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10/24/2016, 12:52 PM | #1 |
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UV flow rate question
I've got a Pentair Aquatics 50W High Output Sterilizer in my build, and have a question about the flow rate.
The manufacturer suggests between 260-330 gallons per hour for parasites, and 1560-1980 gallons per hour for algae and bacteria. I have an in-line flow meter, and the pump I have can only get it up to around 1300 gallons per hour. My plan is to have it set for algae and bacteria unless there is a parasite outbreak of some sort. Yes, I know this won't completely remove parasites, etc., etc., and I have a quarantine tank set up. I asked the builder if I could get a larger pump so that I can get it in the target zone for bacteria, and he says that it's not necessary. What, if any, negative effects will result from running it at lower than recommended flow rates? |
10/24/2016, 01:41 PM | #2 |
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Unless your tank is the size of a Koi pond, you'll have no issues. It's best to keep it at a low flow rate anyway, IMO.
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Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas. Current Tank Info: 78"x36"x27" acrylic, 6 Orphek Atlantik V3+ Compacts, MRC Orca Pro II w/washdown, CalcFeeder Pro AC3, Emperor Aquatics 80w UV, 80/20 aluminum stand, Vortech MP60's, Theiling Rollermat, GHL Profilux 3.1T EX, Kessil H380 |
10/24/2016, 02:12 PM | #3 |
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I've got a 90 gallon with a Aqua UV sterilizer and my flow rate is about 300 gph.
Tank is in tip top shape! |
10/24/2016, 02:34 PM | #4 |
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I wonder if the flow rates have to do with what it doesn't sterilize as opposed to what it does? Algae and bacteria are single cell organisms... perhaps at lower flow rates, it starts to sterilize things which might be beneficial?
This is all theoretical... I just have to think the manufacturer had some reason for listing those values. |
10/24/2016, 04:03 PM | #5 |
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That's exactly the reason. My LFS sold me the unit and advised me to not get a higher wattage unit because if it's too much, it does start to kill the beneficial bacteria, etc.
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10/24/2016, 06:08 PM | #6 |
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The flow rate impacts contact time. Contact time is what kills or sterilzes what passes through the UV filter. The slower the flow, they high the kill factor. A UV should be sized based on tank size and flow. If you can't reduce your flow enough, a larger UV may be a better choice depending on the goal of the UV. That said, going oversized on a UV Sterilzer is a waste of wattage. In most cases, the same can be accomplished with a properly sized UV fed by a properly sized or gated down pump. And yes, at lower flow rates, you will start to reduce plantonic life which can be counterproductive in the case of a reef if the populations can't reproduce fast enough. I've been running UV's on my systems for decades. Unlike Emperor Aquatics/Pentair, AquaUV has appropriate flow rates for marine and reef aquariums listed for their sterilzers. EA lists flow rates down to 180,000 µw/cm2 which is WAY too low for a reef tank. Even 90,000 µw/cm2 is border line unless the goal is to target parasites in a reef however 90,000 µw will impact planktonic life as well. I usually shoot for around 60,000 µw/cm2 which will keep the water nice and clear while also eliminating bacterial blooms and controlling waterborn algae.
FWIW.. The suggestion of 260-300 GPH for a 50 watt sterilzer is insane. That is 180,000 µw/cm2 + and will kill anything that passes through it including plankton, copepods etc. Very poor advice from the mfg and clearly they don't know what they are suggesting. This has been the case since they bought out EA and one of the many reasons why I would never recommend their products anymore. I wouldn't run less that 600GPH through that thing on a reef. If it's a fish only system, that's a different story. If you want good advice, go with AquaUV in the future. They know what they are doing and will provide sound advice with regards to their products in our applications.
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Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476 Last edited by slief; 10/24/2016 at 06:13 PM. |
10/24/2016, 06:39 PM | #7 | |
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10/24/2016, 07:33 PM | #8 | |
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Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476 |
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10/24/2016, 07:57 PM | #9 |
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I want it mostly for water clarification, but it would be nice to have some parasite killing capabilities if I need it in a pinch.
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10/24/2016, 10:16 PM | #10 |
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AFAIK, UV damage is cumulative, so I'm not sure how much difference there is between low and high flow in a small closed system. One of the articles I read showed no decrease in water column bacterial counts between systems running and not running UV. The only article I've seen about higher organisms, such as ich, concluded that you can't ever eradicate anything from a closed system using UV. So, I think it's much easier to have too small a sterilizer than too large.
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Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas. Current Tank Info: 78"x36"x27" acrylic, 6 Orphek Atlantik V3+ Compacts, MRC Orca Pro II w/washdown, CalcFeeder Pro AC3, Emperor Aquatics 80w UV, 80/20 aluminum stand, Vortech MP60's, Theiling Rollermat, GHL Profilux 3.1T EX, Kessil H380 |
10/25/2016, 03:46 PM | #11 |
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We are going to get a slightly larger pump so that I can hit the manufacturer recommended flow.
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10/25/2016, 03:48 PM | #12 | |
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10/25/2016, 05:14 PM | #13 | |
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Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like bananas. Current Tank Info: 78"x36"x27" acrylic, 6 Orphek Atlantik V3+ Compacts, MRC Orca Pro II w/washdown, CalcFeeder Pro AC3, Emperor Aquatics 80w UV, 80/20 aluminum stand, Vortech MP60's, Theiling Rollermat, GHL Profilux 3.1T EX, Kessil H380 |
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10/25/2016, 05:31 PM | #14 | |
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Director Customer Support Royal Exclusiv USA For All Royal Exclusiv & Bubble King questions please refer to our Sponsor forum: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/fo...play.php?f=745 Current Tank Info: 480G display mixed reef, 90G sump, 90G refugium, 60G display refugium. Check out my build thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1783476 |
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10/26/2016, 11:57 AM | #15 | |
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10/26/2016, 12:00 PM | #16 |
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Don't know why that last post didn't include my response...
We're on the same page... I only want to get the bad stuff out, so a bigger pump is being ordered. |
10/26/2016, 12:22 PM | #17 |
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Much ado about nothing IMO. You'd be fine running at 1,300, or even lower than that. Water-borne planktonic populations in our tanks are largely irrelevant anyhow, and I have never seen any correlation to substrate dwelling pod populations and running a UV.
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Simon Got back into the hobby ..... planned to keep it simple ..... yeah, right ..... clearly I need a new plan! Pet peeve: anemones host clowns; clowns do not host anemones! Current Tank Info: 450 Reef; 120 refugium; 60 Frag Tank, 30 Introduction tank; multiple QTs |
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