Looking for any feedback on plan for UV plumbing

[BaldAndBeard]

I have an Aqua UV 57W that I'm looking to get hooked up but this has been the most confusing part of my build so far. How to plumb it, where to place it for maintenance which there just aren't many great options. Just no solution I've been happy with. Have been reading and watching youtube videos and think I have a plan of attack, but want to check with the group to see if I'm missing anything.

Instead of trying to plumb this into my sump, I think I am just going to do a closed loop from/to the display tank. This seems to be the optimal setup for a UV, and provides me with the probably the best option to plumb this thing up and keep moving on the rest of the build. The tank itself has a black background so plan on running the plumbing to/from the tank on the backside so would really only be visible by the overhangs at the top. Have a clearview lid on order, so would have them modify to add two small cutouts 18" in from each side on the back. Can't mount the UV on the back, so would mount that vertically on the right side of the cabinet, which would leave enough room to pull the bulb out for maintenance from beneath. Would also pick up probably a Vectra M2 external pump that I can put in the right side of the cabinet. Then basically plumb from the DT down to the external pump, over to the UV, then back into the DT.

Since all of this would be external to the tank, I'm guessing one of the things I'll need to be overly preventative on would be leaks, so making sure all of my seals are tight and solid. But I'm going to be running an external ATO reservoir as well, so that I'll need to be doing anyways. Anything else I might be missing here?

 

[MarineandReef Jaron]

You have a lot going on in your question.

To answer the heart of your question. My favorite way to mount a UV is perpendicular to the length of the tank so that you can remove the lamp with the system running without unmounting the UV. I normally use the AquaUV mounting clips to secure the unit against one of the side walls of the stand and then put the lamp connection side of the UV towards the front of the stand. This means I can leave the body in place while I do maintenance.

I will also say that I am big into the KISS principle so recommend running your return pump line through the UV. This is the simplest way to plumb the unit with the fewest pumps and holes in the tank. In most cases, a return pump will be appropriately sized for the algae and bacterial kill rate for a properly sized UV. It is only if you want the unit for parasites that you may want to slow down the flow.