UV plumbing question

[Feed Me Tacos]

Sorry, I feel like UV has been beat to death, but I can't really find anything on plumbing for UV.

Does everyone run their UV off of sump or return water? Does anyone else suck from the bottom of their display tank on a separate line/pump?

I just ordered a UV sterilizer (57 watts for a 350 litre tank) for ich management. I just don't think enough ich would hit the overflow for a sump based UV to be effective at all. I have a reef tank so getting all the fishies out is not going to happen.

I'm looking to rig up a 2nd pump that takes suction near the substrate. The return will be right back into the display tank. Has anyone else done a set up like this?

My pump and UV will still be in the cabinet underneath. One benefit is the UV system doesn't need to be shut down during water changes, as I keep reading that the bulbs like to stay on all the time. I got a variable speed pump to dial in the flow. I'll probably target 200-400 gph (I'm still undecided).

The pump will NOT be in the bottom of the display tank, so priming the pump will be a bit of a trick, though there are several easy ways to do it.


What are your thoughts? Thanks for any advice. =)

[Member No. 1]

Originally Posted by Feed Me Tacos

Sorry, I feel like UV has been beat to death, but I can't really find anything on plumbing for UV.

Does everyone run their UV off of sump or return water? Does anyone else suck from the bottom of their display tank on a separate line/pump?

I just ordered a UV sterilizer (57 watts for a 350 litre tank) for ich management. I just don't think enough ich would hit the overflow for a sump based UV to be effective at all. I have a reef tank so getting all the fishies out is not going to happen.

I'm looking to rig up a 2nd pump that takes suction near the substrate. The return will be right back into the display tank. Has anyone else done a set up like this?

My pump and UV will still be in the cabinet underneath. One benefit is the UV system doesn't need to be shut down during water changes, as I keep reading that the bulbs like to stay on all the time. I got a variable speed pump to dial in the flow. I'll probably target 200-400 gph (I'm still undecided).

The pump will NOT be in the bottom of the display tank, so priming the pump will be a bit of a trick, though there are several easy ways to do it.


What are your thoughts? Thanks for any advice. =)

What brand UV is it? 200-400 gph is extremely low flow thru a UV of this size. Recommended flow for a 57w is 2100 gph. I run an Aqua Ultraviolet Classic 25 on my 120. Recommended levels for a reef are between 30,000 and 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL). I run mine at a flow rate of 600 gph which is ~ 60,000 µw/cm2 (EOL). Anything over 75,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) will kill the planktonic food supply. I run mine on one of my returns.
Your 350l tank is appox 92 gallons. A 57 watt UV is rated for a 1300l or 350 gallon tank. 57w is way overkill!

Here is some information.
http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/produ...classic/57watt

[Feed Me Tacos]

Originally Posted by Member No. 1

What brand UV is it? 200-400 gph is extremely low flow thru a UV of this size. Recommended flow for a 57w is 2100 gph. I run an Aqua Ultraviolet Classic 25 on my 120. Recommended levels for a reef are between 30,000 and 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL). I run mine at a flow rate of 600 gph which is ~ 60,000 µw/cm2 (EOL). Anything over 75,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) will kill the planktonic food supply. I run mine on one of my returns.
Your 350l tank is appox 92 gallons. A 57 watt UV is rated for a 1300l or 350 gallon tank. 57w is way overkill!

Here is some information.
http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/produ...classic/57watt

Aqua UV is the brand.

If you do homework, for parasite control you need MUCH higher UV. Some sources say 180,000, others 270,000, and still yet others 336,000.

For a 57 watt, that translates the flow to 533 gph at the highest flow rate and 266 gph at the lowest flow rate for highest UV. 266 gph is 2.6 tank turnovers per hour, which is a bit low, hence the 57 watt. If I went with a 25, it would be 133 gph.

I talked to Aqua UV about the flow rates and they said the bulb is water cooled, so lower flow rates just mean a slightly higher outlet temperature.

I feed my corals, but they get most of their food from light anyways. UV doesn't kill things as large as copapods.

What all this means is your UV is doing wonders for water quality but it isn't doing anything at all for parasite/disease control. I think its doing even less if you have it hooked up to your return pump.

[Feed Me Tacos]

Originally Posted by Member No. 1

What brand UV is it? 200-400 gph is extremely low flow thru a UV of this size. Recommended flow for a 57w is 2100 gph. I run an Aqua Ultraviolet Classic 25 on my 120. Recommended levels for a reef are between 30,000 and 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL). I run mine at a flow rate of 600 gph which is ~ 60,000 µw/cm2 (EOL). Anything over 75,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) will kill the planktonic food supply. I run mine on one of my returns.
Your 350l tank is appox 92 gallons. A 57 watt UV is rated for a 1300l or 350 gallon tank. 57w is way overkill!

Here is some information.
http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/produ...classic/57watt

I've also seen reference numbers for parasite control at 10 gallons per watt, and 5-8 gallons per watt (depending on the intensity they are going for).

10gpw = 570 gph
8 gpw = 456 gph
5 gpw = 285 gph

What all this means is 200 may be a bit low, but will definately be in the 336,000 range. I'll probably target 400 for tank turnover.

[sfdan]

In my 400 gallon system I've got 1000gph going through my 114 watt UV sterilizer and 600 gph through my 53 watt UV sterilizer and my tank is overrun with pods and corals seem quite healthy so I'm a little dubious of the idea of "over sterilizing". I'm running the sterilizers for controlling dinoflagellates, not parasites (although ich is technically a dinoflagellate!), but have got some experience with them.

First, if you want to control ich the best way is with strict quarantine and TTM of all your fish. Much easier to keep ich out of your tank in the first place than control it afterwards. But with that out of the way... Lots of people plumb UV sterilizers display --> display and it does make quite a bit of sense. Since my UV sterilizers are connected to my return pumps, it means in order to alter the GPH through my sterilizers it also changes the flow through my sump and does put a limit on the GPH I can run. If you do a closed loop you can really increase the GPH (if you want to) without affecting anything else. Additionally some people say the sterilizers are more effective display --> display. I think you can match the effectiveness with a return pump unit as long as your return pump flow pattern is good (IE return pump water doesn't go straight into the overflow), but display-->display is more foolproof.

I think the thing with dinoflagellates or ich is that when they are on the substrate, they are on the substrate and no matter how low your input is for your UV sterilizer you won't get them. And when they are in the water column it shouldn't matter whether they are coming from the overflow or the lower input, you can get them with the UV sterilizer assuming you have an appropriate flow rate so you have enough turnover (at least 3x tank volume per hour).

So basically I think your plan is fine, but you could also do it from the return pump and I think you'd also be fine. Don't do it directly from overflow water as all the bubbles and cloudy water will reduce the effectiveness.

[d2mini]

I used the charts on the AquaUV site and chose one of their models that would let me run all water heading back up to the tank through the UV. Except for the little bit I send to my refugium. I run the 25w Classic on my 120g tank.

[Feed Me Tacos]

Originally Posted by sfdan

In my 400 gallon system I've got 1000gph going through my 114 watt UV sterilizer and 600 gph through my 53 watt UV sterilizer and my tank is overrun with pods and corals seem quite healthy so I'm a little dubious of the idea of "over sterilizing". I'm running the sterilizers for controlling dinoflagellates, not parasites (although ich is technically a dinoflagellate!), but have got some experience with them.

First, if you want to control ich the best way is with strict quarantine and TTM of all your fish. Much easier to keep ich out of your tank in the first place than control it afterwards. But with that out of the way... Lots of people plumb UV sterilizers display --> display and it does make quite a bit of sense. Since my UV sterilizers are connected to my return pumps, it means in order to alter the GPH through my sterilizers it also changes the flow through my sump and does put a limit on the GPH I can run. If you do a closed loop you can really increase the GPH (if you want to) without affecting anything else. Additionally some people say the sterilizers are more effective display --> display. I think you can match the effectiveness with a return pump unit as long as your return pump flow pattern is good (IE return pump water doesn't go straight into the overflow), but display-->display is more foolproof.

I think the thing with dinoflagellates or ich is that when they are on the substrate, they are on the substrate and no matter how low your input is for your UV sterilizer you won't get them. And when they are in the water column it shouldn't matter whether they are coming from the overflow or the lower input, you can get them with the UV sterilizer assuming you have an appropriate flow rate so you have enough turnover (at least 3x tank volume per hour).

So basically I think your plan is fine, but you could also do it from the return pump and I think you'd also be fine. Don't do it directly from overflow water as all the bubbles and cloudy water will reduce the effectiveness.

Thanks for all the info!

[Crooked Reef]

I have mine plumbed from my return pump. I have an aqua uv 25watt. They are water cooled and can be damaged if water is not running through them so the way I have mine plugged in, the bulb shuts off if the return pump loses power. Just an idea.

[tkeracer619]

It may help with free floating crypto but it won't cure your fish. Just a heads up.

[Feed Me Tacos]

Originally Posted by tkeracer619

It may help with free floating crypto but it won't cure your fish. Just a heads up.

Yup, I'm well aware. Just trying to nuke the little F'ers so their numbers are so small as to not be a problem.

[BigAirHarper]

Following along. I just bought a tank that came with 36W UV. Runs off the return pump and I have a gate valve to control flow, just don’t know how much should run through it.

[pecan2phat]

I run my 25w sterilizer with only about 125gph. Slow enough to zap almost everything!

[bboersma79]

Originally Posted by Crooked Reef

I have mine plumbed from my return pump. I have an aqua uv 25watt. They are water cooled and can be damaged if water is not running through them so the way I have mine plugged in, the bulb shuts off if the return pump loses power. Just an idea.

Do you program the UV to run off also when you feed or is it fine for the 15 minute feed interval?

[Crooked Reef]

I don’t shut my return pump down during feeding. Most of my flow comes from circulation pumps in the display and I run slower flow through the sump and returns. Most food is picked off before it can reach the overflow. I bought an Apex and am considering a feed mode button but haven’t decided on anything yet. If I do a feed mode I will likely put the up on a separate pump but still have it to where if the pump shuts down the bulb turns off.