UV Light for fish tank

[colinicky]

Where do you put an in line UV light ? before or after the Filter ?
Never had one before & have been given one !
TIA

[Arfie]

After the filter so the water has been cleaned of as much debris as possible.

Arfie

[tiggerbiker]

Originally Posted by colinicky

Where do you put an in line UV light ? before or after the Filter ?
Never had one before & have been given one !
TIA

if you really want to use one then it goes after the mechanical filter.

TBH, they are not really worth the bother.

good tank management and carefull stocking will prove more effective, UV is supposed to reduce waterborne pathogens and macroalgae but the lamp tubes go off wavelength very quickly and the quartz tube needs to be kept extreamly clean to be of any use.

i have kept fish all my life and keep a 6x2x2 marine reef tank, i use the berlin method (live rock, protein skimmer and lots of water flow).
i have tried most systems and UV is a bit of a myth in my experience

[yazzyfooty]

When I kept a marine tank I had the Tunze filtration system plus two protein skimmers and uv lights. Still on occasion ammonia levels or nitrites or was it nitrates? readings would be too high and I would have to do an emergency 3rd water change which was used to be a nuisance until I decided on keeping a spare water tank filled with salt water and at right temperature in my linen cupboard and then just syphon it in for the change.

[tiggerbiker]

Originally Posted by yazzyfooty

When I kept a marine tank I had the Tunze filtration system plus two protein skimmers and uv lights. Still on occasion ammonia levels or nitrites or was it nitrates? readings would be too high and I would have to do an emergency 3rd water change which was used to be a nuisance until I decided on keeping a spare water tank filled with salt water and at right temperature in my linen cupboard and then just syphon it in for the change.

the filtration system will break down ammonia to nitrite then down to nitrates
it sounds like you had too much ammonia producing elements - could be overstocking, over feeding or not enough live rock.

in my system i have 7 small/medium fish 50 red leg hermits, 40 turbo snails, various hard corals and 3 anenomies.
filtration wise i have 100kg live rock, deltec AP600 skimmer, 4 tunze pumps, 300mg/hr ozone generator and a 4x1x2 sump tank with 6" sand bed.
all looked after by a full aquatronica computer system.
i do a 10% water change every month with RO/DI water from my own filter.

my phosphate/nitrate readings are as good as nil everytime i test.

[Arfie]

One other thing, just make sure the flow from your filter matches the UV. If it is too fast, the water wont be in touch with the UV long enough and you're wasting your time.

Arfie

[daveb0000]

I use to run two model 30 TMC UV's on a loop on a 7x2x2 system for a few years, then took them off and it has made no difference to the way the system behaves at all.

And like Tiggerbiker said they do need to be cleaned regularly to be effective.

[daveb0000]

Originally Posted by tiggerbiker

the filtration system will break down ammonia to nitrite then down to nitrates
it sounds like you had too much ammonia producing elements - could be overstocking, over feeding or not enough live rock.

in my system i have 7 small/medium fish 50 red leg hermits, 40 turbo snails, various hard corals and 3 anenomies.
filtration wise i have 100kg live rock, deltec AP600 skimmer, 4 tunze pumps, 300mg/hr ozone generator and a 4x1x2 sump tank with 6" sand bed.
all looked after by a full aquatronica computer system.
i do a 10% water change every month with RO/DI water from my own filter.

my phosphate/nitrate readings are as good as nil everytime i test.

Wow, sounds like a good system any chance of a pic

What fish do you have ?

I have pair Aussie clowns, Blue throated trigger fish, copperband, box fish, emperor tang, yellow tang and a chevron tang. 4 green damsels 2 blue damsels, pyjama wrasse, snails hermits three starfish and stacks of small ones about 7mm across.


o yeah and four cleaner shrimps and seven peppermint shrimps

[tiggerbiker]

Originally Posted by daveb0000

Wow, sounds like a good system any chance of a pic

What fish do you have ?

I have pair Aussie clowns, Blue throated trigger fish, copperband, box fish, emperor tang, yellow tang and a chevron tang. 4 green damsels 2 blue damsels, pyjama wrasse, snails hermits three starfish and stacks of small ones about 7mm across.

i'll get a pic when my camera is charged.
i had a copperband but he only lasted a year - i love them!, i have a breeding pair of common clowns, they keep laying eggs on the rock just under the anenomie - free live food for the other fish every few weeks!

[daveb0000]

[quote=tiggerbiker;868019]i'll get a pic when my camera is charged.
i had a copperband but he only lasted a year - i love them!, i have a breeding pair of common clowns, they keep laying eggs on the rock just under the anenomie - free live food for the other fish every few weeks![/QUOTE]

Same here always a good sign that your tanks healthy

I have only had the copperband for a couple of weeks but it came from a mates tank who had it for a year, he had to get rid of his tank as he's moving to Bonaire (the git) for the first week it didn't feed, now it eats like a horse.