UV sterilizer
- Thread starter jhebi
- Start date
scsinet
Active Member
Well you haven't mentioned what kind of unit it is, what your setup is (sump? Canister?)
But this advice should apply if you have a sump (which you should...)
In short, you don't want to do it exactly the way you suggested.
A UV unit varies in effectiveness from "would kill an elephant passing through" to "won't kill squat" depending on how fast water passes through the unit.
The odds are, your return pump is moving water way too fast. You generally only want about 100-300gph of flow through the unit, to make sure that larger stuff like parasites can be sufficiently exposed to ensure death.
There is a way.
I posted two professional-looking graphics.
The first one shows one way of doing it. This method has a big advantage... all of the flow from the return pump ends up going into the tank. This is the method to use if you need every bit of flow you can from your return pump. By manipulating the two valves, you can vary the amount of water that passes through the unit. This method has two drawbacks. First, it puts water pressure on the UV unit, which it may or may not be able to take without leaking (depending on how much head pressure you have, whether you have valves in between the pictured rig and the tank, etc). Second, it's impossible to tell how much flow is going through the unit and how much is passing by without installing a flow meter.
The second option is what I do. As long as your return pump is rated for more flow than you need, you can divert off of the main return line to feed your UV unit and send the discharge water right back into the sump. This allows you to visually watch the discharge hose to guestimate how much water is flowing through it.
If neither of these options are acceptable, you may need to place a dedicated pump in your sump to handle it.
Edit: One other thing I thought of... if you want the best of both worlds (all the flow from the main pump going to the tank and being able to tell the flow), you could do the same thing as option 2, but instead of discharging into the sump, discharge into the main tank, with some sort of arrangement that you can life the inflow pipe out of the water to view how much water is passing through it.
But this advice should apply if you have a sump (which you should...)
In short, you don't want to do it exactly the way you suggested.
A UV unit varies in effectiveness from "would kill an elephant passing through" to "won't kill squat" depending on how fast water passes through the unit.
The odds are, your return pump is moving water way too fast. You generally only want about 100-300gph of flow through the unit, to make sure that larger stuff like parasites can be sufficiently exposed to ensure death.
There is a way.
I posted two professional-looking graphics.
The first one shows one way of doing it. This method has a big advantage... all of the flow from the return pump ends up going into the tank. This is the method to use if you need every bit of flow you can from your return pump. By manipulating the two valves, you can vary the amount of water that passes through the unit. This method has two drawbacks. First, it puts water pressure on the UV unit, which it may or may not be able to take without leaking (depending on how much head pressure you have, whether you have valves in between the pictured rig and the tank, etc). Second, it's impossible to tell how much flow is going through the unit and how much is passing by without installing a flow meter.
The second option is what I do. As long as your return pump is rated for more flow than you need, you can divert off of the main return line to feed your UV unit and send the discharge water right back into the sump. This allows you to visually watch the discharge hose to guestimate how much water is flowing through it.
If neither of these options are acceptable, you may need to place a dedicated pump in your sump to handle it.
Edit: One other thing I thought of... if you want the best of both worlds (all the flow from the main pump going to the tank and being able to tell the flow), you could do the same thing as option 2, but instead of discharging into the sump, discharge into the main tank, with some sort of arrangement that you can life the inflow pipe out of the water to view how much water is passing through it.
jhebi
Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
Well you haven't mentioned what kind of unit it is, what your setup is (sump? Canister?)
But this advice should apply if you have a sump (which you should...)
In short, you don't want to do it exactly the way you suggested.
A UV unit varies in effectiveness from "would kill an elephant passing through" to "won't kill squat" depending on how fast water passes through the unit.
The odds are, your return pump is moving water way too fast. You generally only want about 100-300gph of flow through the unit, to make sure that larger stuff like parasites can be sufficiently exposed to ensure death.
There is a way.
I posted two professional-looking graphics.
The first one shows one way of doing it. This method has a big advantage... all of the flow from the return pump ends up going into the tank. This is the method to use if you need every bit of flow you can from your return pump. By manipulating the two valves, you can vary the amount of water that passes through the unit. This method has two drawbacks. First, it puts water pressure on the UV unit, which it may or may not be able to take without leaking (depending on how much head pressure you have, whether you have valves in between the pictured rig and the tank, etc). Second, it's impossible to tell how much flow is going through the unit and how much is passing by without installing a flow meter.
The second option is what I do. As long as your return pump is rated for more flow than you need, you can divert off of the main return line to feed your UV unit and send the discharge water right back into the sump. This allows you to visually watch the discharge hose to guestimate how much water is flowing through it.
If neither of these options are acceptable, you may need to place a dedicated pump in your sump to handle it.
Edit: One other thing I thought of... if you want the best of both worlds (all the flow from the main pump going to the tank and being able to tell the flow), you could do the same thing as option 2, but instead of discharging into the sump, discharge into the main tank, with some sort of arrangement that you can life the inflow pipe out of the water to view how much water is passing through it.
Thanks, so it need to have PVC parts and the valve or can I just use some pvc tubing without the valves? Because i suck in plumbing even though the drawing looks pretty easy.
I have a return pump that is rated for more flow back to my DT.
Well you haven't mentioned what kind of unit it is, what your setup is (sump? Canister?)
But this advice should apply if you have a sump (which you should...)
In short, you don't want to do it exactly the way you suggested.
A UV unit varies in effectiveness from "would kill an elephant passing through" to "won't kill squat" depending on how fast water passes through the unit.
The odds are, your return pump is moving water way too fast. You generally only want about 100-300gph of flow through the unit, to make sure that larger stuff like parasites can be sufficiently exposed to ensure death.
There is a way.
I posted two professional-looking graphics.
The first one shows one way of doing it. This method has a big advantage... all of the flow from the return pump ends up going into the tank. This is the method to use if you need every bit of flow you can from your return pump. By manipulating the two valves, you can vary the amount of water that passes through the unit. This method has two drawbacks. First, it puts water pressure on the UV unit, which it may or may not be able to take without leaking (depending on how much head pressure you have, whether you have valves in between the pictured rig and the tank, etc). Second, it's impossible to tell how much flow is going through the unit and how much is passing by without installing a flow meter.
The second option is what I do. As long as your return pump is rated for more flow than you need, you can divert off of the main return line to feed your UV unit and send the discharge water right back into the sump. This allows you to visually watch the discharge hose to guestimate how much water is flowing through it.
If neither of these options are acceptable, you may need to place a dedicated pump in your sump to handle it.
Edit: One other thing I thought of... if you want the best of both worlds (all the flow from the main pump going to the tank and being able to tell the flow), you could do the same thing as option 2, but instead of discharging into the sump, discharge into the main tank, with some sort of arrangement that you can life the inflow pipe out of the water to view how much water is passing through it.
Thanks, so it need to have PVC parts and the valve or can I just use some pvc tubing without the valves? Because i suck in plumbing even though the drawing looks pretty easy.
I have a return pump that is rated for more flow back to my DT.
scsinet
Active Member
You want those valves.
Use this as an opportunity to get good at plumbing!! If you're going to be in this hobby, you best learn.
Anyhoo, you want the valves for the control it affords. If you don't have them and run the water too fast through your sterlilizer, all you'll be killing is bacteria, and lets face it, nobody wants a UV unit to kill bacteria... they want it to kill algae, parasites, etc. All these things require less flow.
Unless your sterlizer is really big (like an 80 or 160 watt), then I'm sure your return pump is too fast. I have a Coralife TurboTwist 18 watt on my 110gal FOWLR, and I have it dialed in to come out about the speed of a drinking fountain. Slow is good. Even at that rate, I figure I run 1000gpd through it.
Use this as an opportunity to get good at plumbing!! If you're going to be in this hobby, you best learn.
Anyhoo, you want the valves for the control it affords. If you don't have them and run the water too fast through your sterlilizer, all you'll be killing is bacteria, and lets face it, nobody wants a UV unit to kill bacteria... they want it to kill algae, parasites, etc. All these things require less flow.
Unless your sterlizer is really big (like an 80 or 160 watt), then I'm sure your return pump is too fast. I have a Coralife TurboTwist 18 watt on my 110gal FOWLR, and I have it dialed in to come out about the speed of a drinking fountain. Slow is good. Even at that rate, I figure I run 1000gpd through it.
scsinet
Active Member
You should glue them, but I've "dry fit" them before. Sometimes the dry fit joints leak, sometimes not.
It's really better to glue them.
Heres a tip: Cut and fit everything together, then take it all apart and re-assemble using glue. It works a lot better when everythign has been dry fit ahead of time.
Also, you can take a sharpie and place a dot right at the joint, where the tip of the marker touches both the pipe and the fitting. Do this at every joint when it is all dry fitted together, that'll help you align everythign the same way when you are gluing. Be careful not to glue over the ink dot, the glue will take the dot off.
It's really better to glue them.
Heres a tip: Cut and fit everything together, then take it all apart and re-assemble using glue. It works a lot better when everythign has been dry fit ahead of time.
Also, you can take a sharpie and place a dot right at the joint, where the tip of the marker touches both the pipe and the fitting. Do this at every joint when it is all dry fitted together, that'll help you align everythign the same way when you are gluing. Be careful not to glue over the ink dot, the glue will take the dot off.
scsinet
Active Member
Originally Posted by jhebi
Ok.....I guess I have to try than....the valves with the pvc do you glue them or can just attach to each other?
Do they have plumbing for dummies?
You can get valves that are threaded or slip. Slip valves are easiest, they just glue on the pipe.
I'm not a fan of them though... valves are expensive and it sucks to replace them when you change plumbing. I use threaded valves and put male ends on the pipe, then screw the valve to that. Two 19 cent male ends is a lot cheaper than a 7 dollar valve. The easiest way to work them into the plumbing is to wrap the threaded male ends with teflon tape, screw them onto teh valve and tighten with a monkey wrench, then glue the valve into place. If you ever change plumbing, just cut the pipes and unscrew them from the valve, and re-use.
Ok.....I guess I have to try than....the valves with the pvc do you glue them or can just attach to each other?
Do they have plumbing for dummies?
You can get valves that are threaded or slip. Slip valves are easiest, they just glue on the pipe.
I'm not a fan of them though... valves are expensive and it sucks to replace them when you change plumbing. I use threaded valves and put male ends on the pipe, then screw the valve to that. Two 19 cent male ends is a lot cheaper than a 7 dollar valve. The easiest way to work them into the plumbing is to wrap the threaded male ends with teflon tape, screw them onto teh valve and tighten with a monkey wrench, then glue the valve into place. If you ever change plumbing, just cut the pipes and unscrew them from the valve, and re-use.
acrylic51
Active Member
Yep valves do get expensive......another option would be to put a union in place if you would have to change out your plumbing.....SCSInet is correct the threaded would be easier to use in this situation.....I actually prefer the liquid thread sealant over teflon tape......
jhebi
Member
Originally Posted by SCSInet
You can get valves that are threaded or slip. Slip valves are easiest, they just glue on the pipe.
I'm not a fan of them though... valves are expensive and it sucks to replace them when you change plumbing. I use threaded valves and put male ends on the pipe, then screw the valve to that. Two 19 cent male ends is a lot cheaper than a 7 dollar valve. The easiest way to work them into the plumbing is to wrap the threaded male ends with teflon tape, screw them onto teh valve and tighten with a monkey wrench, then glue the valve into place. If you ever change plumbing, just cut the pipes and unscrew them from the valve, and re-use.
Thanks for your help SCSI......
Just a question here is how my tank is set up. where would be the best place to put the UV and can you draw on it for me...
You can get valves that are threaded or slip. Slip valves are easiest, they just glue on the pipe.
I'm not a fan of them though... valves are expensive and it sucks to replace them when you change plumbing. I use threaded valves and put male ends on the pipe, then screw the valve to that. Two 19 cent male ends is a lot cheaper than a 7 dollar valve. The easiest way to work them into the plumbing is to wrap the threaded male ends with teflon tape, screw them onto teh valve and tighten with a monkey wrench, then glue the valve into place. If you ever change plumbing, just cut the pipes and unscrew them from the valve, and re-use.
Thanks for your help SCSI......
Just a question here is how my tank is set up. where would be the best place to put the UV and can you draw on it for me...
brucewrs
Member
I had a 25w aquanetics but had nothing but trouble with it.I bought it from that big auction site used and got ripped off.Leaked,bulb flickers...It is going in the can!Anyway I think they do work.I just ordered a Gamma 25 watt uv.Should have it in 3 days... Just a piece of the puzzle.