UV sterilizer plumbing

[DmitryB]

So my IM 170 INT is arriving on Monday (excited and terrified here.) Plumbing is something I know next to zero about. I'm told plumbing the IM tanks is easy because everything is pre-cut for you, etc. Let's hope! But now the other big plumbing question is going to be: UV Sterilizer. What in the world do I do with that?! I've tried to find videos online and there's surprisingly nothing (at least that I could find) that is a step-by-step tutorial. I guess I understand the basic principle: a pump sends water into the sterilizer and then the water comes out the other end. But I don't want that water to end up on the floor! So... I'm gonna need help to figure out what to get and where it goes!

I got a LifeGard 90W 3'' sterilizer (somewhat oversized for my tank because I want it to kill parasites dead) and Quiet One DC Pump 1,1888 GPH. I'll decide where exactly in the stand it goes once the stand is here, but somewhere in the back. Anybody know if this sterilizer can be mounted horizontally OR vertically or only horizontally?

- I found in an old thread here a link to some a barb package I'll need to go from 2'' to 3/4''. (Seems like a huge drop, doesn't it?) But aside from that - what else am I gonna need? A 3/4'' PVC to go from the pump (flexible PVC?) into the sterilizer. And then a PVC to go from sterilizer back into the sump. (I've read ideally water goes right into the display, but not sure that's practical.) What kind of connects and valves do I need? 90 elbows, 45 elbows? Where does the pump go? Before or after the skimmer? (There'll be a refugium after the skimmer). Then water returns into the return chamber?

This is all a lot and I appreciate all the help! Talk to me like I'm 5 years old.

 

[UncommonSense]

I got a LifeGard 90W 3'' sterilizer (somewhat oversized for my tank because I want it to kill parasites dead) and Quiet One DC Pump 1,1888 GPH

For starters, are you confident this sterilizer has an inlet and outlet designed for 3” pipe? — this BRS description lists 2”!

90 Watt Pro-MAX High Output UV Sterilizer Aquatics

LifeGard Pro-MAX 90-watt High Output UV Sterilizer For freshwater or saltwater aquariums up to 650 gallons Effective against bacteria and water-borne algae blooms Unique design, allowing for multiple plumbing configurations Available in 25w, 40w, 55w, 90w, and 120w sizes The Lifegard...

www.bulkreefsupply.com

Anybody know if this sterilizer can be mounted horizontally OR vertically or only horizontally?

From the above listing:

“The outlets can be positioned in several different directions to fit your available space and plumbing setup without any additional plumbing”

This doesn’t directly answer your question, but It leads me to believe it can be mounted horizontally or vertically!

I found in an old thread here a link to some a barb package I'll need to go from 2'' to 3/4''.

this is a common trap! Let me explain:

— 3/4” (inside diameter) tubing has to go into a 3/4” barbed fitting, which has in inside diameter very close to 1/2”… you’ll be lucky to get 600gph through a 3/4” barbed fitting! (Simply put, you have to go one size larger with tubing than with pipe to achieve similar flow rates!)

— as you can see above, the algae flow rate for this massive sterilizer is 2,800gph max… weirdly, they do not list a minimum flow rate at all, much less a flow rate for multi-cellular organisms (like some waterborne parasites)…

— this said, I do know a 15W Lifegard sterilizer has a minimum safe flow rate of 150GPH… the scale is not linear, but this means your 90W unit needs roughly 900GPH of water flow at minimum! (50% more than can even be reasonably expected to flow through 3/4” tubing!)

And then a PVC to go from sterilizer back into the sump. (I've read ideally water goes right into the display, but not sure that's practical.)

It is very practical in your application! In fact, your return pump should run right around that 900GPH minimum UV flow rate if left unrestricted (plumbing diameter-wise)!

This is the only thing I can find which even resembles a flow curve for this pump; the delineations appear to be translated from metric, but a bit of reading in puts you at roughly 920GPH (observed) flow from that pump with 4-4.5ft of vertical well height creating flow loss, (assuming plumbing isn’t restrictive!)

I would definitely vote for running 100% of the return pump’s water through the UV sterilizer, probably using 1.25” tubing, or 1” pipe at minimum! (It can be wise to reduce from the 2-3” pipe size on the UV to maybe 1.5” threaded, then reduce again from there to your final size so you don’t have to cut anything out later to do a plumbing diameter upgrade)

What kind of connects and valves do I need? 90 elbows, 45 elbows?

No valves needed… maybe a few unions, reducer bushings, and your choice of tubing or pipe (sized correctly so that return pump can flow sufficient water through the UV sterilizer to keep it cool)