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

LeighMo wrote:

I heard this can do weird things to the nutrients in your tanks and can
retard algae growth?
has anyone hooked up a steralizer to a planted tank and had success?

Me. I've had a UV sterilizer on my tank almost from the beginning.

It won't do weird things to the nutrients in your tank. While UV light will
oxidize iron and the like, the effect is negligible. Hydroponics growers
routinely use UV sterilizers.

It won't solve all your algae problems, either. It does make short work of
green water, but has no effect on other types of algae.

Leigh

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