Green water - UV light problem?

[Bootfit]

Hello all

I've got an Oasis Clear Pond 25 thats been running great for about 3 years now. Over the winter we turned off the UV as there didn't seem to be much point to it during the winter months.

We had a brief spell of really sunny weather in March (about 7 days) and as expected the water developed a layer of green bubbles/slime, so the UV went back on straight away. Unfortunatly it stayed green so I decided to check the UV bulb which did light up but was very dim (is this normal?). I bought a new one online and checked it before installing it - again it was very dim but don't know if this is normal or not (should a new UV bulb be bright??)

So my questions are: Should UV bulbs be bright when first installed? and where would you recommend I buy a replacement bulb (G25-T8 (25Watt 120V) UV) online?

thanks all

 

[Waterbug]

Dim is a relative term so I can't answer that. However, there is no way to "see" how much UV a bulb is putting off. Most people just buy a new bulb once a year and hope for the best. Which is OK since UV normally only has to be run for a week or two and then bacteria can kill algae as they appear keeping water clear for years without a UV. But some ponds do need UV 24/7.

water developed a layer of green bubbles/slime

To me that doesn't sound like the kind of algae a UV would kill.

 

[Telkwa]

For one thing, don't look at the UV light. Not good for your eyes. And yes, they're not very bright. Of course, that's relative. Ours is fairly small, and I think it's maybe only 8 watts? Yours is more powerful. I put our little UV light back in the system yesterday. After dark, the dim blue glow could be seen from several yards away but during the daylight you had to walk right up to it.

 

[koiguy1969]

i ran my U.V no more than 10 days a year...went atleast 5 years on a bulb their generally good for 8 months continuous use. then they start to loose their kick at 11 months its time for a new bulb...