Got UV? I Do! Let Me Tell You a Little Bit About It.... 

Lol, that’s great Will! You won’t regret it. And thanks for the kind words - I wish I could find a way to get better quality footage at the back of the tank. Top-down might be the only way...🤔 Anyway, have fun with the UV, and I’m sure you’ll enjoy the results. I sure am! 😁

@@Reefgrrl thank you so much for you answr

Thanks Ash! Now I have the job of trying to keep it healthy and growing. 🤞🏻 And I need to find a way to get better video quality....🤔 It’s always something!

Thanks Dave! My original edited version was almost 30 minutes! 😱 Very challenging to get it down to basics..... And thanks for the compliment! I was surprised when I saw the growth in two months, from early November to late December. Now I just hope I can keep it going.....😳

I can’t imagine running any tank without it now, after how amazing it’s been. It was an eye-opener for me. 😁 Thanks for your comment!

Thanks for watching!

At this point, after running it for almost 6 months, I can’t imagine not having one. If you look into the various myths, you get a good sense of it being another tool for aquarium management. It’s not intended to solve all the problems, but I believe it sets the stage for a healthy system, which will be less prone to having issues. I think it’s money well spent.

Thank you!

Wow, thank you for such kind words! I just love doing the whole RU-vid thing, adds an extra dimension of enjoyment to the hobby for me. I hope your UV does as great a job for you as mine is doing for me! Thanks for watching! 😁

Thanks for the feedback! I can’t imagine running any marine tank without a UV unit and I have a really hard time understanding the reluctance out there, to having one. They do nothing but good and with tangs, you know that everything you can do to control the ich parasite, will help. 👍🏻👍🏻

Thanks Alex! I can only imagine the honking great big unit you’ll need for that system! 🤯 It’ll need its own room! If I ever set up another tank, this will be a must-have item. It’s just unbelievable how it clears the water and the overall health of the critters is excellent. I look forward to seeing your video!

The UV sterilizer I am setting up is an 80watt high output. It is a monster but technically is undersized for my system.

Awesome, thanks for the feedback! 👍🏻

Turned out it was the only way we could install it, but it worked great as long as I remembered to turn off the UV when I did water changes. 😂

Thanks for watching! 👍🏻

Thanks Kreger’s Aquariums! I knew nothing about UV (except the nay-sayers negative talk, and the myths) until I ran across the AAP website and started reading - it all began to make sense, and then the help and answers to my questions I got from them really allowed me to get the right fit for my setup. The water clarity is indeed amazing, though I’m currently fighting a small outbreak (spoiler, video to come 😱) of something with my fish, in response to which I’m over-feeding heavily, so I do need to clean the glass every few days now, where previously it could go almost a week before I’d have to take care of it. And the sterilizer is helping in this battle! And you’re right about need vs. want, this is how people think. After the experience I’ve had, I personally believe UV is a need, right up there with skimmers and wave pumps, when one runs a reef tank. For what they cost, the return on investment is well worthwhile. Haha, sorry for the long reply - and thanks for watching and your comment!

Great points!

Thank you!

Giant sailfins! Sounds awesome! Do they have good colour varieties? I’m considering getting a couple of coloured ones to diversify the fry. Right now all the surviving fry are silver. They’re pretty, but I’d like to see some colour. Thanks for the kind words! I’m so looking forward to watching the reef fill in and mature in the coming year!

Yeah they're really cool, they can reach about 6 inches in length. The wild types are a silvery colour with shimmers of blue and an orange belly. I don't think they have been selectively bred for colour morphs like most other mollies, at least not pure gene Yucatan's but the typical "Man made" ornamental strain sailfin mollies found in most fish stores are hybridised from several different species that include the Yucatan's. Due to the inbreeding and hybridising with at least 1 other species of molly tough, they will typically only reach about 3 inches and tend to have greatly reduced lifespans.

Thanks so much for your kind words! And for the like! I checked out your channel and subscribed. Especially as cichlids are the gateway fish to saltwater.....😁 we might see you over here on the dark side at some point.....😬

You are welcome. Thank you very much for subscribing back. Thank you for the nice comment.

I won’t run a reef without one, now that I’ve seen how well they work.

Thank you! I don’t track ORP so I don’t know. The ORP improvement is something that’s well-documented, and something I learned when I was researching the mechanism behind why UV works. Thanks for stopping by!

Yeah, the space was my problem. I’d have loved to get a more powerful unit, but had nowhere to put it where it would fit properly. I will say though - if I ever set up another tank, a UV sterilizer will be must-have equipment. Thanks for stopping by!

Thanks for watching! I think my sump reboot video might be of interest to you because it covers some of that. 👍🏻

Yes! That was the one thing I wanted to ensure - that there would never be a dry bulb with the light still on! That’s why mine is set up to shut off the whole thing, using the switch on the transformer - the pump is plugged into it. And both the pump and the outflow hose are always underwater, which as you point out, is also important. Because I have level 1 at its maximum water volume, I run it 24/7 to maintain that super-clear water. That sounds like a great setup you have, to keep things clean. I’m afraid my sump collects detritus because of how I have the Matrix in there, and I need to rearrange some things to address that. It’s always something...... Thanks for stopping by, and the comment!

YW! Thanks to you, I just brought 10 lb of dirt too :D FYI, I moved away from matrix to 2x marine pure blocks a year ago, never looked back! makes for a clean and tidy sump, but I'll have to rethink the sump wavemaker when I put my mud in there :/

This is a fine way to hook up a sterilizer if you're just want clarification. Best is to run the sterilizer 24/7 to maintain the level of sterilization and also it's best for reducing oxidization and keeping the immunity boosted. Turning off the sterilizer will just add to more swings in ORP.

Hey Ed, I liked the green killing machine - it did the job more than once on my small system. But for this tank I needed something with more capacity. I’m really happy with the unit I have. Thanks for watching!

The Green Killing Machine is ONLY a UV Clarifier, not a Sterilizer. Further Reading: www.uvsterilizerreview.com/2009/12/uv-sterilizer-problems-equipment.html

Hey Phil! I’m very happy with the quality of the Vecton I have and even more than that - the support from AAP if I have questions or need help. My max intensity is 51% on the third-darkest blue (can’t remember what they call it) for 1 hour between 3 and 4 p.m. But, I’ve ordered a PAR sensor and when it arrives I’ll be checking what the readings are because right now, I don’t have a clue. 🤷‍♀️ Thanks for stopping by, and I hope you have as good an experience as I did with AAP.

Hey Lisa, I believe the slime was caused by a bacterial bloom but I was never able to figure out the exact source of the excess bacteria. I wasn’t using NoPox at the time, didn’t know it existed. 😬 But I have heard people talk about it causing white slime, because it is of course, food for bacteria.......🤔

I consider UV to be a priority, and at the same time, one tool in a toolbox of many different types of maintenance equipment. I agree with you - I don’t believe it’s a cure-all and it amazes me how people think it’s somehow bad for a reef tank. It needs to be turned off temporarily for some types of supplements, which makes sense, but other than that, I run mine 24/7. 👍🏻👍🏻 Thanks for watching!

Great point! And yes, all four outlets in that room are GFCI, it was the first thing we did when getting the room ready. We’ve had aquariums all over the house, and I think about half of the outlets by now, have been swapped out! 😬 Thanks for the clarification, and for watching!

It actually is a 220v step down to 110v for use in the US and Canada. As of right now, this model of UV we can only get in 220v due to ballast regulations made in the US. So, we get UK models and supply a 110v transformer.

220V does carry a higher risk if voltage is leaked, but any piece of aquarium equipment such as this should be on a GFI. It is also noteworthy that the input power source is 220, but the UV itself is run AFTER a power supply/ballast so the actual UV energy use is the same (using the same lamp) regardless of whether used in North America or Europe. As side note, much of the world uses 220/240Vbecause it is more efficient

The water quality is so good with this running, and the ORP balance really helps keep the environment stable for the corals. I wouldn’t be without one now I’ve experienced it first-hand. Thanks for watching!

Thanks! My mollies have bred at least a dozen times, all in saltwater. I don’t know if it makes a difference or not, but doesn’t seem to slow them down. As for feeding the tank, I know for sure there have been 5 separate occasions where there were Molly fry, and only one - Squishy - has survived. There were a dozen or so in the first batch, that ended up going down the overflow to the sump. After that, I saw some down there only twice, and very few. So my suspicion is that they were food for the hawkfish or the green wrasse, maybe the clownfish. Because the mollies exhibit very specific behaviour when they’re about to give birth, it wouldn’t surprise me at all if the other fish caught on, and hung around waiting. Or, they only got as far as the overflow and never made it to the sump. Right now, there’s only one Molly left in the main tank, a male. I caught the others (2 males, 2 females) and I now have them in a 10G saltwater tank with Squishy (a male) because my LFS is interested in getting some from me when they breed again (one of the females has the dark gravid spot right now). I’m considering getting a couple more females, in different colours. I have a breeder box where I can isolate fry after birth, so the adult mollies don’t eat them. It’s actually kind of fun....

A UV sterilizer is excellent especially for fish because it does help with pest and pathogen control. I don’t know the wattage you’d need - it depends on your flow rate through the filter hoses, if that’s where you plan to install it. I’d recommend contacting Devon at American Aquarium Products for help in figuring that out - he knows this stuff like you can’t believe! And he’s super-helpful. If you don’t want to install it in your filter hose, Devon can help you with other installation options in your specific tank. You’ll never regret having a UV sterilizer, it can only help. Thanks for stopping by!

Hahaha, I know eh? You should have seen the first version - over 30 minutes of details. I knew people would tune out if I didn’t take it to basics, and even that.....My goal was to explain the stuff in the simplest way possible and it wasn’t easy. Now that I have this running, I wouldn’t consider running a tank - of any size - without one. That’s what I was hoping to get across.... I’m loving it! Thanks for the comment, and for hanging in long enough for the intermission! 🙂

Hi Bee! If you visit the American Aquarium Products website and search for UV, you’ll find so much info it will make your head spin! 😂 There’s a link in the video description. I don’t recall the specific numbers, but Devon at American Aquarium Products helped me get exactly what I needed. I would reach out to them via their contact, and give them the specifics of how you plan to install it, the exact model, your water volume etc. It was a couple of years ago, and I don’t want to steer you wrong with an inaccurate memory...🤔 And by the way, they have a good selection of pumps that all will work with the Vecton, and the prices are very reasonable (if you need a pump, as opposed to inline install). Let me know how it goes....

Hi, the only time I turn it off, is for a few hours when when I’m dosing something that recommends no UV. Other than that, it’s 24/7. 👍🏻

I don’t know about other products - only the one I’m using so I can’t really compare. Perhaps contact American Aquarium Products - here’s their website: americanaquariumproducts.com/ - they were super helpful when I was trying to decide what to do about UV. There are several variables, such as system size, space available for installation, whether you need to use a pump or can install it inline.... My Vecton has been awesome - reliable and does a great job. So I suppose if I had to recommend a brand, that would be it. 😁

I always have run mine 24/7.

@@Reefgrrl thanks for you soon answer

Hmmm, I never had slime in a new tank and low nutrients weren’t an issue when I had it in my Nano....🤔

It’s all a matter of perspective. My perspective was shaped by an out-of-control bacterial bloom - and I sincerely hope that never happens to you! That’s what’s so great about this hobby - there’s no one right way to do things; we all have different objectives and take different paths to accomplish them. Thanks for the comment!

Check out the UV info on the American Aquarium Products website - I believe there’s a link in the description of this video. Your water volume is about the same as mine, so the question becomes whether in your installation, all of your water flows past the sterilizer (Level 2) or only some of it (Level 1, which is what I have). If all of it flows past, then your flow control is limited by what you need for your return pump to function properly (unless you have it inline somewhere else in the system). Iirc, in my video I show the pump we used and how we tested for flow rate, so perhaps this might help?

Hey Discus BOL, I have 5lbs of miracle mud, an Algae Scrubber, and I’m growing chaeto algae in the sump. I’m also using 4ml/day of NoPox. My nitrate is steady at 5ppm. Thanks for watching!

What a great way to manage flow across the UV! Now that I’ve been running it for several years, I consider UV an important priority when it comes to assembling equipment to run a reef tank.

@@Reefgrrl same here I find it a piece of vital equipment after using it for so many years…don’t think I would run a tank without one now..people say they can’t see a difference but that’s because they have the flow going way to fast so it has no contact time w

I think it makes a difference. I’ve bought 10 more pounds, and now I just have to figure out how to find space for it! 🤔 Thanks for the comment!

How big is your sump,you have room to stack it?

Yeah, that’s what I figure I’ll have to do. Need to rearrange some stuff first though.

Build you a rack with egg grate and ty-raps

We should buy stock in the egg crate company, we use so much of it! 😊

Hmmm, no, I don’t have any cyano at the moment. In my last tank I had it early on, when the tank was young. I siphoned, increased water flow, and did water changes and it eventually disappeared. Good luck!

Hi, I haven’t used UV specifically to manage ich but I do see it as a benefit of running UV. I won’t ever run a reef tank without UV again so I highly recommend having it. If you want to ensure the maximum effect on protozoans such as ich and others, you’ll need to set up for Level 2 sterilization. If you’re in the US, American Aquarium Products can help you get the right unit, set up the right way for your system. When I first started researching UV, the hardest thing was finding the right information for my needs. Then I found AAP, and they were very helpful. Also, I wouldn’t buy a cheap unit, you will regret it. This is an area where going cheap does not pay off. When you contact AAP (there’s a link in my video description) give them some information about your setup (water volume, whether you have a sump, whether your plumbing is set up to insert UV plumbing or if you need a feed pump, etc). They will be able to make suggestions. If you have an all-in-one tank there might be a specific UV unit made for it - I have that on my small tank (Mollywood) and it works really well. Good luck - I hope you can get something set up. I agree about the stress of pulling all the fish. Feed them well, add 2-3 drops of Selcon to their food and let it soak for 10-15 minutes before feeding, and maintain excellent water quality and you stand a good chance of managing it. 👍🏻

@@Reefgrrl Wow Thanks for such personalized advices, I'm in Germany and I have a very expensive Uv 36 watt I'm trying to manage ich but is hard because here in Germany I can't find all the good stuff from America , I already have selcon after 4 weeks since I ordered from Amazon USA, I'm doing my best but its hard , expensive and frustrating, I hope everything will be ok again , fishes are not showing so much white spots but I know 1 clown and 2 tangs are dealing with it, I have finger crossed, I started yesterday with the big Uv and today with selcon .

I have the same problem - I’m in Canada and we have limited product availability. I hope the fish stay healthy - keep me posted on how it goes. 👍🏻

@@Reefgrrl It is really frustrating to wait 4 weeks for a medication when you need it as soon as possible, I'm doing my best , I'm gonna write here if there is any good or bad news.

@@pedrovfg I hope you get it fast!

The water coming out, goes into the sump chamber that is at the back, where the two overflow pipes come down from the display tank. This is the same place that feeds the filter sock area, then flows into the center area of the sump from there. Hope this helps....

Any regrets on this purchase? Seriously considering one for my new 650 peninsula, but the price is so much cheaper and lower wattage bulb equivalence compared to the larger players in the market.

No regrets at all. The main thing is to get the right size so you get maximum effect for your dollars. In my case, my XL 425 gets level 1 from this UV unit and I couldn’t go larger (and thus I couldn’t get level 2) because I don’t have enough space in my cabinet for the larger unit. And don’t forget about looking for a low pressure bulb in order to get more output for a given size. The medium pressure bulbs are cheaper but not nearly as effective. I’d put a UV on any list of must-have equipment for a reef tank.

They recommended the Vecton V2-600 for my new tank and the Rio 1100 pump. I think this unit comes with a 25 watt bulb, but I don't see anything on their site about it being a low pressure bulb?

They can confirm this, I know mine is. There’s a link in the video description to an article about it - I can’t recall now if they specify anything about the Vecton. But from my conversations with them, they try to stock only the best quality products wherever possible.

I’m afraid of that stuff so won’t use it. There are enough other ways disaster can strike....😂😂😂

I’m working on a video, about adventures in updating the firmware. What would you like to see, specifically? I do have a video about how to hang it using the kessil hanging kit, but nothing on the light itself. Let me know your interests, and I’ll see if I can include what you’re looking for. 😁

Hey Reefgrrl! can you give me your experience on the coverage of the 425xl. What height did you install it? Is it worth the price? What time frame and settings do you use for your mixed reef? how do your corals react... I really like your video's! especially because i'm gonna buy a red sea reefer 425xl myself and i'm looking for all the best information i can get.

I think the coverage is excellent, and of course, it also depends on how you have your aquascape set up. Mine is hung 14” above the water level, very slightly off centre front to back - it’s about 1/2” closer to the back. That’s because i built the middle rock structure to hold acros so wanted to be sure the light was more directly above them. With this positioning, I still have enough light in the back corners to grow mushrooms and low-light stuff. I’ve bought a PAR sensor, it’s being shipped now. I have no clue at the moment what the PAR readings are in various places in the tank, so I don’t know how to judge the corals’ reaction. One thing though - all of my acros are growing and basing out so I feel like the light is pretty close to optimal. (Now if only my yellow clown goby would stop picking at the tissue and stripping it off the skeleton on a few of them....) For me, it’s worth the price. I wanted one single, elegant-looking fixture, with one cord, hung in one place and not mounted on the tank. The only other lights I considered were the Geisemanns - the Aurora or the t5/led hybrid. But they are hideously expensive. And radions would have ended up costing just as much, but I couldn’t get just a single fixture to cover the whole tank, and would have needed two, with two cords and two sets of hanging hardware.....it wasn’t the clean-looking aesthetic I was looking for. I have my lights set to turn on at 4:00 a.m. at 1% deep ocean blue until 7:00 a.m., then they ramp up gradually through two more blues to 51% ocean blue at 2:00 p.m., for one hour, then back down again until they shut off completely at 10:30 p.m. By the way, I really like the interface to set the lights. I had an AI Prime previously and I hated it - there were too many lines and bars and colours, and no one could tell me what they were all for. The ap700 light settings are a breeze. I hope this helps! I still love this tank after having it up and running for just over 7 months now. It has so much potential! Good luck with yours when you get it!

awesome! i think you right abot the hideously expensive costs. Also you have this great shimmering, there is no led like this. thanks for you reaction and keep up the great video's!

When trying to figure out where best to place mine, I learned that pre-filtration is best, to remove larger particles from the water before it goes into the sterilizer. So if by your drain line you mean your overflow from the tank, it probably isn’t the best spot since you’ll have larger particles entering the narrow light tube. So in my installation, water from the overflow hits the filter pads in the filter sock area, gets skimmed, goes by the algae scrubber, then flows over a second filter pad on top of the giant sponge that’s in the baffle, before entering the return chamber, where the sterilizer pump is. I learned for level 2 the best place is inline with the return so all the water goes by it. I couldn’t do that because I didn’t have space for a large enough unit for proper dwell time to match my return pump flow level, but I’m willing to bet you have a manifold for that and if not, what a great opportunity to satisfy your pvc addiction eh? Thanks for stopping by, and I look forward to the sterilizer installation vid. 😁

OK, you get a sneak update. I have my UV running, but set up to go only half the day (12 hours). Maybe that's just silly use of automation because I can but wanted to have some ability to control it. Do you run yours 24/7? And any thought about turning it off when feeding (stopping pumps to feed, really)?

Ah, excellent! HAha, I do understand the “because I can” thing as it happens. 😁 I run mine 24/7 except when doing water changes (because I found out the hard way what happens when I leave it running - it empties the return chamber and a chain reaction of bad ensues). Mine is set up with one switch that turns both the lamp and the pump off together so there’s no way I can forget to turn the lamp off when there’s no water going by to keep it cool. Doesn’t matter so much if the pump is still running when the lamp is off but the reverse can be a disaster. But you’ll know that already.... Don’t know if this helps....

You sure do! 😁 I have a whole playlist of videos about mollies in salt water. 👍🏻

Hey Jon, it’s a Vecton V200 5 watt from American Aquarium Products. Devon at AAP was super-helpful in making this decision. After running this for the last 18 months, I would consider UV to be a priority when it comes to equipment in a reef, and will always run it going forward. I also run UV on Mollywood, the IM Auqashield. HTH. 😁

@@Reefgrrl thanks for the reply. I am considering running one again but my water volume is so huge they look expensive. Hard to justify the price of the expensive ones. I am battling dinos right now and I have bought a cheap jebao one to run temporarily. Just not sure if I want to do something more permanent.

You can make the most of whatever you get, by placement - if there’s a way to put it inline in your return then you can be sure all the water will pass through it. Flow rate matters when it comes to effectiveness so this is where size makes a difference. Longer lamps mean more dwell time, which improves effectiveness. Lamp type also matters - UV C low pressure lamps are the ones to get for maximum effect. (There are a lot of inexpensive lamps out there, that are medium pressure and they don’t put out as much intensity of UV.) But I believe any UV you add, can only help! There are lots of myths around using UV and the biggest myth I’ve come across is that UV is optional for a healthy reef system - I would put it above a skimmer if I had to prioritize. I fully believe in my system, it has stopped small problems turning into big ones.... Now all I have to do is stop making mistakes that crash my tank....😳

@@Reefgrrl Thank you for the input.. I am looking for people who have cheaper versions of UV Sterilizers that are still running strong.

Where I live in Canada they add chlorine and (if needed) chloramine so Algae doesn’t survive by the time the water comes from the tap. I haven’t heard of the use of algae treatments to process drinking water, which is what we use for aquariums. And waste water is expelled into drainage systems/water courses after treatment, so it naturally filters back into the water table. I’m not thinking we have algae in our drinking water. perhaps different where you live? 🤔

@@Reefgrrl Canada just like the UK treats waste water right? The cheapest way to treat waste water is using biological organisms like algae and even coliform bacteria!!. These organisms digest the waste material in waste water and using other processes, the waste water reaches a point whereby it is clean enough to supply households via the mains! I've started an aquarium and the sheer amount of algae in the water was astounding. I filled the aquarium with water from the tap. I've noticed that algae is not present in water samples from ponds, distilled water or even the water in water butts that collect rainwater. One can hypothesize that if one fills an aquarium with rainwater, which naturally fills ponds, lakes etc no algae should bloom in the aquarium. I have a friend who is taking on board my thoughts and is topping up his tank with rainwater. I'll be very interested to find out whether my ideas regarding algae in mains water is correct or not! To be fair I'm surprised everybody fills up their tank using water from the tap knowing the water contains chemicals and a lot of other cr@p too!!!

We don’t use the tap water directly - it’s processed through filters so we end up with RODI water - that’s what goes into the aquarium. And I read recently that rain water is no longer considered safe to drink, though I suspect that’s region-dependent. The only way to prevent any algae growing in stored rainwater would be to use an absolutely sterile container and allow zero light penetration. The water would need to be circulated to prevent stagnation. It’s near impossible to keep airborne spores from entering the water. The spores aren’t exclusively algae, they’re pollen, dust, bacteria etc - anything organic will undergo biological processes in water. The thing about ponds and natural water sources is their filtration capabilities are complex biological systems - on a hobbyist level we don’t have the ability to replicate those systems. And you’d have to test pond water at intervals because those water sources undergo cyclical changes throughout the year, and can be radically affected by random environmental factors. The other consideration is the great UV sterilizer in the sky lol. I’d be really interested in what you find out about rain water and how it might work in the aquarium. 👍🏻

@@Reefgrrl the videos I've looked at do not state to not use water from the tap directly and use RO water, de-ionised water etc! With regard to rainwater not being safe to drink I would consider that to be total rubbish. If i had a garden I would drink rainwater without hesitation. I know somebody who has drank rainwater for years and remains in good health! The authorities wouldn't want people drinking rainwater as doing so would cut people's water bills and people would be tempted to drink from puddles! I understand your concerns regarding airborne spores but I've never seen algae form in rainwater butts nor in the pond where I collected a sample of water from. Both are open to the air!! My thoughts on algae is that the stuff has to come from somewhere and if one is always getting algae form in the aquarium and one fills the tank with water from tap, then it's likely the water is the source of the algae - afterall, water companies use algae and bacteria to help recycle waste water! I've oragnised a UV filter for the tank i'm overseeing which should work but if my friend who's topping up his tank with rainwater has success and no algae problems after a while, then it will look like using tap water is the problem! If I remember this convo I'll let you know how he gets on once he's told me! 👍👍👍

@@Reefgrrl btw why do you use an inline RODI filter?

Are you referring to the low numbers of pelagibacteracea as noted by Dr Eli Meyer, the AquaBiomics guy? If so, I’ve commented on that on Reefbum’s video where Dr. Meyer was a guest. Essentially, pelagibacteracea could possibly be present in limited numbers because of their requirement for a non-sulphur environment, which is found deeper in the substrate and rocks. Any which end up in the water quite possibly perish because of the presence of sulphur, not necessarily because they’re limited by UV. The jury is still out - I still believe surplus bacteria in the water column is undesirable for the reasons I gave in the video. Note I say “surplus”. However, once a tank reaches a certain level of maturity (about 2 years in a healthy tank) there are planktonic hatches that occur at night - I’ve had this in the last several tanks I’ve had. So I now leave the UV off overnight because these hatches (Rotifers especially) are healthy food for a lot of our livestock and I want them to proliferate. I will definitely have a UV on my new system because I’ve seen the benefits versus not using it. And there will definitely be a video! 😁