UV Clarifier

[Andins]

Hi I need a little help... my pond is so green. I purchased a uv clarifier 2 years ago and it was awesome! This year it does not seem to be doing the trick... Its been almost 3 weeks and the pond is still green. Someone told me the bulb needs to be changed yearly. I have never heard that before. Does anyone know if this is true? I do not want any chemicals in the pond but I don't want it green.... help please...

 

[sissy]

bulbs don't last that long .You may need a new one .

 

[capewind]

Unless it is one of the more expensive units (with more expensive bulbs) the general rule of thumb is you get good use of the bulb for one year, and then the effeciency isnt worth the electricity needed to power it ,,,

 

[dieselplower]

Agree with the others.

 

[koiguy1969]

Hi I need a little help... my pond is so green. I purchased a uv clarifier 2 years ago and it was awesome! This year it does not seem to be doing the trick... Its been almost 3 weeks and the pond is still green. Someone told me the bulb needs to be changed yearly. I have never heard that before. Does anyone know if this is true? I do not want any chemicals in the pond but I don't want it green.... help please...

this rule of thumb of yearly bulb replacement only applies if you use the U.V all year. an older style U.V bulb lasts about 11 months. and starts losing its effectiveness at about 8 months of use. i use my U.V about 2 weeks a year. i've used the same bulb (old style) 6 years and it still works. now the newer style bulbs claim to last twice as long. but fit the same units and sockets as the old bulbs. the unit doesnt matter, its just the bulb. once the green water is gone there isnt really a need to run the U.V any longer. i disconnect mine clean it and put it away till the next year. now you should clean the U.V unit every year regardless if the bulb needs replacing. there is a glass tube that guards your bulb. if it gets a dity film on it, it can minimize the units effectiveness. this tube should be made of quartz glass. some cheaper units use regular glass.... regular glass does not allow the full range of the u.v light spectrum given to permiate.
** my little 9 watt Tetrapond U.V will clear my water in 3 - 5 days. i run the unit for an extra week. and its done for the year.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

Koiguy is right, there shouldn't be any need to run a UV light 24/7, although I know there are people who do. Think of it like a bathroom fan, you just turn it on when you need it, you wouldn't run it for a year straight.
The benefits are two fold, you use less electricity, and you save the life of your bulb, or fan, as the case may be. If you just run the UV light when you need it, the bulb could last you 30 years or more.

 

[capewind]

I agree with the above posts with the EXCEPTION that one needs to decide if they are running a UV as a CLARIFIER, a STERILIZER, or somewhere in between. We run ours 24/7 as being part of the "in between camp" ...

AND while both bulbs (old and new) are still available, my observation in store is most people dont know the difference between the bulbs, and just grab the cheapest, not looking if it is a 2,000 hr or a 10,000 hr life span on the bulb ...

 

[koiguy1969]

you are correct capewind, in that use as a sterilizer requires full time operation to maintain its benefit. but use as a sterilizer is also to kill bacteria, parasites, protozoans, etc... requiring higher watts and/or slower flow rates

 

[capewind]

My introduction to UV was with marine aquariums, and had no idea that some ponders only used them part time, just for algae, until joining this group. Until I was helping with getting supplies for the current client pond dig, I didnt even know there was much of a difference between brands. I got "scolded" for telling hubby the local pond center had Laguna's on sale .. He has tunnel vision and likes the Aquatics Smart UV's by Emperor ,,, Ours runs 24/7 (not on now, need a new bulb), but was temp plumbed via raw water (reduces effeciency) and is near the max flow rating (again reducing effeciency) ... While ours SHOULD have a prefilter, he doesnt want it "in line" with the main filter. Im going to screw up his explaination, but in a nut shell it was along the lines of basically keeping things in check, and not wiping out everything, if that made sense.

 

[Mucky_Waters]

I use mine as a sterilizer too, but only part time as well. I turn it one for a few days whenever I stir up the pond for any reason, or whenever the pond water temperature is cold enough that the fish's immunity may be compromised, but warm enough that parasites, and other bad guys, may still be active (early spring, late fall). I don't run it through the summer, or in the dead of winter, although I have had thoughts that running it through the winter might not be a bad idea.
But If you don't have enough wattage vs flow to run as a sterilizer, and your water isn't green, I don't think there is any point in running it???

 

[bean6924]

How does everyone feel about integrated UV systems in skimmers and filters? I'm specifically considering the Compact Savio Skimmer with UV OR the Nexus Easy Pod with UV. I like the fact it's contained in one contraption, but I wonder about effectiveness.

 

[shanezam203]

Hi I need a little help... my pond is so green. I purchased a uv clarifier 2 years ago and it was awesome! This year it does not seem to be doing the trick... Its been almost 3 weeks and the pond is still green. Someone told me the bulb needs to be changed yearly. I have never heard that before. Does anyone know if this is true? I do not want any chemicals in the pond but I don't want it green.... help please...

I just got a UV filter and it is not cleaning mine up as much as I thought it would. it is my 1st spring, so I am giving it time and cleaning the filters daily.

 

[dieselplower]

I just got a UV filter and it is not cleaning mine up as much as I thought it would. it is my 1st spring, so I am giving it time and cleaning the filters daily.

A UV "filter" is more of a purifier or clarifyier than a filter. The light does not actually filter anything. What is does do is kill things, which can then be filtered out. We would need to know a lot more detail about your pond, stocking level, and current filtration to really offer any help.