# [Wet Thumb Forum]-UV Sterilizers/Disease/Green Water



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Originally posted by yalej:
I've been thinking about UV sterilizers as well. How often do you run it Diana, and what do you use for water movement through the sterilizer?

Dennis 

I connected mine to the Aqua Clear Powerhead that I use with the Quick Filters using clear tubing (5/8" outside diameter) that I bought from Lowes Hardware. The plumbing connections take a little thought. I also had to rearrange my glass covers.

I bought two different sterilizers. I really like the Gamma UV sterilizer, because it has good plumbing connections. I got it from Dr. Foster and Smith for $80, Cat # 16938.

This is my first try with UV sterilizers, so you may want to consult with someone with more experience. The pond people use them a lot. I bought mine to kill Mycobacteria in the water (my Rainbowfish got infected last year by new additions to the tank)a newly purchased Neon Rainbows that apparently were carrying the disease).


----------



## yalej (Dec 8, 2004)

Would this also have an effect on BGA?

I've also been thinking about getting a cannister filter to do mechanical filtration. I just seem to have a lot of organic crud in my aquarium, and while I could use a QuickFilter, I think it would get clogged too easily, even with 100 micron filtering, which I bought (but haven't tried). Maybe I'll try that before I blow cash on Eheim.









Dennis


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by yalej:
> Would this also have an effect on BGA?
> Dennis


The UV sterilizer would have no effect on Blue Green Algae, because it is an attached algae. It won't kill filter bacteria, because these are attached bacteria.

It only kills what is in the water. Thus, it helps control (or possibly eliminate) water-borne fish diseases and green-water algae.

I've had tanks for years without UV sterilizers, but now with this Mycobacteriosis infection, I felt I needed them. The sterilizers should control the re-infection (The UV sterilizer kills Mycobacteria released by infected fish into the water.) Also, its safer for me (these fish pathogens can infect humans..."fish tank syndrome").


----------



## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

Hey Diana,
What are the symptoms of "fish toank syndrome"?
Also if I understand correctly, you are not using your UVS inline? I am thinking of getting one, but I do not want to pumb in permenantly into the filter line. I am thinking of using just a power head for spot treatment. If this is how you do it, can you show a picture of your setup or a link where I can see a similar one. Thanks so much!!
jB


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by Jason Baliban:
> Hey Diana,
> What are the symptoms of "fish toank syndrome"?
> 
> ...


The Gamma sterilizer would hook into just about any powerhead. A short section of plastic tubing is all that is needed. Even the little $14 Mini-jet pumps I have would work. All you need is something to push water through the sterilizer.

I may be able to post a picture next weekend when I have more time.


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

The Gamma UV sterilizer can "hang on the back" or "hang on the side" as I've set it up. It can also be setup "in-line" with a canister filter.

It is very adaptable. The plumbing can be twisted around. Manufacturer even includes teflon tape!


----------



## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

Awesome pic!!! Thanks so much!! Does all the black tubing come with the unit, or did you construct it yourself?
jB


----------



## Robert Hudson (Feb 5, 2004)

Here are some more pics Diana asked me to post for her


----------



## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

Thanks for posting more pics. I just have to question of the included plumbing. Also, it is tough to make out how the UVS is getting its water supply. Thanks so much!!
jB


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

All the fat black tubing came with the Gamma. I had to put it all together, but the instructions are very clear. 

I connected the Gamma's intake to the output of the powerhead with a few inchs of plastic tubing (5/8 inch outside diameter, 10 ft sections available at Lowes for about $3). I did use a makeshift elbow joint that I sawed off (metal saw) of an old Ehiem return tubing. This short connection tubing is all in the tank.

The Gamma's design is nice. The fat black tubes that serve as intake and return also serve as "hooks" to hang the Gamma on the side of the tank. I was able to spread them apart far enough to slip my dual light strip inbetween.

I have another UV sterilizer that was much more difficult to set up (it didn't come with the Gamma's hang-on-the-back design).


----------



## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

Great!!! Thanks for the tips!! I am going to thatpetplace tomorrow.....I am going to look at some solutions. Thanks so much for all your help Diana!!! 
jB


----------



## Rider (Mar 19, 2005)

I have a 10 gallon low-tech planted tank with 8 neon tetras and two corydoras catfish. The plants are doing fine, but the tetras developed ich







Lots of web searching revealed that these fish don't like malachite green so I started to look for other treatments. The local fish store suggested triple sulfa. Well ... at least it didn't hurt the fish. Didn't seem to hurt the ich either! I quit that treatment and started to wonder if a UV sterilizer might zap the parasites in the free swimming stage of their lifecycle, so I got a hang-on UV unit and hooked it up. My pump only runs at night (the fish don't need it during the day, and it would reduce CO2 for the plants) After 3 nights, I find that the water has turned the colour of weak tea. The fish still have ich,

Any suggestions?


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by Rider:
> I have a 10 gallon low-tech planted tank with 8 neon tetras and two corydoras catfish. The plants are doing fine, but the tetras developed ich
> 
> 
> ...


I believe that the UV sterilizer would kill the ich swarmers, but it needs to be run continously-- night and day. If you do this you should be able to cure it within a few days-- assuming that your sterilizer is working properly (slow-enough flow rate, UV bulb not too old, etc). If no new pimples are forming on your fish, then you will know that the UV is killing the swarmers before they can attach to the fish.

It's nice that you care about your plants, but your fish need your help now.

I found all chemicals to be useless. Sulfa is an antibiotic to help with secondary bacterial infections, but it won't kill the Ich parasite.

At 81-83F it will take 3-4 days for the last pimple to drop off the fish. If you're lucky and the UV kills the Ich swarmers before they attach to the fish, you should be able to cure this disease within a week.

Good luck!


----------



## khoile (Feb 10, 2005)

Hi Diana,

Have you tried Kordon "Prevent Ich" medicine? it is said to be 100% organic. I'm currently treating ich in my planted tank using this medicine. The problem is I just also installed a UV, the ich is reducing, but I'm not sure thanks to what







.

Rider: I think inorder for UV to effectively kill ich it need a very slow flowrate. My turbo-twist 6x 18W UV ask for a flow rate of 110gph to kill parasite.

Khoi,


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I'm going to guess it is the UV sterilizer. It already seems to be helping control the Mycobacteriosis disease in my Rainbowfish.

If the Kordon product actually killed the ich swarmers, it would say so. When fish are stressed and the parasite is in the tank, fish may get ich. Thus, the manufacturer could sell any general type of Slime Coat enhancer, etc as a "Prevent Ich" medication.

In fact, I have some table salt that I'll be glad to sell as a "Prevent Ich" medication.









Don't laugh. Salt is often just the ticket. One hobbyist on this forum (TC) was able to cure his fish of ich by adding ordinary salt to the tank. See the earlier folder "Salt for Ich?"

There's a lot of snake oil being sold in the aquarium hobby.


----------



## Jason Baliban (Feb 21, 2005)

UPDATE: Not to change the ick topic. I got gamma UVS....ran it for 72 hours and did a water change. CRYSTAL CLEAR WATER!!! Thanks Diana for the pics and advice!!
jB


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by Jason Baliban:
> UPDATE: Not to change the ick topic. I got gamma UVS....ran it for 72 hours and did a water change. CRYSTAL CLEAR WATER!!! Thanks Diana for the pics and advice!!
> jB


Dear JB,

You are most welcome!


----------



## peridot (Feb 24, 2005)

Reading with great interest about your uv installation. One question: Does the flow to the UV sterilzer first pass thru the quick filter. While that would keep the sterilizer nice and clean, wouldn't it also exclude many of the organisms we are trying to kill?
Love this forum!


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by peridot:
> One question: Does the flow to the UV sterilzer first pass thru the quick filter. While that would keep the sterilizer nice and clean, wouldn't it also exclude many of the organisms we are trying to kill?


In my setup, water flows though the Quick Filter (biofilter) and then the UV sterilizer.

In my opinion, it doesn't matter if disease organisms get caught or colonize the Quick Filter. The direction of water flow will pull most organisms that detach into the UV sterilizer where they will be killed. As long as pathogens are not pouring out of the filter outtake and swimming around in the water looking for a fish, I'm satisfied!

In contrast, if in your filter setup, water flows through the UV sterilizer and then the biofilter, pathogens that colonize and then detach from the biofilter will pour out into the tank. Also, because the UV light would be killing everything before it reaches the bio-filter, it will be doubly hard for nitrifying and other bacteria to colonize the bio-filter.

In this instance, I don't see any reason not to go along with the manufacturer's recommendations for setup design.

I suspect that pond hobbyists, which frequently use UV sterilizers, are way ahead of aquarium hobbyists on UV sterilizers. You might want to surf some of their websites.


----------



## peridot (Feb 24, 2005)

I get it!
Thanks so very much


----------



## imported_chrisP (Jul 7, 2004)

Isnt using a UV filter heading back to high tech? Should I put mine back on?


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

> Originally posted by chrisP:
> Isnt using a UV filter heading back to high tech? Should I put mine back on?


If you have problems with fish diseases, then the UV sterilizer seems like a reasonable precaution.


----------

