alot of reef people don't like the idea of a uv ster. because the uv light can kill any free floating microorganisms whether good(plankton etc.) or bad(parasites such as ick, unwanted algae spores). you have to weigh your options it's not a piece of equipment that everyone needs to have on their system to become successful, but it does have it usefulness in my opinion. hey look even now there are people arguing over the use of protein skimming, now on that subject i'm in the middle there's alot of pros and cons but we can discuss that later. as far as the uv goes you can still get ick if your running a uv, the key is when the parasite becomes free floating it has to travel through the unit at a proper flow rate or kill rate determined by the tank size and unit wattage. i use mine as mainly a precautionary measure along with regular rountine maint. alot of cases of ick just have to be waited out, and after the system matures and there's no new stresses being added to the system than the immune system of the fish can fight off majority of infectious disease. if you decide to go with a uv the bulb has to be replaced every six months and the units sleeve needs to be cleaned out regularly so the unit can be run efficiently. check out rainbow lifeguard units, i use the old megawatt units by esu. which they don't have anymore they have a new style.

ray