Looking for advice on plumbing my UV

[nos68]

I'm hoping some DIY-ers can help me out here. I've got to plumb a UV and after looking at space and whatnot, I've got two basic choices.

For both options, the UV has to go on top of the canopy due to space, so the questions are a) where does the pump go and b) where does the water come from...

Option #1 is sticking the pump in the sump and then pump the water up to the UV, then back down to the sump. This is probably the cleanest way to go, but the downsides are the pump will add (some) heat to the water in the sump and it could lower the water level in the sump.

Option #2 is putting the pump outside the sump and the water originates from the tank. It's like a closed-loop, water comes from the tank, goes down to the pump next to the sump, then up to the UV, then down to the tank. The downside here is the plumbing (run down, then up, then down). I've already got a huge closed-loop going to a pump outside, but I'd prefer not to have even more lines in the tank.

Don't think either will be a flow issue (may even have way more than I want and have to swap the pump). I think either option will have the same likelihood of getting silt in the line / UV.

Just want to make sure I'm not missing anything. Maybe someone will see another option or find a glitch with one of the options.

thanks,
Chris

[DAC]

if you have a second pump outside, Put your UV in that line so the UV is also outside. No worries about taking up space and no extra pipe.
If thats not an option then maybe set an intake line in the sump going to a apump next to the sump up to the UV light then back to the sump.

[burkleman]

Hey, just a thought but any way you could put the uv inline with the initial inlet to the sump from the tank. As to the silt problem, if you have a protien skimmer if you wait to run the water through the uv untill after it goes through the skimmer that would cut down on the silt. The only thing i can say for sure is that you don't want to have a powerfull pump running water through the uv, bc the slower the water moves through the uv the more bad stuff eliminated. Hope this helps, and good luck.

[Geoff]

is there anyway you can run the UV inline with the inlet of the skimmer? this will put it to the best use. that way it kills things then these dead things are immediately pulled out by the skimmer. it also will do the same for some organic compounds.

G~

[tdwyatt]

hmmm,


If it would pull the dead bug out, the skimmer should pull the live bug out as well. not too cure that the use of UV would realistically help much with skimming...

maybe the decomposition products as long chainged organic compds. Pelagic clumps of cells would be removed as well, but that is another subject. Personally I haved not used a UV for many years due to grwoth related issues associated with UV use in the past. I experimented for two or three months with UV and saw decreasing growth rates in staghorn Acroporiids (my measure in rapidly growing spp. at the tips, may have been unrelated to UV use, but once I stopped the sterilizer, growth rates picked back up again in about 3 weeks.)


but that is just my experience, I am sure that there are folks that can prolly list no such issues with growth of the corals.


I might also add that if you have a system that uses NSW for water changes, or uses a partially open or fully open system (to the ocean), then I would insist on the use of UV treatments to kill any potential pathogens, predators, parasites or opportunists that may come in with the fresh seawater, especially in systems with fishes.


JM2CW