Large fish tank filtration?

[Toby_H]

nc,



If you never get infections, (bacterial, parasitic, or viral) your white count is always low. Introduce a stronger fish that has heximata or Ich but has subdued the parasites responsible and now you've introduced ich into your tank.

Seeing as the turnover for a UV is typically far lower that even 1x tank volume per hour you've now potentially infected all of your fish. Problem is, that parasite that was latent in the healthy fish is monsterous to your UV kept fish as their body has not learned how to fight off weaker infections. I've seen it more than once where a fish was introduced to a healthy but relatively sterile tank and suddenly every other fish has died from something be it ich, HITH, columnaris, etc in an unreasonably short time period.

Think of it this way, you're not weakening the immune system of your stock. Your stock just never develop a strong enough immune system.

I hear / understand your argument... as I've heard it many times before... and my experience has been quite different...

When you say:

I've seen it more than once where a fish was introduced to a healthy but relatively sterile tank and suddenly every other fish has died from something be it ich, HITH, columnaris, etc in an unreasonably short time period.

Was this on a tank using UV lights? Can you give details to your examples?

Being denied contact to parasites will not decrease the white blood cells in a fish... it will not weaken it's immune system... If the fish is healthy, it's immune system will develop.

Fish do not develop an "immunity to ick"... or any other parasitic infection...

Instead they develop a healthy immune system and are able to fend off initial attacks. The best way to allow a fish to develop (including it's immune system0 is to prevent it from spending energy/proteins on fighting disease and allow it to spend it on development...

Lastly, regarding turnover rates...

I suggest 1W per 10 gallons of tank volume... and push water past it at 10 gph (actual flow rate) per 1W of UV... in other words... use a 10W UV light @ 100 gph (actual flow) on a 100 gal tank...

 

[iloveoscars702]

with the stock i have in my sig that tank is filtered by two eheim pro II 2028's and one AC110 and my water is always clean and clear. and the parameters stay safe