Uv Sterilizers

[sianuk]

Hi all
Is it ok /beneficial to run a UV sterilizer on a planted tank,pressurized Co2 and dosing EI

38 us galls
2.4 wpg

not planted yet just trying to cover all the possibilties
thx Ian

 

[nicklfire]

yea man if you take a look at my journal you can see i'm running a laguna one. They work pretty good espeically for me. Does not harm the ei dosing or co2 at all. Some people thinks it's a waste... i find it works good, keeps some algae at bay, prevents ich and other free floating parasites. Not beneficial to run it during the initial cycle as it could harm the beneficial bacteria from forming though

good luck

 

[SuperColey1]

shouldn't worry about the beneficial bacteria.

If you're going planted then the tank will most likely not cycle anyway as the plants will steal all the ammonia.

I used to run a Fish r Fun 9V internal UV until it broke.

I have just bought its replacement

A Vecton UV200. Chuffed to bits at the price too. lol

http/cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie...p;rd=1&rd=1

andy

**EDIT** - Well spotted. Is now corrected

 

[three-fingers]

That the right link .

I'm thinking of getting an external UV unit, just because I had a scare with fish tb yesterday....turns out its just a runty zebra danio as far as I can tell, just a little bit inbred maybe.

But a UV unit would defiantly bring some peace of mind, how much was the Vecton UV200 ?

Oh, and do they fit on all filter pipes?

 

[SuperColey1]

Mine was £51 but you can get the UV8 (old version) for £20-£35 second hand on ebay inc delivery.

Only buy them second hand if the inlet outlets haven't been trimmed. If you look at my link you'll see the hosetails have 4 sizes to fit all hoses.

Some second hand ones you can see people have cut off the smaller ones as they don't want their flow reduced, therefore if you have a smaller filter hose you would need adaptors to use it and these can be expensive.

andy

 

[nicklfire]

Ahhh super... all tanks go through the great "cycle" , just because the plants taking up more ammonia does not mean it does not cycle, might not spike as bad, but the point of the cycle is the buildup of beneficial bacteria. Even thought it has not been proven with UV that they may interrupt the cycle, the sterilizer isnt needed all that much during that time anyways

 

[three-fingers]

£20-£35 sounds pretty darn good.

Only buy them second hand if the inlet outlets haven't been trimmed. If you look at my link you'll see the hosetails have 4 sizes to fit all hoses.

And thanks for that, its probably saved me a lot of trouble!

 

[sianuk]

thxs guys for your replies so far,if the plants feed on ammonia does this mean you could add fish safely...ish from the start?
I wont be because i already have a mature media in another filter i can use ,but does it seem a possibilty what do you think?

thxs again

Ian

 

[Maximumbob]

Whilst theoretically it should work, I dont add fish straight away. Its best to get mature filter media from a set up tank ( I swapped some substrat pro from my main tank into my smaller one), failing that a small squeeze onto your filter. That way at least you know the beneficial bacteria are there and can colonise the media as needed. If you dont have another tank a good ole bottle of ammonia from the chemist will do for a fishless cycle. It always pays to have an established biological filter to back you up.

Experienced guys with planted tanks sometimes add fish straight away, but if you are new to planted tanks I wouldnt recommend it. If the plants die, your biological filter dies!!!

 

[SuperColey1]

Ahhh super... all tanks go through the great "cycle" , just because the plants taking up more ammonia does not mean it does not cycle, might not spike as bad, but the point of the cycle is the buildup of beneficial bacteria. Even thought it has not been proven with UV that they may interrupt the cycle, the sterilizer isnt needed all that much during that time anyways

We'll have to agree to disagree on this one.

Andy