diverter from canister to UV sterilizer

[Karlsbad]

I'd like to come up with a diverter valve for the output of a canister filter so I can run it through a UV sterilizer for a few hours a day and bypass it the rest of the time are there any valves like this for aquarium stuff out there?

[Karlsbad]

The thing is that I don't want anymore filtration than I have, and I want to run filtered water throught the UV unit, but not all the time, I think it would slow down my filter, I only want to run the UV a couple of hours a day.

[JSchmidt]

Easiest thing to do would be to put a T-joint in the return line, splitting the output into one line that goes straight back into the tank, the other thru the UV. A ball valve on the line going to the UV would allow you to control flow rate thru the UV.

UV units are of questionable value in most cases, and a UV operating only several hours a day is likely to have little, if any, impact on your tank. Adding this branch to your filter output shouldn't put any additional drag on the filter pump, so why not let the UV run 24/7 if you have to use it?

Jim