I need a UV Sterilizer, before I get my Protein Skimmer because I have lots of algea =/ , I am willing to spend up to 100$, but the one that i was looking into, needed to be connected to a pump or something, and i have a sump filter, and 2 powerheads, and i dont think i can find a connection to it anywhere, can i get a pump, thats cheap, and hook it up to the uv sterilizer, and put them both in my sump?
UV Sterilizer
- Thread starter ArmanS
- Start date
A uv will help some. But good husbandry will help more. Algae grows because a excess of nutrients is available. Weekly water changes, blowing off your live rock with a turkey baster, puffing your sand with a turkey baster will also help. Also using tap water makes algae go crazy because of the nutrients in the water. that's why people use RODI. A protein skimmer will help to remove the nutrients as they break down. Also You need to test your phosphates if they are high algae will grow!!! Remember algae only grows because there are a excess of nutrients available. You can also add a ball of cheato to your sump with a clip on light. It will beat out the algae for nutrients. Plus it is a free floating macro algae that is easy to remove for sump maintenance. One other thing vacuuming the detritus out of your sump will help alot also.
so you think a protein skimmer will help more? The side of the tank is in the sun for like 8 hours a day =/
the tank in direct light is fine as long as those hours are the ones that you keep your lights on for. itll just add some extra light on some spots. i think that the macro algae is the best idea. but deff get a skimmer first.
my lights are off when the sun is out cus im at school. I have the sun in the tank from 9-5 and then my lights on from 7-11.
the uv sterilizer works great i bought one for my 180 the alage was real bad in the tank even the water was green ! after 3 days and a water chane the water was much better came with a power head and it works off of that
I wouldn't use one in a reef tank though. Kills all the live pods in your system. A protein skimmer is a must! Especially w/o a fuge.
"Pods" are various micro-fauna and other critters that will reproduce within macro-algae, sand and live rock & many eat detrious. These critters are good for a few reasons, but most importantly they are great scavengers. Copepods, mysis shrimp, mini-brittle stars, and bristle worms are very small and can fit into the small holes and areas where snails and hermit crabs can't. Also having a larger population of these organisms in your main tank adds additional live food for your livestock. Fish, shrimp, hermit crabs, snails and even corals will take advantage of this live food. Not only is live food more nutritional than processed food, it also gives a more natural environment to your livestock.