

Mpolasek

Guest
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
428
Reaction score
79
Location
Houston
ya when i had ich the first time i thought it was dead than 3 days later it came back on that clown so some survived in him but not on any of the others than the ich became resistant to the treatment i had so i just got a new treatment
 

webster1234

Supporting Member
Joined
Jun 29, 2012
Messages
1,456
Reaction score
669
Location
Pearland
Ok, that's fine then. Wasn't sure if you diagnosed it correctly the first time due to all of the other symptoms mentioned. I'd still like to know the answers to the other questions posted above.
 

TriggerFan

Guest
Joined
Apr 14, 2019
Messages
584
Reaction score
401
Location
Cypress
its no assumption. he told us in his first sentence that he lost a fish due to ich. Now the question is what caused the ICH? new fish addition or bad water quality.
UV will help keep it away but not a Cure all solution. he needs to find the root of the problem.

side note. Its better to have more UV wattage then less. but know that a 120W UV will produce heat similar to a 120W heater so plan accordingly

Actually, you CAN go too large with UV wattage and kill good bacteria/micro-organisms in the water. A good rule of thumb is 1 watt per 4 gallons of water.
I had several conversations with three different manufacturers and they all provided similar input. (Aqua UV, Pentair Aquatics, and Innovative Marine)
 

MrJoe

Guest
Joined
Dec 21, 2018
Messages
85
Reaction score
63
Location
Baytown Texas
Actually, you CAN go too large with UV wattage and kill good bacteria/micro-organisms in the water. A good rule of thumb is 1 watt per 4 gallons of water.
I had several conversations with three different manufacturers and they all provided similar input. (Aqua UV, Pentair Aquatics, and Innovative Marine)
I disagree. UV Kills whats in the water column. Not what is on the surface of your sand, rocks, Bio media, etc. Also the flow of the UV dictates Exposure time and what it will kill. Different companies have different flows recommendations because of the bulbs UV-C. You can find a list of what organism you want to kill and how much UV-C exposure time you need to kill it.
 

RedSeaRoss

Guest
Joined
Nov 9, 2019
Messages
12
Reaction score
5
Location
Orange
The best way is PROPER QT before you place in your display tank. Running UV at a Protozoa rate (high flow) will kill what is in the water column but not what is on your fish. fastest way to QT for ICH is the Tank transfer method. now since your tank has it you need to go 73'ish days fishless to let IT die out or always deal with ICH.

UV is a preventive measure for Protoza's and 100% for algae in the water column( lower flow) .

You have this backwards for flow rate.
With UV you want a longer contact time for ich and other parasites (slow flow).
With algae you want more turnover in the UV so (more flow).
Happy reefing.
 

MrJoe

Guest
Joined
Dec 21, 2018
Messages
85
Reaction score
63
Location
Baytown Texas
You have this backwards for flow rate.
With UV you want a longer contact time for ich and other parasites (slow flow).
With algae you want more turnover in the UV so (more flow).
Happy reefing.
Thats correct. I forgot not everyone has a oversized one like mine. here are the specs for my 120w HO

R450112

The Lifegard Aquatics Pro-MAX 5" Body 120W Amalgam High Output UV Sterilizer features a patent-pending, flow-through design with less restrictive than usual angled inlet and outlet ports requiring less plumbing. This unique design enables easy installation of new or replacement systems as it can be positioned in multiple ways to fit tight spaces.
  • 7,000 GPH max flow rate. Requires a pump with a flow rate less than 7,000 GPH. Recommended 4,000 GPH algae & bacteria flow rate.
  • For aquariums up to 900 gallons. For ponds up to 14,500 gallons.
  • 40.3" length X 6.6" width X 9.85" height
  • Connections: 2" slip inlet & outlet union fittings. The angled fittings can easily be turned so that the connecting pipes can meet the UV at a variety of angles.
  • This am Amalgam unit with a ballast that counts down the number of days until you need to replace the bulb.
 
Top