I just recently got a powder blue tang. That we all nkow is prone to ick he been in the QT tank since Sun. seems to be doing well but I was wondering if I put a UV filter on the tank will it stop him from getting ick I know it starts with good water and low stress but is the UV a good prevention or does it just help?
I don’t believe UV helps with ich at all. I think some people in the local fish stores have started that rumor as a means to sell a $100 light bulb.
I think good water quality, low stress, and good food is all you need. If it’s in QT now and isn’t showing signs of ich -a and doesn’t for 2 weeks - then I don’t think you have anything to worry about.
Nice fish Rob to add to a tank. I agree with Craig that some stores just want to make money on the UV light. I know when I setup my first tank, the LFS suggested to have a UV light on it, so I bought one. I think I ended up throwing in it the trash, didn’t use it very long.
If your PBT is looking healthy and eating well in QT, that is great. Try giving some nori to supplement it’s diet, they luv the stuff. Good luck with it.
How about some pics. And then maybe Rob, you can use one of them for your avatar. lOl
If you want to try UV check Craig’s list and ebay and you’ll find tons of them cheap. Reason being is there is a lot of people that get suckered into them by LFS and they end up selling them. They can have a benefit and I would equate the benefit to adding half a teaspoon worth of activated carbon to your filtration system… save your money.
I have to difer on this one…UV sterilizers do work if properly sized. The key is proper flow thru them to kill parasites. I have a little 8 watt unit on my 30 gallon QT with the flow going less than 100gph. Anything that flows thru that UV will be killed.
[quote=“rbu1, post:5, topic:3802”]
I have to difer on this one…UV sterilizers do work if properly sized. The key is proper flow thru them to kill parasites. I have a little 8 watt unit on my 30 gallon QT with the flow going less than 100gph. Anything that flows thru that UV will be killed. [/quote]
Not arguing - like I’ve said 100 times before there are 2 sides to this fence.
How do you know it’s killing parasites?
Search the internet you will find numerous studies telling you what the proper flow rate you need to kill parasites. These studies are done by people much smarter than I am. Its proven that UV works. Most large wholesalers have huge Emperor Aquatics units on there facilities. Will it keep all crypt out no…Will it kill the ones that pass thru the UV yes.
I am ust hesitant to spend that kind of money on something that there is a debate over. I ran UV when I first got in the hobby and I truly believe that is helped in keeping free-floating algae spores from multiplying and therefore kept my water clearer.
OR it was becasue I had NO flourecent lighting and did water changes every week.
For every argument I’ve found FOR UV I’ve found one AGAINST UV. I have never read anything that proved emphatically that it killed ich. I would be interested to see what would happen if ich was introduced to a closed environment running UV. Would the UV kill it - how long would it take? Is there any way to be certain that 100% of the water volume (and therefore all parasites) pass through the UV?
"Most large wholesalers have huge Emperor Aquatics units on there facilities. " Funny you use that brand name specifically. I’ve met the sales reps from these companies who in my opinion seem like way over confident used cars sales man. Not saying that wholesalers do not use UV or that they don’t use this one specifically, but just curious why that particular name comes up while you are discussing it.
Not arguing, but just curious: Are you sure that little 8w bulb is long enough. It isn’t just the strength of the bulb or the gph, but the amount of time the water is exposed to UV. If you daisy chained many long UV sterilzers together with 100gph flow rate at the end it is entirely different then one small unit.
Craig if you dig around you can certainly find articles that will state if you have the proper set up you can infact kill all the ich that passes through the tube, but it is impossible to kill all of the ich in an aquarium because not all the water can pass through the tube simultatiously. So to answer the one question 100% of the water can not pass through UV and no one will argue that it can or that it could completely illiminate the parasite.
The reason I recommend against UV is because of the fact that it won’t work perfectly alone, a proper set up is rather expensive and not easy to determin by speaking with your average LFS or online vendor, and their are lot high priorities in my opinion then hooking up an expensive gadget that in my opinion will hardly help in the scheme of things. In your case RBU1 it may help enough to justify if you have already done so many other things to make sure everything is right and spent $400-500 on the fish. To the average aquarist especially those which have been in the hobby for less then a year, I don’t personally recommend them.
I used the emperor aquatics name because I have spoken to them on numerous occasions when I was going to put a unit on the 300. I also met them at Macna in Atlantic City. The bottom line is UV sterilizers do work.
[quote=“rbu1, post:5, topic:3802”]
I have to difer on this one…UV sterilizers do work if properly sized. The key is proper flow thru them to kill parasites. I have a little 8 watt unit on my 30 gallon QT with the flow going less than 100gph. Anything that flows thru that UV will be killed. [/quote]
Sure UV will kill things that go through it but how do you guarantee that the parasite will go through it? Look at the life cycle of ich
When the cyst falls off the fish it drops to the substrate . That one cyst then releases thousands of theronts that reinfect the fish. You would have to guarantee that every drop of water passed through the UV every pass and that every theront is killed. Thats something that you just cant guarantee.
I am well versed in the life cycle of crypt but thanks…
You can’t guarantee anything in this hobby…
Man if things were only as simple as that diagram. The impact of fresh water ich is massively impacted by temperatures. If your having issues with ich in a fresh water tank try bringing the temperature slowly up to 80-82*F.(read up on what your aquarium inhabitants can handle first) Unfortunately Cryptocaryon irritans is a very different animal.
Denitrators work, so does Ozone, calcium reactors, Zeovit media, bacteria cultures, plasma lighting, bio pellets,… lots of things work, but if they are right for everyone in every situation… not so much. I never argued that they don’t work, just as I’ve never argued denitrators don’t work. If they accomplish the task a hobbyist wants them to and if it is worth the time or money or easily applicable is what is in question.
Could you share with us the cost of your particular unit and a resource that shows the particular set up you have will kill the Cryptocaryon irritans that pass through it? Just out of curiosity.
i have a huge sterilizer on my pondoutside that is 9500 gallons. 60 watter i believe. made by zapp pure, polished aluminum so there’s amazing output and reflectivity at 70,000 microwatt output. never had ich on a koi. i say 60 watts “i believe” because i haven’t run in in three years. never had ich on a koi.
Paul do you have a heater on the pond? Never thought to ask. I know you have enough flow it wouldn’t be easy for it to freeze, but just curious if maybe that has something to do with it. Do you use salt in your pond? I’m no expert when it comes to ponds yet, but really want to put one in when I own a property.
no heater. never froze all the way across, and never more than 5 or so inches down.
salt would be hugely expensive for a pond this size. the recommended salinity is .1-.3 which is 2.5 lbs per 100 gals at .3. lets see 95 X 2.5 …see why it makes no sense to me. especially since you need to remove it, as parasites get resistant to constant salt in a fw pond.
Ah, good to know.
Lots of Pond-ers use bags of water softener salt. A friend with a pond your size has done that. but a bit less dose. maybe 0.1-02.? But you dont have to use it.
The UV can kill most of the algae or parasites that pass through it. But it depends on the wattage, and the flow rate through the UV. It requires a certain amount of dwell time to get a good UV exposure. the lower the flow, the longer the dwell time and exposure. so if you use too much pump, it may not do very much.
i kow the flow is the important calculation, ken, but the system was all purchased as a unit, all sized by the manufacturer, so it’s spozed to do what it’s spozed to do. i just don’t see any diff using the uv or not, and @100$ a bulb… the salt just never appealed to me as a sensible use. if it could keep suspension down, fine, better viewing for bstrd herons.
HJack