Classic UV 57 watt

Mafiaboy · Nov 18, 2022

I am just curious if anyone has some experience with this specific UV or general knowledge. I have a 260 GAL + 50gal sump, I bought this UV and was curious to know what GPH to run it at.

These rates seem insane from the Aqua website :
at 30,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 3,200 (Max Flow Rate)
at 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 2,133
at 60,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,600
at 75,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,280
at 90,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,066 (Min Flow Rate)

I read on several other sites including BRS that 1560 GPH/1980 GPH for algae bacteria and 260 GPH/330 GPH for Protoza should be the target rates. Anyone actually running this UV and able to provide some input would be greatly appreciated.

dwest · Nov 18, 2022

Mafiaboy said:
I am just curious if anyone has some experience with this specific UV or general knowledge. I have a 260 GAL + 50gal sump, I bought this UV and was curious to know what GPH to run it at.

These rates seem insane from the Aqua website :
at 30,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 3,200 (Max Flow Rate)
at 45,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 2,133
at 60,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,600
at 75,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,280
at 90,000 µw/cm2 (EOL) GPH: 1,066 (Min Flow Rate)

I read on several other sites including BRS that 1560 GPH/1980 GPH for algae bacteria and 260 GPH/330 GPH for Protoza should be the target rates. Anyone actually running this UV and able to provide some input would be greatly appreciated.

It depends on what you are trying to do. I was using mine to kill dinos so I was running 200-300 gph. This gave me 1-2 tank turnovers per hour. If I was using it to clarify the tank I would run 1000 gph plus. If I was using to kill or prevent diseases (ich, etc), I would run somewhere in between. So it looks like BRS recommendations would be a good place to start.

Enderg60 · Nov 18, 2022

I ran mine at ~100 GPH(it was a while ago so i forget the exact flow) to kill EVERYTHING. was around 180,000 µw/cm2. Doesnt just sterilize the ich, it outright kills it at that level...any everything else too.

Waters · Nov 18, 2022

Yeah for whatever reason Aqua recommends crazy high flow rates....I have no idea why. All of their competitors using similar size tubes and same wattage bulbs require WAY less. I am just running mine at around half of what Aqua recommends for a reef tank....otherwise I would blow everything out of my sump.

Fishy Jacket · Dec 10, 2022

I am setting up new tank and was looking into that. It appears Aqua believes kill should be lower for reef tanks. So I suspect they just bump up flow rates to achieve that. See notes below from their sizing chart. Address for their page below that.

"Reef Tanks -A UV rated in the 30,000-45,000 columns is ideal for the reef environment .UV’s rated at higher kill rates will destroy the planktonic food supply for the reef."

"Marine Fish Tanks (No reef or live rock). A UV rated in the 75,000 to 90,000 columns will be the most effective at controlling fish disease."

https://aquaultraviolet.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/UV-Charts-Salt-and-Fresh-Water-Web.pdf