Plumbing UV questions

[DrMMI]

I'm upgrading the UV on my 260g reef to a pentair e80s. This thing is a monster compared to the turbo twist I had on there. I have two questions:

1) It didn't come with a mounting kit. How can I mount it vertically to the wall? It's a cylindrical 46" x 6" and weights about 40-50 pounds when it's full of water.

2) I'm plumbing it to/from the display to fight dinos. I currently have the temporary setup to and from my sump. The UV has 2" pipe coming in and out. I reduced it down as seen in the picture to 1/2" because that's the tubing and pump I had available for now. The way it's set up now, I hear water crashing inside the UV. I'm not getting any air bubbles from the output though. Is is just because the flow is too slow or did I shrink down the diameter too much for such a big UV? If I use a more powerful pump with a gate valve and reduce the diameter down to 1" pvc instead, would that help with the water crashing sound? If so, wouldn't using a gate valve have the same effect and slow the flow to the point that I hear the water crashing sound anyway?

 

[paintman]

Bulk reef supply has mounts specificaly made for those emperor UV's. They work great!

 

[paintman]

here's the link................https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/uv-sterilizer-mounting-clamps-2-pack-black-niche3d.html

 

[paintman]

I have same exact unit. I am bushed down to 1" and feed about 500gpm through it and it is dead silent. I have it mounted verticaly.

 

[paintman]

If you want a cheap way to mount it, go and get some large steel hose clamps. drill a hole through the clamp. run a sheetrock screw through the hole and use that to mount clamp to the wall. Then use the hose clamps to hold the UV unit. Hard to tell but thats how mine is mounted. 2 hose clamps and 2 screws=$5.00. Better than $60 for a BRS mount.

 

[DrMMI]

If you want a cheap way to mount it, go and get some large steel hose clamps. drill a hole through the clamp. run a sheetrock screw through the hole and use that to mount clamp to the wall. Then use the hose clamps to hold the UV unit. Hard to tell but thats how mine is mounted. 2 hose clamps and 2 screws=$5.00. Better than $60 for a BRS mount.

I was just about to ask if there was a cheaper option for that! Thanks so much for your help. Off to Home Depot for the 4th time this weekend!

 

[Dj City]

It is imperative that you follow the manufacturer directions or you will be wasting your time and money.
Properly sized UV installed correctly with correct flow rate. You have the sizing correct so you just need to get it mouned properly and get the correct flow rate.

Check out BRS video. It's very informative and Pentair is very specific on what size you need and how much flow you need to battle bacteria/algae which is the flow rate for dinos.

Do you have an Apex? If so, a flow meter is going to be extremely helpful.

You will want to mount vertically if possible with flow going in from the bottom of the UV and out the top.
Best to have water coming from the display going to the UV and returning to the display in a closed loop.
UV plumbed from the sump back to the sump will not work.
If you have to mount it horizontally, make sure the nozzles are pointed up and try to have a slight angle so no air pockets develop.

I have the Pentair aquatics smart UV 40w.
My UV set up on 180g display.
It's not pretty but it's effective.

 

[Dj City]

This is the flow chart for the Pentair Aquatics Smart UV 40 watt.

I had my UV on temporary duty. Its ready to redeploy if needed.
I had 1019 gph running through the UV.
The set up was ugly but effective.

Good luck.

 

[Dj City]

last bit of advice...
Don't go below 1 inch plumbing. Use 1 inch or larger but NOT smaller or you will never be able to reach desired flow rate. You won't come anywhere close. (Ask me how I know).

You are going to need a very good pump and enough pipe diameter to not restrict the flow..

 

[DrMMI]

last bit of advice...
Don't go below 1 inch plumbing. You will never be able to reach desired flow rate. You won't come anywhere close. (Ask me how I know).

You are going to need a very good pump and enough pipe diameter to not restrict the flow..

Ok awesome, thanks for the advice. I just set it up in my sump last night because I didn't have the plumbing parts available. I'm going to get some black PVC and plumb it permanently to/from my display. Between not quarantining anything and letting my nutrients drop to 0 for month, my tank is a hot mess right now so I need to get it on the right course.

 

[NoFoolin]

I have the same UV. 1/2" is way too small. You need lots of flow for Dino's. I would also be concerned about loosing more flow over time as the line fouls. I would also echo the above comment about adding a flow meter. Without it you are only guessing at how effective your UV is going to be.

 

[Dj City]

I understand completely!
I'm trying to help you have the success you are looking for by getting you on the right path.

Check out the BRS video on UV's. It's very informative.
If you don't have an apex or flow meter (highly recommend), then grab a gallon sized jug and measure how long it takes to fill from the UV then do the math.
It surprised me to find out just how much Umph I needed from a pump to get flow right.
1 inch pipe is the absolute bare minimum no matter what size pump.

Good luck.

 

[Dj City]

 

[DrMMI]

here's the link................https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/uv-sterilizer-mounting-clamps-2-pack-black-niche3d.html

It doesn't look like BRS has the mounts that fit the 80W unit. What did you use to mount yours?

 

[DrMMI]

If you want a cheap way to mount it, go and get some large steel hose clamps. drill a hole through the clamp. run a sheetrock screw through the hole and use that to mount clamp to the wall. Then use the hose clamps to hold the UV unit. Hard to tell but thats how mine is mounted. 2 hose clamps and 2 screws=$5.00. Better than $60 for a BRS mount.

Never mind. I just realized you said how you mounted yours.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

“UV plumbed from the sump back to the sump will not work.”

Why? I’m trying to educate myself further. Why would plumbed from and back to sump not work?

Is this just for Pentair brand or all UV sterilizers?

Wouldn’t any percentage of water going through a sterilizer be better than not using one at all??

Sorry for the questions and thank you.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

It is imperative that you follow the manufacturer directions or you will be wasting your time and money.
Properly sized UV installed correctly with correct flow rate. You have the sizing correct so you just need to get it mouned properly and get the correct flow rate.

Check out BRS video. It's very informative and Pentair is very specific on what size you need and how much flow you need to battle bacteria/algae which is the flow rate for dinos.

Do you have an Apex? If so, a flow meter is going to be extremely helpful.

You will want to mount vertically if possible with flow going in from the bottom of the UV and out the top.
Best to have water coming from the display going to the UV and returning to the display in a closed loop.
UV plumbed from the sump back to the sump will not work.
If you have to mount it horizontally, make sure the nozzles are pointed up and try to have a slight angle so no air pockets develop.

I have the Pentair aquatics smart UV 40w.
My UV set up on 180g display.
It's not pretty but it's effective.

“UV plumbed from the sump back to the sump will not work.”

Why? I’m trying to educate myself further. Why would plumbed from and back to sump not work?

Is this just for Pentair brand or all UV sterilizers?

Wouldn’t any percentage of water going through a sterilizer be better than not using one at all??

Sorry for the questions and thank you.

 

[Dj City]

“UV plumbed from the sump back to the sump will not work.”

Why? I’m trying to educate myself further. Why would plumbed from and back to sump not work?

Is this just for Pentair brand or all UV sterilizers?

Wouldn’t any percentage of water going through a sterilizer be better than not using one at all??

Sorry for the questions and thank you.

It won't work because of the rate of reproduction of dinos.
You will not get enough water through the UV if plumbed only in the sump. You can't process enough water to make a difference.

 

[dreamcatcherr9]

It won't work because of the rate of reproduction of dinos.
You will not get enough water through the UV if plumbed only in the sump. You can't process enough water to make a difference.

So we are discussing percentage of water to pass through UV to make a difference (?). Again, wouldn’t some percentage be better than no percentage?

 

[Dj City]

Hypothetically...
Something reproduces 10x an hour.
You do it right and process 100% water more than 10x per hour.

Or

Something reproduces 10x an hour
You don't do it right and process 15% of the water 5x per hour.

Is this helping at all?
No.