UV stand alone pump and return placement

mrpontiac80 · May 8, 2023

I have a UV I want to incorporate on my reef tank. It’s a 180 gallon display and sump. The UV will be fed off a dc return pump placed into the sump and simple return hose back into the sump.
I understand the flow matters for what you want to accomplish but aside from that, do you think it matters on pump and return placement?
I was thinking pump near filter roller area and return into the next chamber or return pump chamber so I don’t recycle the treated water. Will this throw off sump water levels or something I’m not thinking of?

Zero_Cool · May 8, 2023

I believe your plan is correct - UV supply upstream with return downstream to prevent cyclical processing.

Are you using the UV for algae control (high flow rate/water processing) or parasite abatement (low flow/longer dwell time)?

If low flow I don't think you will have any noticeable issues with the sump level. If you do you could bump up the baffle gate or just return the water to the skimmer section to maintain the level there.

mrpontiac80 · May 8, 2023

Zero_Cool said:
I believe your plan is correct - UV supply upstream with return downstream to prevent cyclical processing.

Are you using the UV for algae control (high flow rate/water processing) or parasite abatement (low flow/longer dwell time)?

If low flow I don't think you will have any noticeable issues with the sump level. If you do you could bump up the baffle gate or just return the water to the skimmer section to maintain the level there.

Unfortunately I’ve noticed some ich pop up in my tank. All the fish were quarantined a long time ago and I can only assume it may have come in on some recent cuc additions or some new coral. So I’m hoping a uv will help keep everything in check