Aqua UV sicce 1.5 pump for carbon reactor and uv?

dmy535 · Jan 26, 2021

Wondering what the consensus would be on this setup. I have some limited room in my cabinet and sump, plus I am trying to see if I NEED another pump, or if this setup would work: I currently have a BRS mini carbon reactor that is powered by the Sicce 1.5 pump. If I purchase the Aqua 8 watt UV sterilizer, the recommended flow rate is 215gph. The Sicce is rated at 357. Would there be an issue running the sicce pump I already have into the UV’s inlet, and the outlet pump into the carbon reactor before returning to the sump?

Quietman · Jan 26, 2021

Little more complicated than that to fully answer.

The 214 GPH is the high exposure rate to kill protozoa (disease/infection vectors). There's a higher flow rate max of 642 GPH for sufficient exposure to kill algae (including some dinos). So for say dinos- you need at least 8x tank turnover an hour to exceed the reproduction rate (or it's a losing battle - some dino can double every 20 min). If you can get 8x turnover with a given tank size at or under 642 GPH then that's fine.

Not having a organism classification discussion - just generalizing but the point is still valid. Also, not all dinos have water column phase of life cycle. Again, using broad terms to illustrate - you can find info on how much UV kills what type of organisms.

So yes, that can be sufficient if you're only addressing UV for high exposure organism.

However, I would go sufficient size pump with an throttle valve to adjust flow for each scenario so you can address a multitude of issues if they occur. Or two pumps and swap. I personally use a variable flow pump that achieves both flow rates for my 15w UV

The GAC reactor is limited by flow rate to prevent grinding to dust more than UV. Doubt you can, but with piping mods - can use branch (but 1.5 likely not enough pump).

Here's a link to AquaUV sizing