UV Sterilizer Sizing

[Ti64reef]

So I'm new the hobby in central CT and set up a large reef tank in September. With the display and the sump it's a little under 500 gallons. Go big or go home I suppose. I have had my first outbreak of Ich and I know lecture on the quarantine tank but that's for another day. I've decided to go with a UV Sterilizer assuming that going forward I can expect the ich will be managed to a dull annoyance rather than the destroyer of all life. Everyone says to put the sterilizer in line with the return pump but based on getting to 90,000 µw/cm² it would require a system that is off the charts with my pump (link below). Can you put them in the sump with separate pump after the protein skimmer and before the return?

https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/hammerhead-barracuda-gold-hybrid-6000-4300-gph-reeflo.html

 

[CuzzA]

Yes. That is fine. You really need the ability to accurately adjust the flow. For your system I would recommend the Pentair 80 watt high output and pump 450 GPH. If you have an Apex you can add the flow meter module and put the valve on the output. If not I would use vinyl tubing on the output so you can occasionally pull the tube and meter the flow in a bucket.

Remember to set it up so that air is purged. Either vertical or if horizontal have the output higher than the input and facing up.

Good luck. Pulling fish for qt sounds daunting, but given the size of your system and being a new setup you may just want to forgo the expense of the UV, future bulbs and future dead fish and just get the the parasite out of the system. It sucks. I know.

 

[Ti64reef]

Thanks for the advice. It's completely depressing but i'm slowly warming up to the same idea. I'm thinking a 75 gallon with daily water changes. I concerned that the QT will turn into WW3 and the fish will all fight with each other. Today they have plenty of room to run and who knows how it will go in a confined space. How many weeks do you need to have them in the QT? Also can you still put new coral in the main tank during that time?

 

[pecan2phat]

You need the display to go fallow for 76 days and I would not add any corals or inverts.
I did the 76 days last year but added some cleanup crews and clams. Guess what, tank is infected once again hence my suggestion of not adding anything during the fallow period.

 

[Ti64reef]

You need the display to go fallow for 76 days and I would not add any corals or inverts.
I did the 76 days last year but added some cleanup crews and clams. Guess what, tank is infected once again hence my suggestion of not adding anything during the fallow period.

Do you have to remove everything as well or just the fish? Also am I just better off to remove the few coral I have and treat the entire tank with copper or will that not take care of the problem.

 

[pecan2phat]

You just need to remove the fish and place them into a QT tank that is biologically established & sized correctly.
If you go the latter route, it will be a tough road to keeping corals and inverts in the future + it's also hard to maintain a consistent copper level with aragonite material in the tank (sand & rock).