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Can anyone tell me if UV's are worth the money? I'm considering buying a TMC Vecton V2 as a precautionary measure but would like to hear what others have to say first. Thanks

Hi Chris, I asked for feedback about using UV sterilization in an effort to produce higher Corydoras fy deaths due to reasons not fully understood but I suspected bacterial blooms. Not nuch reaction and I haven't followed trough with the purchase of a UV unit.

There are some other instances of deaths among delicate fry from fish like the Checkeboard Dwarf Cichlid, Dicrossus fiamentosus that I would like to test a UV sterilizer with. They are a fish that coexists with Cardinal Tetras, another notoriusly difficult fish to breed in aquarium conditions.

Hello Chris.

As I am currently limited to two tanks, and I was not able to set up a permanent quarantine tank, so I was just adding new stock straight to the display tank.

Unfortunately many times when I added a new fish, I would get an outbreak of whitespot. After this happened a few times I decided to get a Vecton UV unit.

No more whitespot.

However, unless you have a specific problem you need to deal with, I can't really see the point in getting one.

It is just another piece of equipment to complicate things. I must have about 15 electrical items running my big tank. I think I need to simplify.

People always recommend two filters, heaters, pumps lights etc, but now it getting a bit silly for me.

The next tank I set up will definitely be more minimal.

Thanks to you both apistomaster and racoll. I too am limited to 2 tanks 1x 180L and 1x300L. Having never had a quarantine tank, like racoll I have been adding straight to the tank. No whitespot but just caught a platy with finrot. My new Rio 300 is still cycling so I will probably try one on the 180L which is well stocked as I can't see a down side. Thanks again

chris

Hi Chris an racoll,

I totally agree that simple setups are best. That has been a major reason why I have not splurged on the UV unit. I have sufficient tanks to provide for routine quarantine.

I just have been frustrated by often low survival of my Corydoras fry having most of my losses within the foirst 10 days. I compensate by using multiple spawning setup and repetitive spawns but that too is an inefficient and space consuming method. I genrally prefer a more efficient production rate using fewer tanks.

These ealy losses with Corydoras are a currently hot topic but no clues have emerged that seem to help with the problem yet. UV sterilizing is about the only ting I haven't tried but somehow I think that there will prove to be a simpler solution to these problems in the end. The fact that it is not an isolated problem limited just to my methods gives me hope that the underlying cause will be found soon.

I ended up returning the UV sterilizer I'd bought. It was just another thing to plug in, and the things it's meant to control, well they should be controlled anyway if I take care of the tank and the fish like I'm supposed to. For me, problems were Nature's way of telling me to CUT IT OUT...IT being whatever fool thing I was doing or not doing, be it overfeeding, adding too many fish too fast, failing to follow sensible quarantine procedures, sloppy water changes that fluxed temps too much, failing to understand and monitor phosphate buildup (source of my algae problems). Etc. Etc. A UV sterilizer can act as sort of a bandaid and temporarily cover one's butt for awhile by zapping the things we should be taking care of with better husbandry. But long term, if an aquarist doesn't learn from his/her mistakes the hard way, and continues to miss whatever it is they're doing wrong, they'll stress the fish and no amount of technology no matter how awesome is going to fix that.

As far as helping with dying fry and egg viability, I think the same holds true on a more subtle scale. In that case, it's not necessarily poor husbandry/careless mistakes as much as it is having an incomplete picture of what occurs in nature. And in nature, the only UV that may play any part is whatver is provided by the Sun.

Do we really know if in nature that the hatch rate or egg viability is really any worse than what you are seeing in your breeders' tanks? Maybe in nature "success rates" vary as much amongst different clutches as they do in captivity. How well have the catfish really been studied in their native habitat?

Thanks hellocatfish. Subtle no! Good sound advice and well received. I have no real problems, all tests well within accepted levels, but I take on board your bandaid statement. With a UV, I may well miss something that good husbandry would not allow to happen in the first place. Thanks again.

I would recommend them for quarantine tanks.

They will cut out the use of chemical remedies in many cases.

Apistomaster,

Have you ever tried outdoor tub ponds. They are 24 gallons and they can be used as liner with half whiskey barrels. I have 1 outside on the deck in NJ with 4 shubukin goldfish, anarchis and several potted plants that I bring in during the winter. I have a heater and an inside filter and the oldest goldfish are 3 summers (2 winters old). No fish ever died of disease (the stray cats got all the original ruykins) and I barely did any maintenace. During the summer I used to bring out the platys babies and they would grow so much quicker than the ones inside the 10 gallon tank.

I have 2 peckotalia sabaji and I was thinking of moving the sabaji to a new outdoor pond that I would set-up in july to see if they would breed. Throw a couple of platys for mosquito control and hopefully instant peckolitia babies. Too bad the wife nixed the idea as 3 tanks are more than enough.

Have to somehow sneak in a 110 gallon to replace the 45 without her noticing it. Think its possible?

racoll wrote:I would recommend them for quarantine tanks.

They will cut out the use of chemical remedies in many cases.

I suppose they could also be useful in the cases where there are no chemical remedies, such as "fish tuberculosis," which as far as I understand it, is not curable or treatable. Of course the UV sterilizer won't save a fish already infected with an untreatable disease, but I would imagine it could prevent others from getting the disease.

I suppose it's like any other tool: in the hands of someone who has a decent amount of knowledge and experience, it's an asset. An experienced aquarist will understand what it can reasonably do and predict some pitfalls. But with someone like me, it's a disaster waiting to happen. I have seen enough comments and reviews on UV sterilizers to realize a lot of people plop them in, hoping the sterilizer will "take care of" problems that clearly would not exist with just a bit more study and effort on the part of the fishkeeper to make the environment balanced and stable.

Someday I may try one again. But only after I can honestly say I'm no longer an ignorant newbie.

hellocatfish,
You are correct. UV units can be very useful in some installations used by a knowlegeable operator.

As advertised they don't do much. The intensites used by most are far too low and the water flow is far too great for UV to kill many organisms.

It takes some serious thinking about what the expectations are and they should be sized by design adequate for the system.

I have never considered using one or more just to compensate for aquarium mismanagement.
They are virtually essential on a centralized system that has transient fish populations held in the system.

The "as advertised" effectiveness at given flow rates is generous to put it kindly.

Yeah, mine was so fast that it put out a pretty good current. It was actually attractive for the use most people put a powerhead to, and part of the reason I was tempted to keep it. However, it was incredibly bulky. Besides, even though it was very inexpensive as far as UV sterilizers go, by returning it I was able to get other gear on sale and discount that would really serve me well: a 20 gallon long tank and a TetraTec filter, grand total $35 for the whole thing, with added benefit of being able to use my existing lighting fixtures.

A dlayed response here:

Every summer I setup a couple of kiddie wading pools and grow out spawns of hardy tropicals.

I did use a heater the first summer and raised black Neons outside but the cost of operating the heater was prohibtive so now I stick with fish that tolerate the mid sixties.