Recommended pump for an Aqua UV 57watt

[Idoc]

I recently picked up an Aqua UV 57w unit used...couldn't pass up the price, even though it is a bit big for my system (75g tank, approx. 100g total). I will eventually hook this up in my sump for regular use, but initially will be using it to clear out some dinos in my main tank.

In order to clear out dinos, it is recommended to have the UV sterilizer pull from the DT and return to the DT. I am asking if anyone knows the flow I would need for this with this size unit AND a recommended pump that I can place in my DT (or any other ideas on how to plumb this to pull and return to my DT).

Marinedepot sells this model and lists: Salt Water Sterilizer: up to 355 gallons; Flowrate - 1,066gph for 90,000 µw/cm2 ---- Doesn't this seem to be quite high to eradicate dinos?

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

The more dwell time the better. I would do something in the range of 300gph pump. Dino is easy to kill in UV system,so even 400gph or more would be effective

 

[anonomous09]

Im running a Sicce pump on mine with a slightly larger display and sump. It's a 400 GPH pump. LFS recommended the setup. Seems to work good for me!

 

[dwest]

A maxi jet 1200 would work well. That’s whaI I use with my aqua uv 57 watt. I hung mine off the back of the tank and placed the powerhead in the corner. I used black tubing so it’s hardly noticeable. Dino control here too.

 

[Idoc]

The more dwell time the better. I would do something in the range of 300gph pump. Dino is easy to kill in UV system,so even 400gph or more would be effective

I just found a saltwater guide on the Aqua UV website that states the following flow rates:
Fish diseases: 75k - 90k uw/cm2 -- 1280gph - 1066gph
Algea Clarifier: 30k - 45k uw/cm2 -- 3200gph - 2133 gph

The previous owner also had a system around my size, but I recall him saying he ran it around 350gph and it was killing too much (including his beneficial bacteria) in his system and he was having cyano issues due to it. He then started using it on a timer at night time only and it balanced out well with his system. If I am fighting dinos with this, I would suspect I need to run it full time. This size unit is recommended for a 355g system! Is there such thing as too much UV wattage for a tank?

 

[miamijaaz]

I recently picked up an Aqua UV 57w unit used...couldn't pass up the price, even though it is a bit big for my system (75g tank, approx. 100g total). I will eventually hook this up in my sump for regular use, but initially will be using it to clear out some dinos in my main tank.

In order to clear out dinos, it is recommended to have the UV sterilizer pull from the DT and return to the DT. I am asking if anyone knows the flow I would need for this with this size unit AND a recommended pump that I can place in my DT (or any other ideas on how to plumb this to pull and return to my DT).

Marinedepot sells this model and lists: Salt Water Sterilizer: up to 355 gallons; Flowrate - 1,066gph for 90,000 µw/cm2 ---- Doesn't this seem to be quite high to eradicate dinos?

I believe that according to Aqua UV, the minimun flow rate through this unit is 1,066 GPH, hence the MarineDepot recommendation. I have this same UV and use a Sicce pump that’s rated at around 1,300 GPH, which when accounting for head loss I estimate gets me close to the minimum, but I don’t have dinos and use mine to manage fish disease and clarify the water. 1,600 GPH is apparently the optimal flow rate for effective control of fish disease. Not sure what happens if you go with a smaller GPH flow rate, but can’t imagine it would cause harm to the UV, much more likely that you will end up killing more of the beneficial stuff. But if eliminating dinos is your goal, that might be an acceptable trade-off for you. Once you eliminate the dinos you might want swap out the pump for one with a higher GPH if planning on continuing to run the UV 24/7.

 

[Idoc]

Im running a Sicce pump on mine with a slightly larger display and sump. It's a 400 GPH pump. LFS recommended the setup. Seems to work good for me!

Are you pulling from the DT and returning to the DT, or using it in your sump?

 

[Jon Fishman]

Is that all really true? I pull water from sump, Pre-skimmer, and return the water to the return chamber of my sump.

I use a 317 gph pump through 4x 25W Aqua UVs (so 100W total) for my 150-ish total volume system, so I know all about overkill!

I really don’t have a good way to pull water straight from the DT...... is my system flawed?

I use Ozone for water clarity, and I don’t have dinos.... really just worried about parasite control.

 

[Idoc]

I believe that according to Aqua UV, the minimun flow rate through this unit is 1,066 GPH, hence the MarineDepot recommendation. I have this same UV and use a Sicce pump that’s rated at around 1,300 GPH, which when accounting for head loss I estimate gets me close to the minimum, but I don’t have dinos and use mine to manage fish disease and clarify the water. 1,600 GPH is apparently the optimal flow rate for effective control of fish disease. Not sure what happens if you go with a smaller GPH flow rate, but can’t imagine it would cause harm to the UV, much more likely that you will end up killing more of the beneficial stuff. But if eliminating dinos is your goal, that might be an acceptable trade-off for you. Once you eliminate the dinos you might want swap out the pump for one with a higher GPH if planning on continuing to run the UV 24/7.

Thank you...It's great to hear from someone with the same model. I'm hesitant to go less than the 1066gph as well...that is the flow recommended for 90,000 uw/cm2. That is the recommended flow for fish parasites...should be good for dinos as well at that rate. I annotated in another response that the previous owner used it around 350gph and it killed too much beneficial bacteria in his system and then he was having cyano outbreaks...he ran it on a timer to find a balance where the cyano went away.

 

[Idoc]

Is that all really true? I pull water from sump, Pre-skimmer, and return the water to the return chamber of my sump.

I use a 317 gph pump through 4x 25W Aqua UVs (so 100W total) for my 150-ish total volume system, so I know all about overkill!

I really don’t have a good way to pull water straight from the DT...... is my system flawed?

I use Ozone for water clarity, and I don’t have dinos.... really just worried about parasite control.

Most setup their UV like you have done...pulling from the sump and returning to the return chamber. But, it is recommended to pull from the DT and return to the DT while trying to combat dinos. Once I get the dinos completely resolved, then I would transfer to pulling from the sump and returning to the sump return chamber as well.

 

[Idoc]

A maxi jet 1200 would work well. That’s whaI I use with my aqua uv 57 watt. I hung mine off the back of the tank and placed the powerhead in the corner. I used black tubing so it’s hardly noticeable. Dino control here too.

I have an extra MJ 1200 pump! Are you running 3/4" tubing to and from the UV unit? I think the MJ 1200 only accepts 1/2" tubing.

 

[Fiesty]

I would suggest getting a dc pump so u can adjust flow with the controller. I have the same UV and have had great luck with it but cant remember which size pump i used? I just know it nice to be able to turn up and down the flow by just pushing a button.

 

[dwest]

I have an extra MJ 1200 pump! Are you running 3/4" tubing to and from the UV unit? I think the MJ 1200 only accepts 1/2" tubing.

I used a 1/2 inch union (see my brs order below) to start. One end fits snugly over the mj1200 discharge nozzle. The other end hooked up to tubing.

So the installation went mj1200 ==> 1/2 inch Murdock union ==> 1/2inch tubing ==> 1/2 inch Union/threaded ===> 1/2 inch piping over back of aquarium ==> 1/2 x2” (?) reducer to UV unit.

Here a pic of the back of my tank when it was plumbed temporarily.

From my BRS order

G.A. Murdock 1/2" X 1/2" STRAIGHT UNION PUSH CONNECT - BLACK

100020

$2.99

G.A. Murdock 1/2" MALE NPT X 1/2" PUSH CONNECT

100003

$3.49

1/2" BLACK MUR-LOK POLYETHYLENE RO TUBING

100014

 

[Idoc]

I used a 1/2 inch union (see my brs order below) to start. One end fits snugly over the mj1200 discharge nozzle. The other end hooked up to tubing.

So the installation went mj1200 ==> 1/2 inch Murdock union ==> 1/2inch tubing ==> 1/2 inch Union/threaded ===> 1/2 inch piping over back of aquarium ==> 1/2 x2” (?) reducer to UV unit.

Here a pic of the back of my tank when it was plumbed temporarily.

View attachment 1286717

From my BRS order

G.A. Murdock 1/2" X 1/2" STRAIGHT UNION PUSH CONNECT - BLACK

100020

$2.99

G.A. Murdock 1/2" MALE NPT X 1/2" PUSH CONNECT

100003

$3.49

1/2" BLACK MUR-LOK POLYETHYLENE RO TUBING

100014

Do you happen to have a picture from the inside of the tank showing the connections?

 

[dwest]

I’ll try to get one when the lights come on today.

 

[Idoc]

I’ll try to get one when the lights come on today.

Thanks!

 

[dwest]

Thanks!

OK. Tough place to get pics because of my canopy, but here goes. This is below the water surface. You can see the 1/2” fitting on the mj1200 discharge nozzle. The black tubing is connected to the other side of the fitting.

Below is a pic just above the water line. On the left is the pump discharge. The tubing gets connected to a tubing/ threaded pvc fitting. From there I used pvc over the back of the tank to the sterilizer. On the right is the UV discharge. I used black tubing because the back wall of the tank is black and it blends in pretty well, well at least a lot better than my first setup

I believe @saltyhog used a similar setup, but his installation was much nicer than mine. Nobody looks behind my tank except me and dust mites

 

[pdxmonkeyboy]

A couple notes, realize I have no skin in this game so to speak , just providing some further information on UV.

1. Manufacturers ALWAYS overstate the effective flow rate on these things.

2. UV is not going to "kill off" your beneficial bacteria. Yes, it will wipe out bacteria in your water column but that is a very small percentage of the bacteria in your tank which is actually affixed to surfaces in your aquarium. I know guys running 150 watt UV on 75 gallon tanks.

3. Unless your UV specifically states so, you do NOT want to mount your unit horizontally with the outlets pointing down. the bulb and quartz sleeve get quite hot. I have ruined quartz tubes by running them in this configuration with lower flows. The "top" of the sleeve was not fully submerged at lower flow rates. Mount it in a position that it has to be full of water before water exists it.

4. I am of the belief that it is better to absolutely nuk EVERYTHING that passes through the UV ONCE while still having a decent turn over time. While dino's are very easy to kill in UV, you might as well get rid of any crypto you have in the system or any other parasites that you don't know about. A 1,000 gph minimum for a 55 watt unit is kind of hogwash. There is not really a "minimum". For dino, if that is indeed what you have, anything from 400 to 1500 will probably get rid of it.

5. There is a very good thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...cated-dinoflagellates-overnight.316126/page-4

The thread includes flow calculations actually used and results from microscope analysis of water samples. Page 4 in particular contains solid information.

Cheers and good luck!

 

[Idoc]

OK. Tough place to get pics because of my canopy, but here goes. This is below the water surface. You can see the 1/2” fitting on the mj1200 discharge nozzle. The black tubing is connected to the other side of the fitting.
View attachment 1287486

Below is a pic just above the water line. On the left is the pump discharge. The tubing gets connected to a tubing/ threaded pvc fitting. From there I used pvc over the back of the tank to the sterilizer. On the right is the UV discharge. I used black tubing because the back wall of the tank is black and it blends in pretty well, well at least a lot better than my first setup

View attachment 1287490

I believe @saltyhog used a similar setup, but his installation was much nicer than mine. Nobody looks behind my tank except me and dust mites

Thanks a ton... those pics help me to understand how you hooked this up. Those cutting were buried on the BRS website... but found them. I found one of the fittings at lowes, lol.

Do you run yours 24/7? I was thinking of moving it to the sump with a higher flow rate after i was satisfied with my dino control. I really think i have them under control now, but wanted to hit them a little harder.

 

[Idoc]

A couple notes, realize I have no skin in this game so to speak , just providing some further information on UV.

1. Manufacturers ALWAYS overstate the effective flow rate on these things.

2. UV is not going to "kill off" your beneficial bacteria. Yes, it will wipe out bacteria in your water column but that is a very small percentage of the bacteria in your tank which is actually affixed to surfaces in your aquarium. I know guys running 150 watt UV on 75 gallon tanks.

3. Unless your UV specifically states so, you do NOT want to mount your unit horizontally with the outlets pointing down. the bulb and quartz sleeve get quite hot. I have ruined quartz tubes by running them in this configuration with lower flows. The "top" of the sleeve was not fully submerged at lower flow rates. Mount it in a position that it has to be full of water before water exists it.

4. I am of the belief that it is better to absolutely nuk EVERYTHING that passes through the UV ONCE while still having a decent turn over time. While dino's are very easy to kill in UV, you might as well get rid of any crypto you have in the system or any other parasites that you don't know about. A 1,000 gph minimum for a 55 watt unit is kind of hogwash. There is not really a "minimum". For dino, if that is indeed what you have, anything from 400 to 1500 will probably get rid of it.

5. There is a very good thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i...cated-dinoflagellates-overnight.316126/page-4

The thread includes flow calculations actually used and results from microscope analysis of water samples. Page 4 in particular contains solid information.

Cheers and good luck!

Thanks for that info... especially #3...i was going to mount it horizontally with the inlet/outlet pointing upwards. This should ensure the sleeve is completely covered. Im just concerned that a MJ1200 might not have the power to push the water up to the UV sterilizer, then out the output port, then slightly up a tube and back over into the tank. I believe i read in the Aqua UV owner's manual to mount it horizontally, but that it could also be mounted vertically.

Thanks for the thread link, I've been looking for it... I recall reading that thread when i first got dinos about a year ago. I couldn't recall the thread title to look it up again!!