angel obsessed Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 aquarium purifier: hi, just wondering if these are worth it? Also is it likely to kill my plants or help them out a bit? One of my tanks seems to be just getting brown algae on the glass and on the stones and plants all the time. I do daily water changes and gravel vacuums but to no avail. My light is pretty crap in there, just a standard sunlight t8 18watt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 i just got this info of these from some patent website An aquarium water purification system comprises a porous or slotted platform raised from the bottom of the aquarium. A low density foam member having land areas and openings therein is affixed to the bottom of the platform. The foam member promotes bacterial retention and growth thereon of waste metabolizing bacteria. Means are also provided to circulate the water from the aquarium through the foam member and through an external filter. to me this kinda sounds like a low rate filter with a sponge for bacteria to grow in. am i correct or is it too late & maybe i should be asleep. i wouldn't bother as what ever filter you are running is probably doing a much better job of housing bacteria. i dont think it will affect your plants at all & as for the brown algae, nutrients in the water create algae to grow. alot of light will make the algae green & not enough light will cause it to be brown. what fish in what tank do you have & how much are you feeding? maybe reducing feeding amounts & feed 6 days out of 7 will reduce algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel obsessed Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 hi, i was going to run it along side my regular filter (magic-jet filter). Its a grow out tank (about 15 small angels 20c size and 3 small discus 50c size) Its about 120litres, which is why i do biggish daily water changes. I also feed a small amount twice a day. Now therein lies the problem? But I thought that twice daily feedings for very young fish was the way to go to boost growth? Perhaps I do need to reduce that lol, thanks for your help! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 as long as there isn't any left over food it doesn't matter how often you feed as long as the fish are getting the correct amount of food in a day. i guess you are feeding very small flake type food? this may be the issue as the smallest parts of the food probably are not getting eaten hence the nutrient/algae problem. things will get better when you move onto larger food i suspect, just keep cleaning or get an algae eater. i have africans & my grow out tanks are covered in green algae, i purposely put them near the window for sunlight to create algae. the africans eat it as part of their diet so i don't have any issues with them growing quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Navarre Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Grow out tanks Hi there I find it interesting that you have both gravel and plants in yor grow out tanks. I have a few tanks and I have some for display/breedingthat I have both plants and gravel in but in my grow outtanks I use no plants generally and no gravel either. This means that when I do my daily water changes I can get rid of all that fish waste and un eaten food. with big daily chanegs it can sometime upset a filet system which is another reason you dont want food rotttingin teh gravel at the bottom of your tank. But just becasue I do it this way doesnt meanits right for you. HTH Navarre Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted March 1, 2009 Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 Grow out tanks Hi there I find it interesting that you have both gravel and plants in yor grow out tanks. I have a few tanks and I have some for display/breedingthat I have both plants and gravel in but in my grow outtanks I use no plants generally and no gravel either. This means that when I do my daily water changes I can get rid of all that fish waste and un eaten food. with big daily chanegs it can sometime upset a filet system which is another reason you dont want food rotttingin teh gravel at the bottom of your tank. But just becasue I do it this way doesnt meanits right for you. HTH Navarre i don't have plants in my grow out tanks, only have aragonite as a substrate to buffer the ph. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angel obsessed Posted March 1, 2009 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2009 i never used to have either gravel or plants. Just bare bottom. In all honesty Im not really sure why I put them in. However it was still brown before I put them in, maybe I thought it might help lol? Anyhow Ive been outbid on the purifier so that flags that idea lol Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
enzoom1 Posted March 2, 2009 Report Share Posted March 2, 2009 I've got one of the uviews running on my main tank atm. It was suffering from a big algae (green water) bloom and within at the most a week all the algae was gone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzfauna Posted June 9, 2013 Report Share Posted June 9, 2013 I've just bought and installed one of these, after reading a very favourable review of similar UV sterilisers for fish tanks. I'll let you know if there are any problems. But I doubt there will be. I'm running it along side the normal filter stuff. N.B. These are not filters. They are water sterilisers. They work by circulating tank water around a fully enclosed UV light. The UV kills bacteria and algae etc in the water - WITOUT harming the good bacteria in your biological filter and gravel. It won't harm your plants. It will make your water will be clearer (perhaps crystal), cleaner, and smell less. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nzfauna Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 There haven't been any problems Seems to be working good. However, the 'crystal clear water' effect is somewhat lessened because I've also got a tannin-leaching piece of driftwood in the tank, lol. Just need to wait till that process finishes - although activated carbon has helped quite a bit in removing tannings - and dramatically quickly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted June 27, 2013 Report Share Posted June 27, 2013 As far as I'm aware it'll help with algae in the water (green water) but won't do much for algae on the glass. Have you done a water test or taken one to a shop to be done? Maybe you have high nitrates and/or phos? Either way a bit less feeding a more waterchanges usually do the trick Live plants will also help absorb excess nutrients and slow the growth of algae however the gravel is just going to be a place for all the uneaten food to settle (which will spike ammonia and it turn nitrates causing algae). I think removing the gravel will do more for the problem than a UV filter either way :smln: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted June 28, 2013 Report Share Posted June 28, 2013 NZ fauna/Critter crazy - you do realise these initial posts are over four years old? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
critter_crazy Posted June 28, 2013 Report Share Posted June 28, 2013 Oops :facepalm: It popped up in my feed due to nzfaunas post - didnt even think to check the initial date :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.