8 foot Wild Tank and Sump plus Water Changes

[JBurgo]

You should turn the UV off if you are not circulation water through it when doing a WC. It's really hard on them!

Thanks for the warning Neptune. I'm planning my plumbing now. I'm thinking of installing the UV unit on an angle to prevent unpurged air causing a cavity.

I also bought a Variable Area Flow Meter which I'll run in line with it to make sure it's getting good flow, that has to be installed vertically.

Just before the Return, I'll install a 3 Way Valve to divert the Return Flow directly back into the sump so that when I'm doing a WC or maintenance, I can make a loop through the sterilizer to keep it cooler. I can crack the Vectra back quite easily from the master control so it's not smashing through.

The model of the UV sterilizer is: Emperor Aquatics 40 Watt Smart UV EU40-230
If anyone's interested, they have them on special at the moment at Salty Supply.

The variable area flow meter I bought off ebay from a surplus distributor selling off unused equipment.
variable flow meter.jpg Georg Fischer SK73 Variable Area Flow Meter - 198 803 319 d32 DN25

[JBurgo]

I made a flow chart of my intentions for the installation of the UV sterilizer. I don't want to overdo it, but I think I might need more Check Valves to prevent backflows. Opinions?

I also made an enquiry to Pentair Aquatics about the installation of the UV Sterilizer, I'll report back any information:

I am currently installing a Emperor Aquatics Smart UV 40W 02040. I am aware that turning the bulb off and on repeatedly will shorten the lifespan of the bulb. Considering that I do large water changes 2x a week, I want to avoid continually turning it off and on. I am aware that the product needs to maintain some flow while it's switched on, and will likely overheat if it were to be full of water but have no flow during water changes. I'm rigging a diversion with a closed loop through the sump to maintain some flow through the product during this time. I would like to know what the minimum flow rate, and minimum water volume for the closed loop are, in order to not overheat the product. Also knowing the projected temperature that this minimum volume and flow rate ought to develop could be helpful. I can't find this sort of information anywhere. Thanks.

Flow chart.jpg

[farebox]

I have the same UV unit for my 125G tank, I do turn my return pump off 2 x daily for feeding, so the UV will be off too. I don't how this effects the unit in the long run. I change the bulb every 13 months as recommended, 50% WC's 3 x wkly. Also Purigen media reactor installed. I do negative water testing just gauge water quality on how my discus are doing= some very happy and healthy fellas. Love your design for your sump and very best when it all is up running on your tank, peace out. P.S. Just an reminder, this UV unit is a monster, a large piece of hardware.

[JBurgo]

It's the life of the globe that would be being affected by switching on and off. I've seen your system on your video Roland, your tank is definitely clean and your fish look happy mate . Our sterilizers are rated to 1000L, I think you're using yours as the entire return, is that correct? I wonder what the bulb life is when you're oversizing it like we both are, probably stretches it even longer, but it would be good to see the actual deterioration graphs.

I went for the 40W standard unit instead of the 40W lite unit (rated same as my tank at 600L) because they're the same except for the housing, and my intention is to keep the unit cool during WCs, the ongoing costs will be the same. And there were a few problems with the Lite versions burning out the PSUs in the reviews, could be from the extra heat.

Even BRS oversized their unit on their YouTube, so they could run it back into their sump and avoid flow rate measuring issues from merging it with their main return line. This decreases the efficiency of the unit by 1/3. Personally, I think it would have been more beneficial for their audience if they just solved the problems, obviously money's not an issue for them.

I have an 8 foot tank, so mine will definitely get under the cabinet, but I'm waiting for it to arrive to decide exactly how, because I store all the other WC things under there. I'm sure you could hide yours if you were motivated to.

[Ryan925]

I made a flow chart of my intentions for the installation of the UV sterilizer. I don't want to overdo it, but I think I might need more Check Valves to prevent backflows. Opinions?

I also made an enquiry to Pentair Aquatics about the installation of the UV Sterilizer, I'll report back any information:

I am currently installing a Emperor Aquatics Smart UV 40W 02040. I am aware that turning the bulb off and on repeatedly will shorten the lifespan of the bulb. Considering that I do large water changes 2x a week, I want to avoid continually turning it off and on. I am aware that the product needs to maintain some flow while it's switched on, and will likely overheat if it were to be full of water but have no flow during water changes. I'm rigging a diversion with a closed loop through the sump to maintain some flow through the product during this time. I would like to know what the minimum flow rate, and minimum water volume for the closed loop are, in order to not overheat the product. Also knowing the projected temperature that this minimum volume and flow rate ought to develop could be helpful. I can't find this sort of information anywhere. Thanks.

Flow chart.jpg

I don't sew why turning it off a couple times per week will hurt the bulb. Uv bulbs tend to lose efficiency after about 12-18 months whether the bulb is burnt out or not.

I am going with an aqua ultraviolet unit because they are designed to accept much higher flow rates that way the entire return volume can be run through the sterilizer without tons of valves and tees and things like that.

[JBurgo]

I don't sew why turning it off a couple times per week will hurt the bulb. Uv bulbs tend to lose efficiency after about 12-18 months whether the bulb is burnt out or not.

I am going with an aqua ultraviolet unit because they are designed to accept much higher flow rates that way the entire return volume can be run through the sterilizer without tons of valves and tees and things like that.

If a product is showing much higher flow rates with the same wattage bulb and a similar sized unit.. I think it's pretty obvious it's not going to be doing as efficient a job at that flow rate. The Aqua Ultraviolet 40W unit has a flow rate recommendation of 3660Lph as their suggested maximum. By that recommendation, I could use the same flow rate on the Emperor Aquatics unit, and get the same results. The Water Flow Rate on the Emperor Aquatics unit for Protozoa is 180,000 µWs/cm² whereas the suggested maximum for the Aqua Ultraviolet unit is 90,000 µWs/cm².

[JBurgo]

Also, if you look up the Koi world where they literally see their UV sterilizers effects. I've read on their forums that turning your UV sterilizer off and on once a day will halve the life of their globes. That's substantial enough for me to avoid regularly doing that IMO.

[JBurgo]

Here's a picture of the 10 micron filter sock around the 100 micron sock. Still experimental. I had it running for 2 days just hanging loosely in place, but it began to overflow. So I've secured it to the sock holder better, so it's raised properly. Maybe I'll get 3 or 4 days out of it that way? It did collect a decent film that passed through the 100, and it was really easy to clean out. Seems like a very solid product.

I've also introduced about 1/2 a cup of Rox 0.8 in a Purigen bag, which is 1/2 the recommended dose for my tank volume. I'm looking for a neat way to lock the open end shut using an entirely plastic clip of some kind. I want to lie the bag flat across the filter flow.

double bagged.jpg

[JBurgo]

Just want to share a few photos, bit sick of posting sumps :
D1.jpgD2.jpgD3.jpgD4.jpg

[Jack L]

1st pick is great

[JBurgo]

Thanks Jack, I didn't really get the shot I wanted. I've been thinking about getting some pics of the Nhamunda Maracana Blue (second picture), and I liked him next to the Alenquer Cuipeua. But I just missed the shot unfortunately, or it didn't line up as I wanted. The Blue has come such a long way and is really starting to colour up. When I got him he was so damaged, black as a piece of burnt toast with slime coming off him, I never would've guessed what he'd look like. He's turned out to be such an unusual looking fish. Those photos are untouched either, straight out of the camera, usually I at least crop.

[DatDiscusDude]

Thanks Jack, I didn't really get the shot I wanted. I've been thinking about getting some pics of the Nhamunda Maracana Blue (second picture), and I liked him next to the Alenquer Cuipeua. But I just missed the shot unfortunately, or it didn't line up as I wanted. The Blue has come such a long way and is really starting to colour up. When I got him he was so damaged, black as a piece of burnt toast with slime coming off him, I never would've guessed what he'd look like. He's turned out to be such an unusual looking fish. Those photos are untouched either, straight out of the camera, usually I at least crop.

I was curious about the 2nd pic and his odd shape and look. Sounds like he had a rough start and you saved him. I guess he will never win any shows but makes an unusual addition to the tank. Good for you giving him a fighting chance!

You got some butes in there!

[Clawhammer]

Its clear all the hard work is paying off, amazing tank and great looking wild discus!

[JBurgo]

I was curious about the 2nd pic and his odd shape and look. Sounds like he had a rough start and you saved him. I guess he will never win any shows but makes an unusual addition to the tank. Good for you giving him a fighting chance!

You got some butes in there!

Thanks for the nice comments guys. Here's the earliest picture I could find of him. This is a few days in my tank where he's starting to show a little colour. You can't see how thin he was in this picture either though. I wish I was more aware of getting some photos when I first got them, it would be good to show where they came from. I have some bits and pieces, but nothing comprehensive unfortunately. I was possibly embarrassed with myself for even purchasing them in that condition, not sure. I do know I had my fingers crossed for a few months there.

arrival.jpg

[JBurgo]

I've been doing the double bagged thing for a while now. And it's awesome what it does. I get a film on the 10 micron bag that clogs after about a day and a 1/2. The film stinks, it has that `nasty old fish tank water smell`. That stink isn't going through my sump or into my Rox 0.8, Purigen or Bio!

My water was previously clean, but you all know what Discus smell like.. I knew when my arms had been in the water. That smell has gone now.. but adding carbon has no doubt contributed to that, although smelling that film, the 10 micron bag has to be making an impact as well.

The problem is that about 1/2 the surface area of the bag is pushing against the glass because it's jammed into such a small place. With the full surface area exposed it would last 2 days without question.

I need to either make another sump, (which would allow me to solve some other minor issues, like `better removal of media for cleaning`) or make an extension to the sump with a couple of bulkheads, where I would split the sump into `mechanical` and `bio` sections. Remember, I have a lot of plumbing to do in the near future, so making another sump while I'm at it.. it's a reasonable time to be thinking about it.

My intention now is to mount the socks in such a way as to be able to remove them with no fuss or interruption to the flow as I've seen in some other sumps. The problem I face is that the DudaDiesel sock has a metal ring and doesn't insert into a hole like other aquarium socks. I'm up for ideas on how I could mount it to accept flow in that way. Or another option for purchasing them. 10 micron is far removed from normal aquarium usage.

double bagged.jpg