Adding a UV sterilizer to my setup

[BriDroid]

I’m tired of cloudy water so I ordered an Aqua Ultraviolet 15W classic sterilizer over the weekend for my 40 gallon. I could have went with the 8W, but I also read bigger is better in most cases with UV.

My question is can I just put that on the output of my return pump? I’m thinking I’ll be ok even if it slows down my flow some. I’m only running my Varios2 at 60%, so I have a lot of room to bump it up if needed. My return is all 3/4” silicone tubing, so the 3/4” barbs on the UV will fit in perfectly.

Everything I’m reading says that I need a manifold out of the pump, but I really don’t want to deal with that if I don’t have too

 

[Tangdora]

What’s the flow out of your current pump.

 

[UncommonSense]

My question is can I just put that on the output of my return pump?

For water clarification? Absolutely!

Your silicone tubing’s barbed fittings are closer to 5/8” Inside Diameter, so you’d be lucky to reach 600GPH, even at 100% pump power (frictional losses in the plumbing means flow gains hit a proverbial wall beyond a certain GPH, unless you dramatically increase pressure! [more pressure than a traditional submersible water pump can even produce])

If you wanted to control parasites, or other multi-celled organisms; turn your return pump way down close to that listed minimum flow rate!