Stephen P Posted November 16, 2020 Share Posted November 16, 2020 I will be setting up a 53 gallon planted tank soon. It will be located in a room with full sunlight. Should I go ahead and invest in a UV Sterilization unit when I set the tank up, or is it even needed? The water would be from a well and it is very hard. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FrozenFins Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 46 minutes ago, Stephen P said: I will be setting up a 53 gallon planted tank soon. It will be located in a room with full sunlight. Should I go ahead and invest in a UV Sterilization unit when I set the tank up, or is it even needed? The water would be from a well and it is very hard. I think UV sterilizers not only kill algae but also aquarium plants, so probably not the best idea in a planted aquarium. But if your looking for algae control you could get snails, amano shrimp, Siamese Algae Eaters, Otocinclus, Bristlenose Plecos Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen P Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 James, I thought UV would only kill something if it was exposed to the light as the water passed it? I do plan on adding some algae eaters as well. My concern is that with the tank being in a room exposed to full sun that I will have an algae problem. Obviously I will not know until the problem arises though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StephenP2003 Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 32 minutes ago, Stephen P said: James, I thought UV would only kill something if it was exposed to the light as the water passed it? I do plan on adding some algae eaters as well. My concern is that with the tank being in a room exposed to full sun that I will have an algae problem. Obviously I will not know until the problem arises though. UV doesn't directly harm the aquarium plants, but I think it does break down nutrients added via fertilizer -- maybe not all of them. Also, UV isn't going to stop things like BBA, hair algae, spot algae, diatoms, etc. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Stephen P Posted November 17, 2020 Author Share Posted November 17, 2020 That makes sense SP2003. Thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul Posted November 17, 2020 Share Posted November 17, 2020 UV sterilizers will NOT harm your plants. The light will kill algae and microbes in the water column. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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