Custom Plumbing Help

[ReeferTCG]

Hi All,

I have posted a couple of ideas in my thread regarding plumbing for my new build coming in fall. I have a final version and wanted to see if some of the experts like @UncommonSense could poke holes (pun sort of intended) into my plumbing design.

a lot of pics..... beware...


I missed the drain pipe gate valve in the first pics.

I tried to mock the 80W UV but it was a tight fit will 57W UV be enough for 243 gal 300 total?

Blue is gate valves

White is flexible tubing. Did not mock the barbs and correct flex tubing size

Did not mock the Unions I will put a union every 4 inches

 

[UncommonSense]

I tried to mock the 80W UV but it was a tight fit will 57W UV be enough for 243 gal 300 total?

Check out the “more info” tab on Aqua UV’s sterilizers to see their recommended flow rates!

To answer your question, the 57W has a flow range from 1,066-3,200GPH with correspondingly higher UV dosage as flow decreases… so already pushing the higher end of realistic flow per-pump for a system of this size! (so the 57W UV sterilizer might even be a tad big!)

The primary questions I have would be:

— what is the primary goal behind employing UV sterilizer?

— what is your target display turnover rate?

— what return pumps are you using?


Plumbing:

— try to avoid the UV models which come with 3/4” barbed fittings factory pre-installed, this size fitting will STRUGGLE to hit even the manufacturer specified minimum required flow for many of the sterilizers sold by Aqua UV…. Order a model which just has 2” slip/cemented inlet/outlet fittings and do your own plumbing from there! (You’re painted into a corner if you get it factory choked down to 3/4” diameter plumbing!)

— only the primary drain (aka siphon channel) should have a gate valve on it! The secondary drain (aka open channel) should be just that, wide open/no valves, ready to accept 100% of drain duty if the primary drain ever clogs!

— you’ll probably want to run both return plumbing lines on the back end of the stand, parallel to one-another… then, have the front drain make a few turns over to align with the front return bulkhead either right in front of, or right behind drain plumbing! (Space to get your arms/head/torso into the stand is valuable when stubborn equipment needs to be worked on!)

Did not mock the Unions I will put a union every 4 inches

You really only get a benefit from a union anywhere where it becomes impossible to take things apart (or install them) without cutting them out later, or somewhere where the clocking of an elbow/etc is critical/you need the ability to clock it to any angle after cementing!