Do I need a UV Filtration system for my pond? Benjamin – Dover, DE
Make Your Green Water Head Towards The Light
Spring is in full effect, the sun is shining, trees everywhere are in bloom, but now your pond water is as green as the grass that surrounds it. The water in your pond may have started off crystal clear this season but was it too good to last? Here at The Pond Guy we think not! If you can’t seem to gain the upper hand in your fight against green water it may be time to break out your secret weapon, a UV clarifier.
Some of you may be scratching your head at the idea of exposing your pond to even more light, but the truth is, when properly implemented, a UV bulb can work wonders on improving your pond’s water quality. The principal behind UV clarification is simple; expose algae to concentrated UV rays to damage and ultimately kill the plant. The trick to getting the best results from your UV clarifier is to pick a bulb that has a high enough wattage for your ponds volume and to pump the water past the bulb at just the right flow rate. All UV clarifiers are rated based on pond size. The larger the wattage, the larger the pond size the UV clarifier can handle. The other factor to take note of is the pump size. Pushing water past the UV light too fast can render it ineffective while pushing the water too slow can cause the UV Clarifier to act like a sterilizer, killing not only algae, but your beneficial bacteria as well. A great rule of thumb here is to push the water approximately half of what the UV is rated per hour. For the Tetra 9-Watt UV Clarifier that is rated for ponds up to 1,800 gallons a 900 GPH (gallons per hour) pump would be ideal.
The continued success of UV clarification has brought about many new styles of UV units; if you are currently building a pond consider purchasing a skimmer like the Savio Standard Skimmer which comes with optional built in UV. If your pond has been up and running for years you can use a Tetra Green Free UV Clarifier which installs in line with your plumbing, or the PondMaster Submersible UV Clarifier which can be plumbed in-line or submerged directly in the pond. There are even Pressurized Filters like the FishMate Pressure Filter 2,000 that come with a built in UV clarifier. Each type of UV is available in multiple wattages to best fit your specific needs.
While a UV clarifier can work wonders on your water garden it is only a patch to the real issue. Make sure you are properly maintaining your pond, using an adequate amount of filtration, and utilizing your bacteria products in your DefensePAC.
If you are unsure on How To Create A Balanced Environment for your water feature, or need to brush up on your Filtration Basics you can learn tons of tricks and tips on our Blog page.
Pond Talk: Which type of UV clarifier do you use in your pond? Has it made the difference between a pond full of “pea soup” and a crystal clear water garden?
Filed under: Pea-Green Algae, Pressurized Filtration, Uncategorized, UV Filter, Water Gardens & Features, Water Quality Issues | Tagged: green water, pressure filter, UV Clarifier, UV Filtration | 2 Comments »
