Aquarium UV sterilizer !!!
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From what i understand, the overwhelming majority of your beneficial bacteria resides on the surfaces in your aquarium and filter, not in the water column itself. I would assume uv does kill at least some bacterias, but since your beneficial bacteria is not flowing through the water column it would not be exposed.
No. How would it? It only kills things in the water that flows through it. And the bacteria is on surfaces in the tank and filters, not in the water.
Also let us make the point that UV doesn't really annihilate anything in your tank directly -- it rearranges the DNA of micro-organisms (that pass through it, and not those residing on filter/tank surfaces as TwoHedWlf says) so they cannot reproduce.
The beneficial bacteria are not planktonic, and a UV sterilizer only effects what flows thru it, as backfromthedead and others have said, the good bacteria live as biofilm on surfaces like the bio media in your filter, tank walls, and decor.
This is one of the reasons saving old water to cycle a new tank is a useless endeavor, while saving substrate and media, will cycle a new tank almost immediately.
This is one of the reasons saving old water to cycle a new tank is a useless endeavor, while saving substrate and media, will cycle a new tank almost immediately.
