UV Sterilizer for AIO

[spartanman22]

Hey All,

I have a custom peninsula 80 gallon AIO from waterbox. My wife doesn’t love the hobby so part of the pitch getting back in after a 5 year hiatus was keeping it simple with an AIO. In reality I love SPS and this was never going to be simple….

I’d like to install a UV sterilizer for clarity and parasite control. I’m just not sure what size to go with. I’m between the two: Aqua Ultraviolets 15w hang on unit (simpler setup and install on and AIO) or a IceCap 27w unit.

I think I can reasonably hide both, but will have some visible piping feeding the unit. The icecap 27w is really the only option because the Aqua IV 25 watt units are too long, I wouldn’t be able to hide them between the wall and the filtration side of the tank (20” wide tank).

Would 15w be sufficient or should I go for the higher output?

 

[spartanman22]

For reference I’ve got about 3” between the wall and the tank. Alternatively I could run it below into the cabinet where space no longer becomes and issue.

 

[spartanman22]

Looking at the IceCap in-sump 18w unit or the 27w IceCap plumbed unit. It looks like the IceCap in-sump unit will fit nicely in the first chamber of my AIO compartment. Is the extra 9w worth external plumbing? Total system volume is probably 65-70ish gallons.

 

[DmitryB]

I've always understood that with UV bigger is better. If the higher wattage is fittable and not a total pain to maintain (swapping out the bulbs), I'd go with the bigger size.

 

[RobertK]

I was looking at the Icecap in-sump UVs, the thing I didn't like about it is the adjustability. It has a simple flow restrictor on the drain pipe to regulate flow, theres really no way to know what the GPH is through it.

 

[DmitryB]

I was looking at the Icecap in-sump UVs, the thing I didn't like about it is the adjustability. It has a simple flow restrictor on the drain pipe to regulate flow, theres really no way to know what the GPH is through it.

I feel like that's true of all UV units??

 

[spartanman22]

I was looking at the Icecap in-sump UVs, the thing I didn't like about it is the adjustability. It has a simple flow restrictor on the drain pipe to regulate flow, theres really no way to know what the GPH is through it.

I feel like that's true of all UV units??

Plumbed units you can add flow restriction upstream of the unit via ball or gate valve, plus flow meters to know flow rate. Or have it fed by a dedicated DC pump.