Sand Bed UV Sweeper by 3dReefing has anyone tried it?

[Moe K]

Hi Moe would this help with cyano?

It does not work as well for cyano. I have not done a lot of testing on cyano but I do know the typical 5 to 10 seconds over cyano will not eliminate it.

 

[carol3]

It does not work as well for cyano. I have not done a lot of testing on cyano but I do know the typical 5 to 10 seconds over cyano will not eliminate it.

Hmmm, I might have to put it through a more rigorus cyano test, maybe like an hour over each cyano patch, lol!

 

[pmoz]

Hope everyone is having a great holiday!
Today was the 8th day since I last treated with the sweeper.
While I haven't looked under a microscope, I haven't seen a trace of the dinos.
I have, however, continued with the bacteria dosing daily. But that's partly to get rid of the excessively stinky bacteria bottle.
I'm not sure that additional daily bacteria is necessary.
I've also continued with daily phyto and adding weekly copepods (possum wrasse and dragonet).
I cleaned the glass yesterday.
I have seen absolutely no negative effects from the sweeper.

 

[Jacko85]

Just wanted to also jump in here. I wasn't able to get a hold of the commercial model as shipping from the US was prohibitive. But did the 3d print myself using Moes models, and I must say it's made an absolute massive difference in my tank. I've been battling LCA after eliminating Coolia with more traditional UV, and after 3 days of treatment i'm down to only very small patches during peak lighting, mainly where i've missed with the light (corners, overhangs and the like). I was tearing my hair out before trying everything. No negative affects shown so far, and in fact all my corals that were a little sad have all suddenly perked up and are looking better than ever, so the biome shift away from the LCA is definitely helping something.

 

[Dweezilz]

It does not work as well for cyano. I have not done a lot of testing on cyano but I do know the typical 5 to 10 seconds over cyano will not eliminate it.

Moe, do you think it's advisable to try this on my glass and back wall and return spout? For some reason my SCA always return mostly to those areas and lesser so on the sand. Also how harmful would it be if a fish swam under it for a second or two? Thanks!

 

[Dom]

Why not increase the UV intensity of your lighting?

 

[Moe K]

Moe, do you think it's advisable to try this on my glass and back wall and return spout? For some reason my SCA always return mostly to those areas and lesser so on the sand. Also how harmful would it be if a fish swam under it for a second or two? Thanks!

No. Absolutely do not use the UV Sweeper on the glass and never expose the fish to the UV light. You do not want to expose the UV light outside of the tank and you can seriously injure the fish with direct exposure. This is strictly for the sand bed as explained in the instructions.

For anything on the glass or back walls its best to use your glass scraper or a magic eraser for the back wall.

 

[Dweezilz]

No. Absolutely do not use the UV Sweeper on the glass and never expose the fish to the UV light. You do not want to expose the UV light outside of the tank and you can seriously injure the fish with direct exposure. This is strictly for the sand bed as explained in the instructions.

For anything on the glass or back walls its best to use your glass scraper or a magic eraser for the back wall.

Ok. I'll have to test to see if there are any spots on the sand although it's hard to tell what's diatoms and what's Dino's without using a microscope. SCA's are tough and I've had them on and off for almost 2 years.

 

[Moe K]

Hope everyone is having a great holiday!
Today was the 8th day since I last treated with the sweeper.
While I haven't looked under a microscope, I haven't seen a trace of the dinos.
I have, however, continued with the bacteria dosing daily. But that's partly to get rid of the excessively stinky bacteria bottle.
I'm not sure that additional daily bacteria is necessary.
I've also continued with daily phyto and adding weekly copepods (possum wrasse and dragonet).
I cleaned the glass yesterday.
I have seen absolutely no negative effects from the sweeper.

Just wanted to also jump in here. I wasn't able to get a hold of the commercial model as shipping from the US was prohibitive. But did the 3d print myself using Moes models, and I must say it's made an absolute massive difference in my tank. I've been battling LCA after eliminating Coolia with more traditional UV, and after 3 days of treatment i'm down to only very small patches during peak lighting, mainly where i've missed with the light (corners, overhangs and the like). I was tearing my hair out before trying everything. No negative affects shown so far, and in fact all my corals that were a little sad have all suddenly perked up and are looking better than ever, so the biome shift away from the LCA is definitely helping something.

Thanks guys for the great review!

I am still experimenting. With the UV Sweeper I have been able to induce dinos at will (with amino acid dosing) and test different combinations with the UV Sweeper method.

So far I have still yet to find any alternative bacteria that does not smell that works as good as Microbelift/PNS bacteria. They are simply the best.

I also found that running an external UV filter while using the UV Sweeper will prolong the fight and make the process very difficult to eliminate sand dwelling dinos. I believe it is counter productive as it will basically be wiping out a lot of beneficial bacteria in the water column that is also necessary for shifting the microbiome.

One thing I found that will accelerate the shift is leaving your protein skimmers off for as long as possible. Leave it off for days at a time if you have the ability to maintain your nutrients. It is the same concept I believe as using an external UV sterilizer, it pulls out a lot of beneficial bacteria.

One last thing that is more anecdotal is that there appears to be a sweet spot for LCA dinos in your nitrate and phosphate level. This I am not too sure of but it seems too high of a po4 level can prolong the fight. 0.10 po4 seems to be a good level and anything above 0.15 seemed like it made it more difficult to eliminate the dinos. Nitrate I always kept at 10ppm.

This is some extra observations I gathered from further experimentation. Right now I am pretty much done and just going to enjoy my tank as its jamming out .

 

[acroholicanonymous]

Would this kill ich in sand bed too hypothetically?

 

[Moe K]

Would this kill ich in sand bed too hypothetically?

I guess that depends on where the ich hides in the sand. How deep does it go? If you tap the sand with the UV sweeper you can get deeper.

 

[Auburn866]

@Moe K Do you recommend dosing the MicrobeLift daily or following the weekly dosing on the bottle?

 

[Moe K]

Do you recommend dosing the MicrobeLift daily or following the weekly dosing on the bottle?

You dose about .5ml - 1ml per tank gallon directly after using the sweeper. Turn off all flow for 30 mins.

 

[Jimbo327]

Clear the room and wear a gas mask when using this Microbelift bacteria.

 

[punchy7080]

Can I get the measurements of the sweeper? Sent an email but no response. Need to make sure it will fit in my waterbox 10g.

 

[Moe K]

Can I get the measurements of the sweeper? Sent an email but no response. Need to make sure it will fit in my waterbox 10g.

Sorry about that. Holidays

9 inches long x 1.75 inches wide.

 

[Ace0211]

@Moe K Would this work on Ostreopsis when it is on the sand and rocks during the day? Also while running external UV at night?

 

[Moe K]

@Moe K Would this work on Ostreopsis when it is on the sand and rocks during the day? Also while running external UV at night?

I don't recommend it for ostreopsis. Ostreopsis behavior is different from LCA and prorocentrum. It should be fixed with an external UV sterilizer plumbed into the display. It is common to have multiple types at the same time and I suspect that might be what you have. I had ostreopsis and LCA at the same time. First thing first was to deal with the ostreopsis.

 

[SpyC]

I now include reef glasses in the package that are UV400 just as a precaution. The reflection of the UV light is not intense enough to cause any concern. I have a link on the product page where it is recommended to get a foot pedal extension. You then place the UV sweeper as close as possible to the sand then turn it on. More instructions included in the packaging.

I have accidentally gone over sand dwelling corals. They started to bleach but came back. That specific coral was hit a number of times as I was kind of seeing how much it could take. It took quite a bit exposure where I am confident you will be safe if any corals get a couple of seconds of exposure. You just don't want to get them directly for more than 3 to 5 seconds repeatedly. Never the less it is highly recommended to lift any sand dwelling corals off the sand and onto racks during treatment. The hermit crabs and snails were not affected. They just might not reproduce anymore.

This just takes basic precaution as you would anything poisonous in the cabinet. Its not that bad but we all understand not to drink them. Don't stare directly at the UV light and will be fine.

For the negative impacts to people, what medical expertise do you have to make these claims?

 

[Moe K]

For the negative impacts to people, what medical expertise do you have to make these claims?

I am not a doctor if that is what you are asking and never claimed to be. I measured the intensity of the UVC light emitted from the included lamp with quantadose as I had my own concerns during initial testing. Barely any detectable UVC light went beyond 6 inches from inside the aquarium. Surprisingly my XR15 G5 Pros emitted more detectable UVC light. If you are worried about UVC light exposure or sensitivity you might want to dim or shut off your reef lights anytime you do any work near them.