UV and anemones

[anthias]

hi all
I have one question and I hope some one have the answer.
is it ok to use UV unit in a tank with anemones in it ??
some one told me that he is using the UV only few hours a day cause it will affect the anemone digestive system.(it will kill some useful bactria needed by the anemones)

[Ninong]

I don't think I've heard that one before. I know quite a few hobbyists who keep anemones successfully in tanks run with UV sterilizers without any problems. Steve Weast has always used UV sterilizers and he has always kept anemones. As you can see for yourself in his many photos on his website, his anemones seem quite healthy. That's his 850-gal tank. His previous tank was 450 gallons.

Obviously the UV can only kill organisms that pass through it, so any bacteria in the anemone's digestive system would be unaffected. Are you sure the warning is based on bacteria and not zooxanthellae? Dinoflagellates, including beneficial zooxanthellae, that happen to pass through the UV tube would be killed but that doesn't seem to present a problem for public aquaria and many individual hobbyists who choose to include UV sterilization in their systems.

UV sterilization is one of those topics that you can argue in both directions. People who use it believe that the benefits outweigh any potential undesireable side effects and those who avoid it believe that the benefits are not worth it. I have found that the people who run the most expensive (aka largest) systems are more likely to include UV sterilization.