Right now I am just running a fluval 305 canister, I am finding my water is not as clear as it should be, also my fish do alot of scratching on the gravel and decor, which I know is a sign of parasites....Do you think a uv would help? For the scratching I have raised temp. and used dr.wellness salt, but it just seem's to be a quick fix then a few weeks down the road they are rubbing all over my decor and gravel....seems my clown knife get's the wose of it.
U.V. sterilizer benifit's in 75 gal Fresh tank
- Thread starter phreakph
- Start date
Yes, I do clean the gravel along with water changes, I that is the main way to get rid of any parasites living and breeding in my gravel...I wonder if I would be better off just re-hooking up my lift tubes and power head and get my under gravel filter going again, I took it apart because wanted to clear up some more room in my tank, and with the fluval running I thought I would be fine.
I am a big fan of UV sterilizers (probably from working at a pond store, where I probably only met one customer who did more than 1 water change per year) and I have one running on my tank. In theory, they are great, but you will never be able to entirely eliminate parasites from a tank. Especially if fish are already suffering from them.
What other fish do you have in your tank? How tolerant of salt are they? Theory says that heat and as high a salt concentration as your fish can take should kill ick or whatever else you have, fast.
Although I can't speak from too much experience, you should slowly increase your salt concentration which will have a more deleterious effect of the parasites than your fish. If any fish start to have problems, isolate them in a bare bottom tank. Increasing the temperature will speed up the life cycle of cold blooded organisms and speed your fishes recovery, but be cautious. All of this is going to depend on your fish. Tons of information, even if it may be from questionable sources (like me...), is available on the internet. Take what you get with a grain of salt (har, har) and do plenty of water changes.
Good luck.
(PS, i like sand. it's pretty. You may take this opportunity to try a new setup)
(PPS, I am a bluegill now. so much cooler than cichlids)
What other fish do you have in your tank? How tolerant of salt are they? Theory says that heat and as high a salt concentration as your fish can take should kill ick or whatever else you have, fast.
Although I can't speak from too much experience, you should slowly increase your salt concentration which will have a more deleterious effect of the parasites than your fish. If any fish start to have problems, isolate them in a bare bottom tank. Increasing the temperature will speed up the life cycle of cold blooded organisms and speed your fishes recovery, but be cautious. All of this is going to depend on your fish. Tons of information, even if it may be from questionable sources (like me...), is available on the internet. Take what you get with a grain of salt (har, har) and do plenty of water changes.
Good luck.
(PS, i like sand. it's pretty. You may take this opportunity to try a new setup)
(PPS, I am a bluegill now. so much cooler than cichlids)
my fish seem to have a very high tolerance to salt..maybe I will try a little more salt, since you are an expert on uv sterilizers maybe you can answer this, I am planning on purchasing a in-line heater, would I be able to hook up a in-line uv also with the heater already attatched?
It would be best to hook the UV before the filter and the heater after the filter.
Problem is the UV might get gunked up (technical term...look it up) faster installed like that, so it usually goes filter, UV, heater.
Some even install the UV on a separate put to set the flow right. Something to think about.
How's the water chemistry?
How about removing everything but the fish, cleaning it all (boil,scrub,burn), do several W/Cs over a weeks time with eleavated salt (don't go crazy), heat, and stress coat. Try to cure the whole thing at once instead of reinfecting like you said.
Of course this is all while your installing your new UV and pump.
Got any pics?always nice to see what we're working on and the fish don't seem to mind.
Keep us posted.
Dr Joe
.
Problem is the UV might get gunked up (technical term...look it up) faster installed like that, so it usually goes filter, UV, heater.
Some even install the UV on a separate put to set the flow right. Something to think about.
How's the water chemistry?
How about removing everything but the fish, cleaning it all (boil,scrub,burn), do several W/Cs over a weeks time with eleavated salt (don't go crazy), heat, and stress coat. Try to cure the whole thing at once instead of reinfecting like you said.
Of course this is all while your installing your new UV and pump.
Got any pics?always nice to see what we're working on and the fish don't seem to mind.
Keep us posted.
Dr Joe
.
I have a UV on my out side and my indoor pond and I have one on my main tank I think they are a great bit of kit it all stems from my out side pond.
Dr Joe is spot on I have run my UV through my filters and I have had them running completely independent with a pump just pumping through them. On smaller filters in can reduce the performance but on the larger ones it makes no difference at all.
As for salt dilute it first don’t just throw it in as it can burn some fish that have not got the protection of scales. and it can sit on the substrate before dissolving.
Dr Joe is spot on I have run my UV through my filters and I have had them running completely independent with a pump just pumping through them. On smaller filters in can reduce the performance but on the larger ones it makes no difference at all.
As for salt dilute it first don’t just throw it in as it can burn some fish that have not got the protection of scales. and it can sit on the substrate before dissolving.
