benifits of uv sterilizer

[Balloon Fish]

hey everyone, still considering my birthday present and i was reading the thread on greenwater and then a uv sterilizer popped into my mind anyways, is it benifical to have it in a freshwater tank? does it get rid of algae? if so what kinds? i know it gets rid of green water but i dont know if it gets rid of any other ones. Also what kind of parasites does it get rid of that can affect my fish? (what kind of diseases does it protect from?) try to keep the scientific names to a low amount cause my little brain can't take it and i wont know what the heck your talking about

 

[Lotus]

Here's a basic article on what they do: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/pic/article.cfm?acatid=423&aid=440

I wouldn't get one unless you have a specific problem that you really need it for. On a planted tank, they shouldn't be run constantly. You also need to bear in mind that replacement bulbs are needed every few months, and cost at least $30 each.

We have one that we have used for ich occasionally, but we've never had green water, so haven't tried it on that.

 

[Balloon Fish]

i just read that the uv sterilizer breaks the chelated copper stuff so does that mean it is even more of a risk to kill my shrimp? maybe i'll just stick to getting a better filter

 

[Orion]

I would go for a better filter. Like Lotus said, unless you have a specific need for one, I wouldn't waste the money.

 

[discus4everGrl]

Yeah a better filter is always cool. UV is most useful for disease prone fish which tend to get sick while other hardier species are not affected. It only kills bacterias that are free floating in the water column. Alot of people use them on discus tanks, especially a breeder tank because discus eggs are prone to fungus for some reason - prolly the highly acid water required for the eggs to be able to get spermanated (uh, is that a real word)