OK to plumb UV into skimmer feed?

[mskvarenina]

I've just purchased a UV and am trying to decide how to best plumb it into my system. I have a Mag 9.5 pump which feeds the skimmer today and was wonder if it would be fine to redirect the water first into the UV, then from the exit of the UV send it into the skimmer.

Or I could add yet another pump and plumb it separately.

Advice?

 

[ClosetFishGeek]

I've just purchased a UV and am trying to decide how to best plumb it into my system. I have a Mag 9.5 pump which feeds the skimmer today and was wonder if it would be fine to redirect the water first into the UV, then from the exit of the UV send it into the skimmer.

Or I could add yet another pump and plumb it separately.

Advice?

Uv's work best when water is at its cleanest when passing thru it. Your best bet is after it passes thru all your filtration and is on its way back to your display. Also please make sure your flow rates are adjusted as well so you have the proper dwell time in the UV. UV's are great tools if used properly, please take the time to set it up correctly.

 

[mskvarenina]

So how does one adjust their flow rates? I see the UV talks about a flow rate of 400 GPH for 90,000 u/cm2 kill (some scientific measurement but what is recommended for a good kill) but if I buy a Fluval SP2 which has a flow rate somewhere around 950GPH at the head and I run the pipe a few feet upward (reducing the GPH) and installing a ball value on the other end, then how do I know I have a flow rate of 400 GPH?

I'm also not crazy about having a bunch of pumps running. Now I have the main return pump (which is a Fluval SP6), I have a Mag 9.5 running the skimmer. A MJ1200 running a reactor and now I'm thinking about adding a 4th pump.

Since I have the Mag 9.5 dialed back alot already going into the skimmer, that's why I was wondering if I could just run the water first into the UV, then into the skimmer from the UVs exit.

 

[mluz]

I guess you can split the flow from the pump. To measure it, probably the easiest way is to use a five gallon bucket and adjust the flow to fill it in a little less than a minute, maybe 45 to 50 seconds. 400GPH is 6.6 gallons a minute.