Uv Steriliser

[darrel69]

ive just purchased a fish'r'fun 9w uv steriliser for my 90litre tank to tackle a green water problem. does anyone have one of these because ive just installed it, & everything's good n'all but it doesn't seem to have a very fast flow to it. is that right/normal ?

 

[Tommy Gun]

Hey darrel69! Sorry to hear about your 'green water' (algae bloom) problem

but it doesn't seem to have a very fast flow to it. is that right/normal ?

Depending on what you may define as very fast or very slow flow versus what others might think, the answer to your question above is definitely a big yes, this is very normal and in fact, low flow rates through your UV will be idea. In short, the longer the water and its contents are exposed to the UV light, the better the odds will be regarding the organisms that plague you being killed or seriously harmed. Additionally, UV is sometimes used to prevent or reduce the occurrences of an Ich outbreak, however, it is my understanding that the freshwater version of Ich is relatively 'hardy', which means, in theory, if the flow rate is too fast, the UV light could be rendered completely ineffective towards the parasite.

To be honest though, IMO the reason why it is less common for hobbyists to us UV on a freshwater tank versus salty tanks is because they provide benefits which are relatively easy to prevent and/or 'cure' on our own accord and when using UV to 'treat' an issue such as your algae bloom, once it has done its job, it might be running on your tank without any reason other than increasing your electric bill.

 

[darrel69]

yea, thanks for that, i read something similar earlier. i had to ask to satisfy the impatient pefectionist within me lol. anyway, its worked wonders. my tank is crystal.

ive started turning it off in the day and leaving it on at night for around 8 or 9 hours. so im just wondering, how long (after the uv's been turned off) would it take for bacteria/algae to grow back ?

 

[Musho3210]

i would just keep it off until there is something visibally wrong with fish/plants/tank itself. Like was said, they just suck up electricity.

Heat and UV killed my ich. put the temp up to 87 degrees F from 80 degrees F in 2 days, turned on 9 watt UV on 75 gallon tank, its all gone....

 

[Tommy Gun]

Heat and UV killed my ich......its all gone

While I do strongly agree with Musho3210 and have used the same Ich treatment myself, this may be one of the best examples of where UV can remain beneficial even after all visual issues that the UV can take care of are gone -- of course, this is due to the fact that the UV is only killing off the Ich protozoa within its free-swimming stage of life...which we cannot see with our naked eye. The point being, even though none of our fish have any white spots or symptoms, the UV may be able to help prevent that from happening ----although, again, I have read/heard that UV is not completely effective on FW Ich and besides, we can do quite a few things to prevent Ich without any UV at all. So, while I agree with anyone who understands that, contradictory to popular belief, Ich is not always present...meaning we can have a completely 'ich-free' aquarium....there may not be a reasonable method for us to say without any doubt that our tank does or does not harbor any ich - which could mean that Musho3210 is not making a safe assumption that "its all gone". All of this is not meant to imply that Musho3210 is or isn't correct, but only meant to point out that UV is not an all-purpose "cure" in any type of water (e.g. FW or SW).

 

[Musho3210]

Well thats the reason why i used heat, UV is to help keep it from coming back but the heat is the thing that kills it. I went this method cause of my plants, i didnt want to kill them with salt and i didnt want to use fish chemotherapy medications like malachite green or whatever for such a common disease...