Some UV Questions

beesnreefs · Mar 12, 2023

I’m looking at the TMC Vecton Titan850 UV for my 225 gallon mixed reef. The UV interested me for (a) parasite control generally, (b) I have some dinos Im battling, (c) this particular UV supposedly helps with water clarity as well

I have a few questions I’m hoping y’all can help me with:

1) I had flukes of some kind in this tank a few months ago. PraziPro seemed to solve it but just in case there’s some lingering…is UV effective control for flukes?

2) My understanding is for parasite control the flow rate should be between 10-12 gph/watt. Since this is a 25 watt UV I believe I should have flow through it of 250-300 gph. Does that sound right?

3) This tank is my first with a sump. It’s a RedSea Reefer S 850 G2. It’s the standard plumbing and I haven’t altered it in any way. I’m unsure how to plumb in the UV and get the proper flow rate. Could I just do a closed loop in the sump? Would that work ok?

4) I’m thinking of a pump like a Sicce Syncra 1.0 rated at 251 gph to run the UV. That sound like a good option? What if it ends up running at, say, 200 gph…is it “bad” if it’s a slower flow rate through the UV?

Thanks!

blaxsun · Mar 12, 2023

1. Not really, no. Cleaner fish/inverts or freshwater dips seem to be the best options.

2. The sterilization rate is usually indicated by the manufacturer. As an example, the AquaUV Classic 25-watt indicates 400Gph for a 90,000 µw/cm2 sterilization level (enough for all parasites). To actually outright kill parasites you need to roughly double that. If you just want algae control you can run a flow rate of up to 1,200Gph.

3. Nice! (I have a 750XXL) Yes, you can run a closed loop in the sump. Rather than repeat the details here, I'll just give you the R2R link to that specific aspect of my build (I list all my equipment

Large Build - Blaxsun's Abyss: Red Sea 750XXL

You should've seen what I pulled out of the filter sock I used to filter the sump while I was scraping (I completely filled three 100-micron sock filters).

www.reef2reef.com

4. I would probably opt for something like a Sicce SDC 6.0 instead with a larger UV (57-watt minimum). A little more money, but you'll have more UV sterilization that you can run at a faster flow rate (more water through the UV is always better as it means more tank turnover). The Sicce SDC 6.0 is whisper quiet and the DC power savings will pay for itself in no time flat. Plus you can also control the flow rate much easier with the controller.