UV sterilizer and chiller plumbing

oldkiddo1990

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 23, 2025
Messages
27
Reaction score
26
Location
vietnam
What state or country do you live in
Other International
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi guys, I’m setting up a new reef tank for my office.
My plan is to connect both a UV sterilizer and a chiller through the manifold system, but the outlets of both devices are routed into the same return line — as shown in the diagram below.
Has anyone here ever installed two devices using a plumbing setup like this? Could it cause any issues? I’d appreciate your advice, thank you!


 
20250901_182716_364DDEB7-8C69-414B-8B60-D0BC8EC7FA9C.png
 
I have two concerns with this piping. The first is if you lower the pressure at either device you could experience unexpected back flow.

The second is, ideally all your water will flow through your UV sterilizer with maximum contact time. That provides the greatest effectiveness of the UV sterilizer. I run UV sterilizers as the last item on the return and one per return. I also like to oversize my UV sterilizers so I can have high flow while still damaging protozoans.
 
thanks for pointing out some aspects I hadn’t considered. It also seems like no one has actually set up their plumbing this way.
To be able to adjust the flow through the UV sterilizer, the best solution is probably to run a separate outlet line.
 

TOP 10 Trending Threads

WHAT MOST EARNS A REEFING BUSINESS YOUR "BEST OF THE BEST" NOMINATION?

  • Excellent livestock or product quality

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Honest listings and accurate expectations

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Helpful, knowledgeable customer service

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Standing behind a product when something goes wrong

    Votes: 4 44.4%
  • Fair prices and good value

    Votes: 2 22.2%
  • A unique selection or innovative products

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Supporting the reefing community or sustainability

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Consistent quality over time

    Votes: 1 11.1%
  • Other (Post in the comments)

    Votes: 0 0.0%
Back
Top
Home
Post thread…
Market
What's new