can uv slow down tank cycle?

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
M

mos90

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Jul 20, 2009
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rome,ny
im about 3 weeks into my tank cycle. i added a uv sterilizer saturday to give me piece of mind for my new rays. the tank is showing very low levels ammo and ive been doing daily water changes to keep it close to 0. i have yet to see any nitrite but nitrate levels are about 5pmm. i add daily doses of stability.

i know a uv can kill free floating bacteria only and wont harm the filter bb, but can it slow down the cycling process?
 
Absolutely. Free-floating BB are zapped before they find a spot to colonize. It wont stop the cycle, but it will slow it down a bit.
 
im not sure what i want to do then. should i turn it of for a while?
its a toss up. slower cycle or safer water for rays.
 
What's in the water that you think will harm them? Maybe just kill the UV for a few hours after you dose the Stability. That way the BB have time to get settled into a nook/filter before the UV comes on. Are you dosing the stability directly into the filter or just dumping it in the water?
 
well. i made the mistake of using feeders to cycle. came down with a case of ich 3 days before my rays were coming. i changed all the water removed feeders,and put the uv on. im sure the ich is dead by now. i normally run my uv on my other tank for 10 hours at night. i could do that on this tank too.

quick question. would u keep the flow running threw the uv all the time even if its off? its on a separate powerhead.

ive been dosing stabilty into the water.
 
the uv wont get rid of the ich 100%. All it'll get is the stuff in the water column. You still have ich in the substrate that can live fishless for 45 days. Might want to go fishless for a couple months to make sure.
 
i treated the water for 36 hours with ich medication before a changed all the water. hopefully that was long enough to kill it.

to late for fishless. no place for my rays. my planning didnt work out to well. :irked:

what i shouldve done was a fishless cycle from the beginning. wouldve saved me lots of grief and been much easier on my rays.
 
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