UV sterilizer and reef aquarium?

So I was at my local shop the other day talking to one of the owners who from my experience and things I've heard is pretty darn knowledgeable. I told her I was going to put a UV sterilizer in my aquarium that I'm going to build which will be a reef aquarium in a 40-55 gallon tank with 5-6 fish in it. She said no no you shouldn't do that because the UV sterilizer will take away a lot of the nutrients needed for your coral and things of that nature. I read in a book that they recommend a UV sterilizer for all aquariums. What is the truth here? Anyone care to shed some light on this? Thanks guys.

Mike

 

not necessary. It will probably kill alot things living things in your tank eat. It's handy to have if you get ich or algae but I wouldn't use it regularily

 

UV is very useful if dialed in correctly for your system – As mentioned it is designed to kill free floating bacteria. People who run water too slowly kill the good with the bad, people who run them too quickly negate the benefits….it’s a royal pita to dial in to your system. With the proper set up, filtration and water changes they really are not necessary.

 

UV does not really help with Ich as the UV only destroys organisms that are free floating IN the water as it passes through the UV.

By not keeping the lights on for an extended period, don't over feed, and having some micoalgae in the DT there really isn't any other major benefit to a UV, IMO.

Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

I know people say it dosent cure ick but i added my UV to my tank and All Ick went away. I havent had any problems with my tank. I havent seen any problems with my Corals.

 

So you talk about dialing your UV sterilizer in like you can control how fast or slow the water moves through it. Can you do this with all of them? What UV sterilizers would you recommend? Honestly is it seriously something to stay away from if you intend on having coral and doing a reef aquarium?

 

UV is a waste of energy on a reef system. For one it inactivates beneficial organisms along with the bad ones, for another it adds unneeded heat to the water column and for another they are almost always underpowered and poorly designed foir their intended purpose. The contact time and the wattage are way too low to be beneficial in most cases.
On the flip side I used one on my 90G comunity tank and you couold visibly see when the bulb needed changing or cleaning just by the actions of the fish, color of the water and general condition of the tank. Fish only sure, reef no but it still needs to be sized properly to receive much benefit.
UV is very misunderstood, it does not kill anything. It does alter the cell structure of free swimming or floating things that are exposed to it though so they cannot reproduce and they eventually become extinct unless repopulated from anothe rsource like newly introduced fish, rock or other inhabitants.

 

So am I getting the right message from you guys then? UV sterilizer on a Reef tank is stupid don't do it?

 

That's the message they're sending.

 

Do you constantly get bacteria or free floating algae blooms? If so, a UV will help those issues. Like AZ said, you need the right sized UV for your system and dial it in correctly. A UV is one of those products that won't do a thing if there is nothing in your water. I run one on my 75 reef just because I actually see a difference when I don't run it to when i do run it. As for water clarity goes. At different flow rates a UV can act as a classifier as well as a sterilizer. I literally have the water trickle out of the UV.

If you don't have algae or bacteria blooms you really don't need it.