UV Sterilizer vs. Pleco

[daveman12345]

Things a UV sterilizer will do:
Destroy waterborne bacteria
Destroy waterborne parasites
Destroy waterborne algae
Things a UV sterilizer will NOT do:
Destroy algae on glass
Destroy algae on your decorations
Destroy algae on substrate
Destroy bacteria in filter, substrate etc.
Reduce nitrates
Make you more attractive to the opposite sex


Ok you get the idea... A UV sterilizer only cleans the water that gets pumped through it. Not anything on the surfaces. It will prevent green water, and help prevent waterborne parasites and stuff like ich.

You can ditch the pleco if you want, but you'll have to clean the glass yourself... as for rocks driftwood in your tank... you can pull them out and dip them in a mild bleach solution and rinse them well, very well.

Great, thanks! I will keep this in mind since it is just what I'm looking for. So basically, it will help prevent harmful bacteria so I'll worry less about my fish ever getting sick with things such as ich. It won't remove all of the algae which is a good and bad thing since I will have to keep the pleco, yet he will still be able to eat algae off of the ornaments and walls. I read on Dr. Foster's that it's basically fish insurance..... and your post reassures that point. Thanks!

 

[SteveR]

Hey Chest, thanks for the reply but I don't fully understand what you're saying based on my question... I'm not looking for a lazy mans way of maintaining a fish tank..... I'm dedicated to cleaning it weekly, and making sure the fish are fed properly. What I'm wondering is, based on my weekly cleaning and care for my fish:

1. Would a UV light do the same job that a pleco does, and then some? I don't like the poop produced by the pleco, and it's an added bonus if a UV light destroys bacteria, etc. in the tank.

2. Would I still have to worry about algae growing in the tank? I assume you're saying algae will grow on the glass, plants, etc. So basically, a pleco is necessary for this? Or, will my glass magnet be sufficient to clean the glass every now and then?

I bet you don't feed your pleco do you? Algae only diet is it?

 

[daleros]

I have good luck with my UV filter. The only place I have had growth is on the glass which I only need to clean every other week. A little on decoration too but the UV significantly reduced this. They are pricey and usually they are under-rated. Get one to filer a bigger tank. They will kill the good stuff too. What I did to fix this is to put a fluidized filter bed after the UV.

 

[justin guest]

UV will reduce algal growth on glass surfaces but won´t stop the necessity of cleaning the glass every now and then. The UV also kills everything pumped through it IF the flow is slow enough. To keep a microbiological balance in the tank buy an oversized UV lamp but make sure you put it in a bypass. That way some of the good bacteria from the filter will also be circulating around in the tank and back into the filter again (this is very important). An excellent link if you want to know more is;

http://americanaquariumproducts.com/AquariumUVSterilization.html

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