Return Plumbing with dual Pumps and UV

yman182

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Hello,

I am working on getting all the plumbing together for my 270G DT and approximately 70G Sump. The sump is not underneath the tank, but located behind the wall that the tank is on. I was planning on using 2 cor-20 pumps for my returns. One was going to run a fluidized canister and the other I was planning to run my 50w UV Sterilizer on. The Sterilizer recommends about 1500GPH for algae control. I am estimating that the vertical head pressure will be about 4.3ft. There will be about 2ft of horizontal pipe and probably about 4-5 90" elbows.

I am starting to think I will not be able to push enough GPH through the UV filter to make it effective using the cor-20. Can anyone doublecheck my math or help me out with this?

I have a 1" return that I will be coupling to the 1.25" COR-20 output

I am thinking I have two options to remedy this.

1. I can get another, more powerful pump for my return and continue using the design I mentioned above. The only thing I can see that will be strong enough, I believe is the Abyzz.

2. I can get another return pump and dedicated it to the UV Filter. Currently the tank has 3 1.5" holes I was planning on using for the drain and 2 1" holes for the returns. I was planning on doing a bean animal style drain. I could use one of the drain holes and reuse it as a 3rd return for the UV sterilizer. I think this may be overkill, but I am not sure what other options I have.

I heard it is best to take water out of the sump and return it to the DT for UV, is there a huge downside to having the water get picked up from the refugium area in the sump, go through the UV and then drain into the return area. My sump is setup as follows:

DRAIN---->Skimmer--->Return--->Refugium

One of the return pumps T's of into the refugium and then the refugium overflows back into the return. This is a Geo AFR sump.

Thank you for any and all help on this.
 

lapin

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The Sterilizer recommends about 1500GPH for algae control.

I bet this is the max for algae. Here is where less is ok. More contact time = more effective as long as its not too slow.
 
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yman182

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This is the one I got.


BRS says:


  • Algae & Bacteria Water Flow Rate: 1560GPH/1980GPH (Suggested*/Maximum)
  • Protozoa Bacteria Water Flow Rate: 260GPH/330GPH (Suggested*/Maximum)
I do want to use it for algae control. What would the minimum good flow be? I am not yet well versed in UVs yet.
 

ReefEco

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Hey Yman - I'm currently plumbing two of the 80w pentair units into my system, and am considering some of the same questions. I've opted to run it with a dedicated pump, and not fiddle with it being in-line with my returns, just because then I could potentially change the flow through the UV to address different issues using a DC pump. Some other issues I considered: I feel better about having the UV automatically shut off when the pump does via Apex, so there is no chance of overheating the units with no water flow. You can accomplish the same thing if inline with your return by just adding it to the feed mode, etc. Maintaining the UV is also a lot easier and less complex if not plumbed through a return, otherwise you have to stop that return pump for quite a while. (though if you have two as planned, less of an issue) I'm also thinking that having it on a dedicated pump means that if you want to use for Ich treatment at anytime, you could adjust the flow but also run it only at night as that is when the ich tomonts are free swimming - to better find fish when they are stationary and sleeping. UV's do heat the water, so separate temp control to turn off the UV if there is a spike is useful too without effecting return pump circulation. I have a three tiered sump, so also want to have to tweak the gate valves as little as possible. If you can swing taking from the overflow, or in the GEO's sumps I think you could even add a bulkhead to draw from the drain down chamber itself(?), then just return to the return section. There is no problem drawing from the sump for a UV as long as you return it to a different chamber downstream from where it was drawn. This is no different than returning it directly to the DT, and again, you get the added benefit of being able to adjust flow if needed. Lots of things to consider, but basically I like the flexibility and future proofing of running it with a dedicated pump - your mileage and reasoning might vary!
 

ReefEco

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PS - be careful of trying to take it from the fuge at that flow rate for the UV (1500gph) because if your flow into the fuge is any less than that, you will drain the fuge... If I understand the GEO sump correctly, which I may not : )
 

Grill

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I just finished installing a Lifegard Aquatics Pro-MAX 55W on my 210. ($229 Black Friday deal) The tank was already plumped for a closed loop so I debated several ways to plump it. I figured the best way was on its own pump vs. tied into the return. Gives me the option if I want a high flow for algae/bacteria or low flow for protozoa without messing with the dialed in settings of the return pump.

The setup is with two 1” corner drains going into a 1.5” tee --> then to the pump --> into the UV --> out two ¾” corner returns. Pulling water from the display back into the display. I tinkered with all the different mounting options and just went with the front of the sump for easy maintenance. I still need to figure the amount flow for the pump, will work on this early this week.

1.5.jpg


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LosReef

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I'd recommend getting a flow sensor as it's only important for the flow to be at that rate through to the UV and your pumps will slow over time. If it's mounted horizontal, the head pressure shouldn't a factor. I'm running my Core20 at 10% to hit 200gph for my 40 watt Pentair. I used the BRS numbers for protozoa. I haven't tried for algae since I use a scrubber.
 
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yman182

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Thanks for all the input everyone. I think what I may do is use the 4th drain hole I have as the input into the UV and then have it return into the return area.
 
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yman182

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So I got a bonkers deal on a Pentair UV80. So my plan now is to use the Pentair UV50 on one return pump for the protozoa control and the UV80 for Algae control. All the docs I read show the HO UV80 needs about 2700GPH for a 600 gallon tank.

Is my thinking below correct. That comes out to a turnover of the tank of about 4.5 times an hour. I have about 330G total water volume, does that mean I will need about 1485GPH flow through this UV?

Thanks!
 
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