UV sterilizer in the sump? Is that even effective?

[Miami Reef]

I don't understand how putting a UV sterilizer in the sump is effective for managing parasites. I have an overflow in a 300 gallon tank and I cannot imagine it being effective. The water has to rise to the top of the box and make it’s way to the pump of the sterilizer to become effective. It seems so unlikely and I feel like placing the uv pump in the main display is more effective.

 

[Miami Reef]

Here are both of the overflows.

 

[jdiefenbaugh]

UVs need recommended flow rates to achieve whatever goal you're trying to accomplish, whether parasitic control, or just extra clarity of your water. They should be set up as a loop, either off the main return, or sometimes a separate pump may be needed, depending on size. A flow meter would be ideal, also.

 

[Miami Reef]

Wow. The person who installed it just put the uv pump in the sump with the clean water going in the same area. It didn’t make sense to me how that would work

 

[Cole.mormon]

Or get an inline UV sterilizer that's what I have at Max's out of the flow rate of 750 gallons per hour and I've had no parasites help whatsoever in the algae still being managed

 

[slojim]

its a matter of how well-mixed your system is. If you have weak circulation, then you're probably right - you won't get enough out of the tank to make a difference, and your uv will be recycling water it already mostly cleaned once, losing efficacy. If you have really high flow, your water starts to look the same everywhere, and there will be new water at the UV suction by the time the old water exits, and that new water will be representative of what's in your tank. (This only applies to things that are in the water column - not critters crawling on the rocks)

 

[Jeffcb]

A loop in your sump works but is not as effective as a loop from sump to display tank.

I have 2 tanks and the both have loops in the sump. The section of the sump the UV is in turns over with display tank water very rapidly. I be leave they work quite effectively.

 

[mindme]

I think this is a matter of what you are expecting the UV light to do. That said, I don't think display tank or sump matters in any case, unless your sump is just getting way low flow.

I have a pump just for my UV. the pump is in my chamber with my skimmer, and the exit hose is in the refugium in the chamber after.

It's the flow and the size of the UV that matters and decided what you want to do. Your sump should turn over the water inside the tank multiple times per hour. You are never going to kill all the ich in your tank with a UV light if that is your goal. All you can do is manage the numbers in your tank to prevent outbreaks. And even with the turnover being multiple times per hour, it will still take a day or 2 for the algae in the water to clear up because it has to be each part that goes through, which takes time.

But as far as it being effective, sump or display doesn't matter unless for some reason you don't have enough flow to your sump.

 

[mindme]

A loop in your sump works but is not as effective as a loop from sump to display tank.

I have 2 tanks and the both have loops in the sump. The section of the sump the UV is in turns over with display tank water very rapidly. I be leave they work quite effectively.

Why would a loop from the display tank be any different than from the sump?

It's the same water.

 

[Potatohead]

Why would a loop from the display tank be any different than from the sump?

It's the same water.

Agree. A skimmer doesn't exactly return back to the display either...

As long as the water is not recirculating in the same chamber as the UV over and over again, the difference between display and sump is minimal, assuming what you're trying to kill is waterborne.