Uv choice for dinos is getting to me

[Nor'easter Reefer]

So i have dinos... I havent truly identified my dinos but they seem to disappear into my water at night, so I assume uv will be effective. I plan to do a 3 day blackout first week of June so i'd like to order and get setup before then. Worst case it doesnt work too well but is still somewhat of a help, and I'd like it also for water clarity and what not. That said, I always heard, or thought i did, that bigger was usually better. And I want to take advantage of aqua ultraviolets 15% sale right now. My tanks 120 gallons. 150 gallons total volume. I have roughly 1000-1100gph coming from my return pump in my basement. I also plan to upgrade my system eventually to somewhere around 200-240 gallons, so i dont want to buy something i'll have to sell and replace later if i can help it. I was going to buy the 57w aqua ultraviolet but now idk if thats overkill as the sales info states:


"Recommended Flow Rate for UV Dosages

at 30,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 3,200 (Max Flow Rate)
at 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 2,133
at 60,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,600
at 75,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,280
at 90,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,066 (Min Flow Rate)



Information for Reef Tanks

A UV rated in the 30,000 or 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) is ideal for the reef environment. UV’s used at higher kill rates will destroy the planktonic food supply for the reef."

I have a reeflo pump and 90% sure im running the slower impeller and I could put a higher flow propeller in and plumb it into my return line but then I'd need to build a manifold to dump the extra back into my sump. Not a huge deal but more tuning to get my system flowing properly.

Any uv experts care to chime in? I thought for dinos I'd want something like a 3x my display turnover or something? Would running it at 1000gph plumbed into my return line long term after my dino issues are squared away work out OK or ruin the sterilizer? I figured I could just run it on a timer if necesarry?

Thanks in advance!

 

[Channas]

If you have coral and Fish i would advice against blackout and simply install the uv and yes you can go for a bigger one

 

[BeanAnimal]

I wouldn't put too much thought into trying to get the flow and contact time dialed in. Set one up, hook it to a decent size powerhead or return pump branch and turn it on.

 

[BryanM]

What bean said is what I did. At the time I had ultra low sump to tank turnover, since then I have increased, and I plumped mine in with my return (Not ideal, but I went with simpler and it has worked for me).

 

[landlubber]

In my experience with prorocentrum dinos they definitely were much more present during the photoperiod hours and disappeared with little trace outside of it. I also jumped the gun thinking a UV was the answer and was surprised to see it had little to no effect on them.
Save yourself a lot of trouble and identify them before gambling on expensive equipment

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

I wouldn't put too much thought into trying to get the flow and contact time dialed in. Set one up, hook it to a decent size powerhead or return pump branch and turn it on.

What bean said is what I did. At the time I had ultra low sump to tank turnover, since then I have increased, and I plumped mine in with my return (Not ideal, but I went with simpler and it has worked for me).

I ended up staying up way late last night reading many many MANY uv threads on here, and changed my mind to the 55w lifegard because of two reasons:
A) I found reports of people claiming the Lifegard(i think even the owners) stating that as long as your getting water flow and the pumps not just stagnating or running dry, you'll be fine.
B) they have a replaceable pvc liner so even if the water flows low enough for SOME heat to accelerate some sort of pvc degradation, i have something to combat that.

That said, the fact the aqua ultraviolet has that statement i quoted on their uv sterilizer description and i found many other posts quoting that exact statement... Basically asking "how in the world do they expect me to do this? Especially with a model with 3/4" barb fittings?" Is kinda interesting to me.

Thanks for the response guys!

 

[Nor'easter Reefer]

In my experience with prorocentrum dinos they definitely were much more present during the photoperiod hours and disappeared with little trace outside of it. I also jumped the gun thinking a UV was the answer and was surprised to see it had little to no effect on them.
Save yourself a lot of trouble and identify them before gambling on expensive equipment

Yea i'm hoping that isnt how it works for me but I also have been contemplating one for water clarity before these dinos, and now after 2 months or diligent water chemistry, very diligent dino Siphoning, blowing off rocks and detritus, lowered lighting, my skimmate has a red tint(which so do my dinos) and a sale, if it doesnt work, I wont be devastated. Nor will I regret my purchase i dont believe. Unless it does absolutely nothing for my water clarity and algae growing on my glass lol.

 

[BeanAnimal]

I have an Aqua Ultraviolet. It is plumbed but not regularly used. It was used a few years ago for an outbreak. The build quality is great. But ignoring long term use, I don't think the brand matters and it is good to have one on the shelf.

 

[RoanokeReef]

Agree with Bean above but your money right now would be better spent on a cheap microscope to identify which Dinos you have to form a plan, I also wouldn't waste time with a blackout, Macs Reef group on facebook is a great resource.

 

[BryanM]

I ended up staying up way late last night reading many many MANY uv threads on here, and changed my mind to the 55w lifegard because of two reasons:
A) I found reports of people claiming the Lifegard(i think even the owners) stating that as long as your getting water flow and the pumps not just stagnating or running dry, you'll be fine.
B) they have a replaceable pvc liner so even if the water flows low enough for SOME heat to accelerate some sort of pvc degradation, i have something to combat that.

That said, the fact the aqua ultraviolet has that statement i quoted on their uv sterilizer description and i found many other posts quoting that exact statement... Basically asking "how in the world do they expect me to do this? Especially with a model with 3/4" barb fittings?" Is kinda interesting to me.

Thanks for the response guys!

Pentair also has a replaceable sleeve, and that's the product I use.

 

[Tangdora]

Shooting for a 3-5x turnover near 120-180000 um did wonders for my Dino problem. Around 90 did nothing for me . In running 2,114w Aqua UVs in 350 gallon. 57w would not get you this though,To achieve similar would need like a 120w