I recently aquired two 5 watt UV sterilizers I was planning on running one, and keeping the other as a backup. I have heard good and bad things about using UV sterilizers in reef environments. Some people have said that it can destroy coral food sources and not to use them during feeding. Reaching out for any knowledge that you guys might have about the pro's, con's, and how to use a UV Sterilizer.

Not sure man. I have heard the same. Good and bad. I have heard they kill the live phyto in your tank....which could be good and bad. you wont have green water........BUT your corals are going to have to be fed. I dont run one......simply because no one has convinced me that they are necessary.

yeah. they use them a water treatment plants to kill algae and unwanted parisites. I cant see why it wouldnt be beneficial to your tank. Throw it in and see how your water changes.

dont yous one on a reef. ok you got pro and cons kills parisits cool bugs dead but dont the corals feed off them bugs now you got starving corals. kills alge good but also stops the spreading of good alges. in a fish olny tank thay work awsome but when it come to reef yousig it will do more harm then good. in the long run costing you more money and time that could be spent enjoying your tank. i highly advise agenst yousing one on a reef. and fihsboy your right thay have started to yous them in treatment plants but it is yoused to kill everything good and bad. humens are more picky than fish we need filterd this and starel that in the end we might as well be drinking bleach. in the summer we do (fyi in the summer thay dubbel the cloren in the tap water to stop pipe alge blooms if you smell a glass of water when it is in the wormer mounths it smells like a swimming pool)corals need all that stuff to live take it away you might as well just buy dead coral hears cheaper and thay dont even need water:)

o and sarry for writeing an essay i just dont know who to explain it in fewer words.

Yeah I don't think i'm going to be installing the uv sterilizer there's just too many bad factors, and i've invested too much in my corals to destroy them messing around. From what i've been reading up on, and what my local saltwater fishstore person told me uv sterilizers are to be used in a Fish Only aquarium setup. She informed me that getting more mangroves, and installing a large HOB or undertank Fuge would be way more benificial in a reef environment.

I just started thinking about something......All corals have *some* means of using algae strands to eat and develop new tissue. They bring it in through the mouth (the algae spores) it will fuse inside the corals body into the cells and the corals will excreete it through to the other side of the tissue providing energy for the corals......so if you get rid of all the algae......and sterilize the water.......would corals grow as well? I was watching a show called (equator) It was on the discovery channel.....and they were showing and talking about how corals have a love hate relationship with algae. Algae can drown out a coral and kill it in no time.......thats why tangs and other grazers are soo important to the reef. BUT without algae.... corals wouldnt even exist, they would have no way to transfer the energy within the cells of its body. At least thats what I got out of the show....it was pretty interesting. And they showed how almost any coral can cross breed to create another coral. They only spawn once a year though....pretty awesome stuff. :)