AndyR83
Community Member
Hi everyone,
I’m planning to add a UV device to my 250g system for protozoa/parasite management. I regrettably didn’t have a QT plan in place when I started this tank and fish have occasionally developed ich/velvet after being added. I know these organisms are lurking in the tank and I’m trying to effectively manage them, since full eradication is not feasible for me at this time (I don’t believe I can reasonably catch and remove the many fish in this system to go fallow for 76 days.)
I’ve selected the Pentair 40 watt smart UV sterilizer and plan to pair it with a Sicce Syncra 1.0 pump. The target flow rate for protozoa is 157gph per manufacturers recommendation. This AC pump is rated at 251gph and I plan to down regulate its output with a gate valve to achieve the desired rate. In order to achieve optimal performance, I want to install this in a closed loop. I have a few questions about how to do this properly:
1. The UV inlet and outlet are each 1.5” slip unions. The pump intake and output are both 0.5” threaded. What size PVC pipe is appropriate for this application? 1.5” seems unnecessary if there will be a 0.5” bottleneck at the pump, but I’m unsure whether or not the 0.5” pipe is too small to plumb the entire loop for any reason.
2. I’ve never used a return pump is any way other than submerged in the sump. This Sicce 1.0 pump that I’m considering says it is for “submersible or in line use” and has a max head of 5ft. Should I place the pump up near the top (ie near where the intake pipe comes down over the side of the display) to reduce the length of pipe it has to pull through on the intake or can I hide it under the tank and still pull water adequately? The height from the top of my tank rim to the floor is about 60”.
3. I’ve read articles and seen videos in which the importance of achieving a closed loop is emphasized to ensure efficiency. As such, I plan to place an intake in the display as discreetly as possible and run it down the back of the tank to the pump and on to the UV. If the output from the UV then empties into my sump’s return chamber, does this defeat the purpose? This wouldn’t technically be a “closed loop” any more if I did that, would it?
Thanks!
I’m planning to add a UV device to my 250g system for protozoa/parasite management. I regrettably didn’t have a QT plan in place when I started this tank and fish have occasionally developed ich/velvet after being added. I know these organisms are lurking in the tank and I’m trying to effectively manage them, since full eradication is not feasible for me at this time (I don’t believe I can reasonably catch and remove the many fish in this system to go fallow for 76 days.)
I’ve selected the Pentair 40 watt smart UV sterilizer and plan to pair it with a Sicce Syncra 1.0 pump. The target flow rate for protozoa is 157gph per manufacturers recommendation. This AC pump is rated at 251gph and I plan to down regulate its output with a gate valve to achieve the desired rate. In order to achieve optimal performance, I want to install this in a closed loop. I have a few questions about how to do this properly:
1. The UV inlet and outlet are each 1.5” slip unions. The pump intake and output are both 0.5” threaded. What size PVC pipe is appropriate for this application? 1.5” seems unnecessary if there will be a 0.5” bottleneck at the pump, but I’m unsure whether or not the 0.5” pipe is too small to plumb the entire loop for any reason.
2. I’ve never used a return pump is any way other than submerged in the sump. This Sicce 1.0 pump that I’m considering says it is for “submersible or in line use” and has a max head of 5ft. Should I place the pump up near the top (ie near where the intake pipe comes down over the side of the display) to reduce the length of pipe it has to pull through on the intake or can I hide it under the tank and still pull water adequately? The height from the top of my tank rim to the floor is about 60”.
3. I’ve read articles and seen videos in which the importance of achieving a closed loop is emphasized to ensure efficiency. As such, I plan to place an intake in the display as discreetly as possible and run it down the back of the tank to the pump and on to the UV. If the output from the UV then empties into my sump’s return chamber, does this defeat the purpose? This wouldn’t technically be a “closed loop” any more if I did that, would it?
Thanks!
