UV sterilizer

So a lfs recommends UV sterilizer to all SW tanks. Seems everything I read makes their use sound so controversial. They suggest it above and beyond even their top protein skimmers to help prevent disease since most specimens are wild caught. I have thought about purchasing one but wasnt sure if it is needed, if it would be bad for a system, or if it would make no difference. How many people here use them and what are your experiences/thoughts?

 

I use one, but I'm sure of the actual benefit to my system. I'm actually thinking about taking it out for a little while to see if I can tell a difference. It all depends on what you want to use it for to. Do you want to control disease or algae? This all depends on the flow through the UV sterilizer. UV Sterilizer's can also kill pods as well.

 

My opinion is that they dont really hurt anything but I dont know that they help much either. I have a good model still in the box I've never used it.

 

See thats the thing, if its not worth the money I rather put it towards something else. But since I do not have a QT tank I am afraid that I run the risk of introducing disease so easily that I should run every option I have to help try and reduce the risk.

 

What disease are you trying to prevent?