Should I run the entire system thru UV?

[1percula]

I have a 100 gallon tank. I picked up a 57 watt Aqua UV that produces more than enough radiation to kill ICH at 100 GPH according to every chart that I have seen. I understand that the UV will kill everything in the water column, provided the system cycles itself fast enough. If I am using trace elements can I make up for what the UV kills?

I was thinking of sending all of the return water thru the UV, or should I setup a separate pump for the UV in order to preserve some of the micro life in the water column?

 

[skriz]

UV will not deplete your trace elements. You ideally want a 1x turnover through your uv.

I like using a seperate pump to make maintenance easier. When you need to change the bulb or clean the unit, you won't have to shut down your entire system.

 

[dakota9]

Separate

Water needs to run slow through the UV. Too slow for a return.

 

[fish scales2]

At 100 gph you will be hitting something like 900,000 uw/cm2. I think you are looking for something like 145,000 uw/cm2. You should consider at least 640gph flowing through the uv to achieve 150,000. The 57 watt is rated for a 355 gal system. I do think this a great sixe for your tank though, you might just need more flow or you are likely to destroy a good bit a biological bacteria. If the system has been set up for sometime than you might see some negative effects. Consider high flow in the beggining and ramp down to 500gph over a several month period of time. I also turn uv off when feeding time and night.

 

[fish scales2]

To me the biggest benefit of running UV is the fact that your water is so much cleaner and the fish seem to be much healthier thus suppressing the ich. UV still will only kill what passes through it.

 

[mojo]

Fish Scales2;440244 wrote: To me the biggest benefit of running UV is the fact that your water is so much cleaner and the fish seem to be much healthier thus suppressing the ich. UV still will only kill what passes through it.

I think they're referring to my