UV Use: Unless Your Using it for Parasite Control are They More Beneficial or Detrimental?

[livinlifeinBKK]

Helps prevent green water

Yeah if you happen to have an algal bloom but that would also likely depend on where your nutrient levels are

 

[A_Blind_Reefer]

I know you aren't claiming it, and are just making an observation, but I would not equate the ORP rise (or fall) with desirability. ORP changes have pros and cons and the old adage that higher ORP means better water is, IMO, not accurate.

Randy, exactly…just an observation and I’m in no way claiming anything in my statement. The only reason I posted my personal observations with ORP was as the OP had asked about declining ORP and others experiences. I referenced the change when replacing the lamp after two years as it may imply that the lamps lose some potency over time and suggests to me that the UV does something. For me, the only conclusion I can draw from my experience is that I clean my glass less frequently with uv than without. As far as anything else, meh. I have had a mixed reef from about 1995-2018 without uv (without about 90% of everything I currently have actually. Only Kalk, skimmer, filter floss, t5’s, IO salt and water changes) which was successful. In 2019 I started a new system with all the gadgets and hyped methods (bare bottom, trace elements, ulns, fuge, uv, led/t5, roller mat, ICP, TM Salt, dosing nitrate and phosphate, blah, blah, blah) and more than struggled for over a year. My theory is this, do not drink the kool-aid. You can be very successful without all the bologna. If you want to be a gear head and try all the hype, go for it. It can be fun and challenging but it is in no way necessary.

 

[Lowell Lemon]

Since you are in Bangkok you should look at @JMacedo and his Reef on the 10th floor. He uses UV to great effect and can tell you why. I visited with him and witnessed his amazing aquarium.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

Since you are in Bangkok you should look at @JMacedo and his Reef on the 10th floor. He uses UV to great effect and can tell you why. I visited with him and witnessed his amazing aquarium.

Ok...I might check it out...I do recognize the positive aspects of UV but as discussed in the thread I'm also aware of the negative effects as well

 

[Reef Quest]

I believe Aquabiomics sum it wonderfully

How does a UV sterilizer affect the microbiome?

Microbiome testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

 

[Steve and his Animals]

I'm of the opinion that, is you want to run a UV without an active problem to deal with, it's activity should coincide with your display's light schedule. It's my understanding that a lot of micro-activity occurs at night, like copepod and mysid activity and reproduction, but that also applies to algae and dinoflagellate reproduction. So, unless you're actively fighting dinos, turning the off UV at night, in theory, should allow those micro-reef inhabitants time to flourish uninterrupted.

This idea could also allow the corals more opportunity for natural filter feeding, which in the wild occurs chiefly at night (from what I understand).

I also think running a UV helps with keeping water borne bacteria more in line between water changes, as it's my understanding that this build up can negatively affect inhabitants' immune systems if they are constantly assailed by potentially invasive bacterial species, where in the ocean this isn't as much of an issue with the dilution factor.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

I believe Aquabiomics sum it wonderfully

How does a UV sterilizer affect the microbiome?

Microbiome testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

Aquabiomics's research was actually one of my sources when I was looking into the effects!

 

[iMi]

I believe Aquabiomics sum it wonderfully

How does a UV sterilizer affect the microbiome?

Microbiome testing for aquariums and aquaculture

aquabiomics.com

They are also in the business of selling “micro biome testing” service. It’s a little bit like having an oil company research the effects of solar panels on ambient air temperature. I don’t see any data. No growth measurements with or without UV. Just one metric, in a vacuum, without any context. Would love to see more.

 

[Miami Reef]

The only reason I use UV is because it makes my tank look extremely clear. I can’t go back to without UV because my fish look so good without a slight haze covering them.

The water just feels crisp. That’s all I run UV for.

 

[livinlifeinBKK]

They are also in the business of selling “micro biome testing” service. It’s a little bit like having an oil company research the effects of solar panels on ambient air temperature. I don’t see any data. No growth measurements with or without UV. Just one metric, in a vacuum, without any context. Would love to see more.

There actually is a video I can link for you to watch but the information you'd be interested in is right in the middle of an hour and a half long video...btw, it doesn't help their business for the tanks they're testing to be more or less diverse in terms of free swimming bacteria (the bacterial strains primarily killed by UV) so you're analogy doesn't apply so well

 

[lesismore]

Recently moved to a bigger tank. Cycling over the last few months. Livestock transfer over the last few weeks. Just moved the UV over on May 4.

Anecdotally went from cleaning glass daily/ every other day to once per week.

Nice! Are you running a lower flow for parasites or higher flow for algae. I’d enjoy hearing what you do to to have such clean glass. Thx!!

 

[skey44]

Installed UV a week or so ago. Had Dinos and they are almost completely gone. Coral health is much improved because of less Dinos. Love the water clarity too. Besides cost and more plumbing it seems like a win win so far.

 

[Miami Reef]

@Timfish

What do you think about UV in a reef tank? Beneficial or more detrimental to corals? What does the research say?

 

[Dan_P]

No, UV doesn't differentiate between bacterial strains...it kills whatever bacterial pass through it. You're correct in saying that most of the nitrifying bacteria live on surfaces but there are many bacteria that live in the water column which UV sterilizers kill. These are the bacterioplankton that corals capture and use for a portion of their nutritional requirements.

Has anyone actually measured a change in pelagic bacteria population size with and without UVC irradiation?

UVC effect might be a placebo if the flow rate is not set and maintained correctly.

Except for a possible lower number (see first question) would coral care whether they ate dead, dying or live bacteria?

 

[Spare time]

Has anyone actually measured a change in pelagic bacteria population size with and without UVC irradiation?

UVC effect might be a placebo if the flow rate is not set and maintained correctly.

Except for a possible lower number (see first question) would coral care whether they ate dead, dying or live bacteria?

Have you seen this? https://reefs.com/magazine/bacteria...ing-and-granular-activated-carbon-filtration/

 

[Timfish]

@Timfish

What do you think about UV in a reef tank? Beneficial or more detrimental to corals? What does the research say?

(Now I know why my ears were burning all weekend! )


Properly sized and installed I've seen UV sterilzer's take care of pretty bad ich and velvet infestations. But I've also seen "moderate" infestations clear up on thier own. Additionally, what I've seen there are aquarium adapted varieties of ich that have a lower infectious rate and can keep reproducing at a low level in a tank for long periods of time then when a stress event happens and fish resistant is reduced become a much bigger nuisance. (This is one reason why I strongly advocate QT to educe the overall risk.) But I want to emphasize I haven't seen any research supporting this.

As far as long term running of UV sterilizers, I recall one refference that didn't find a difference as far as bacterial counts go but I can't find it at the moment. I'll have to look for it later. As far as skewing microbial counts, a UV is in all likelyhood skew microbial accounts based on the exposure rate needed to kill them and there's likely going to be some that survive better than others, arbittrarily removing some microbes based soley on exposure rates doesn't strike me as beneficial. Another objection is a properly sized UV is going to act as a heater, which in Texas is not needed at least half the year.