Hi guys,
as some may have seen in another thread, I am building a 290gal freshwater high-tech planted aquarium; CO2, AWC, automated nutrient/fertilizer dosing etc.
I was intending to add a UV unit as well in a bypass on the return pipe - after the CO2 reactor. The idea would be that in a tank with many expensive discus and altum fish I would not only want to reduce algae (will have lots of algae clean-up crew such as ottos and amanos anyway) but also to limit any potential infections for the fish.
However, I've been doing some additional research on UVs... it seems for my intended flow (~1,200-1,500 gph) there are only a few UV sterilizers that could support such flow (even in a bypass setting) - and these are priced between $500 and $1000. Now, long-term, I would not upfront reject a high investment if it really added value.
However, many comments and reviews seems to be unclear whether UV really helps or not, while on the other side I read some concerning comments that UV might degrade/chelate various micronutrients that I will be adding to the tank for plant fertilization etc. I would certainly not want to destroy a fertilization effort...
Any thoughts on this?
Do people switch on/off UV sterilizer depending on the days of IE fertilization etc. or what is the general consensus and recommendation here?
as some may have seen in another thread, I am building a 290gal freshwater high-tech planted aquarium; CO2, AWC, automated nutrient/fertilizer dosing etc.
I was intending to add a UV unit as well in a bypass on the return pipe - after the CO2 reactor. The idea would be that in a tank with many expensive discus and altum fish I would not only want to reduce algae (will have lots of algae clean-up crew such as ottos and amanos anyway) but also to limit any potential infections for the fish.
However, I've been doing some additional research on UVs... it seems for my intended flow (~1,200-1,500 gph) there are only a few UV sterilizers that could support such flow (even in a bypass setting) - and these are priced between $500 and $1000. Now, long-term, I would not upfront reject a high investment if it really added value.
However, many comments and reviews seems to be unclear whether UV really helps or not, while on the other side I read some concerning comments that UV might degrade/chelate various micronutrients that I will be adding to the tank for plant fertilization etc. I would certainly not want to destroy a fertilization effort...
Any thoughts on this?
Do people switch on/off UV sterilizer depending on the days of IE fertilization etc. or what is the general consensus and recommendation here?