perhaps a more powerful UV sterilizer?
are the steralizers inline with the filter or how do they work?
can anyone give me the best and easiest one to get? I have 2 fluval 404
filters and I'd rather not have another intake and outake on the back of my
tank

"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
I disagree a bit. It will only kill free floating algae however if you
clean
the plants, tank and rocks well new growth is cut way back

That has not been my experience. I had a UV sterilizer on my tank almost
from
the beginning, before algae had a chance to get established. (It was to
prevent ich as I stocked the tank.) Nevertheless, as the weeks went on, I
got
various algae infestations. IME, this is normal for a newly established
tank,
and I didn't do anything special to control it, other than make sure I had
enough CO2 and fertilizer. Eventually, it went away on it own. However,
I
still have more algae in the tank with the UV sterilizer than in the tank
without one. (Because the other tank has les slight, and lots of snails.)


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Not to push the thread but. . .I had the same issue until I got the flow right.
Too slow and algae was not affected. Based on the specs to kill algae and other
bad things i believe i have found a happy medium. For example - I used to get
algae on the glass at the output of the return nozzle - now I do not.

LeighMo wrote:

I disagree a bit. It will only kill free floating algae however if you clean
the plants, tank and rocks well new growth is cut way back

That has not been my experience. I had a UV sterilizer on my tank almost from
the beginning, before algae had a chance to get established. (It was to
prevent ich as I stocked the tank.) Nevertheless, as the weeks went on, I got
various algae infestations. IME, this is normal for a newly established tank,
and I didn't do anything special to control it, other than make sure I had
enough CO2 and fertilizer. Eventually, it went away on it own. However, I
still have more algae in the tank with the UV sterilizer than in the tank
without one. (Because the other tank has les slight, and lots of snails.)

Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

My 2.5 cents again

You can also rig a sterilizer with an external power filter. I take water from the
post filter media side, run it through the sterilizer and then put the output back
in the tank at the other end. I regulate flow with a "pinch" type collar that is
made for this. $ months and it works great. (I did it this way because I had the
power filter first. I use the clean water filter input instead of just drawing
from the tank because it is (should be) cleaner)

LeighMo wrote:

perhaps a more powerful UV sterilizer?

No. A UV sterilizer will take care of green water, but it will *not* fix other
algae problems. The best way to control algae is to keep your nutrients
(including CO2) in balance with your lighting and your plant selection, and to
keep some algae-eaters for mop-up.

are the steralizers inline with the filter or how do they work?

There are two kinds of UV sterilizers: inline and standalone. Some can be used
either way.

The inline models are meant to be used with cannister filters. You just hook
it up "inline" with the cannister filter, and the cannister filter's pump runs
water through it. (You should get a T-connector, so you can control the amount
of water that goes through the sterilizer.)

The standalone models are meant to be hooked to a powerhead, which you must buy
separately. (Check to make sure the flowrate of the powerhead is within the UV
sterilizer's recommended flowrate.) Get a standalone if you'll be using the
unit on more than one tank.

I bought a Custom Sealife "Double Helix" model, which is one of those that can
be used both inline or standalone. (I'm using it standalone, with a Penguin
powerhead.) I chose Custom Sealife because it's lower maintenance than most.
With other sterilizers, you have to wipe algae off the quartz sleeve over the
bulb every once in awhile. With some types, this means dismantling the unit to
clean it. Others have a "wiper," that allows you to clean the sleeve without
taking the unit apart, or even taking it off the tank. The Double Helix
doesn't have a quartz sleeve. It's made out of special polymer that's so
slippery algae can't adhere, so there's cleaning.

In addition to cleaning, you have to change the bulb regularly, or the
sterilizer won't be effective. The interval depends on what model you get --
generally, it's anywhere from every six months to every eighteen months.

Also make sure the sterilizer you choose is sized for your tank, and that you
have the proper flowrate going through it. I recommend sizing up one;
sometimes manufacturers exaggerate the effectiveness of their units. And ich
can be tough to kill.

Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

so still, shouldn't it take a considerable dent out of the free floating
algae spores? Wouldn't this slow the appearance of algae as it would not be
able to spread in the tank nearly as fast?
"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
wouldn't it kill algae spores and not allow the algae to spread in the
tank
as easily?

Not by my experience. UV sterilizers don't actually make the tank
sterile.
Some people claim that the fishes' immune systems get weak, because
there's no
germs to keep them revved up. Or that they kill off the biological
filter.
Not true. There's plenty of bacteria, spores, and the like in a tank with
a UV
sterilizer on it.
The UV sterilizer can only kill the stuff that's free-floating, and it
doesn't
kill 100% of that.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/