ULTRA VIOLET LIGHT Clarifiers (UV's for short)
2. ULTRA VIOLET LIGHT Clarifiers (UV's for short) ........The one single piece of pond equipment that will improve the year round appearance of any water outdoor feature more than anything else is the UV light. Sometimes called an Ultra Violet sterilzer (even UV filter - it is not a filter of any kind).
It does only one job:
- It kills suspended algae in any pond system.
- It works every time without fail so long as specified properly.
All that has to be done to make sure it continues to work year in and year out is to change the UV lamp every 8,000 hours or so (about every year). Here is basic information about UV light and what it does:
Algae are plants and therefore need food and oxygen and sunlight to grow and survive. Like most of us the more food, the more oxygen and the more sunlight the better and bigger the algae grow. In the right conditions the algae grow at an explosive rate - 30 times per hour!!
The usual problem encountered is that of green water sometimes brown which does not go clear and even after changing the water the algae re-appears very quickly and this happens even if you have a filter installed perhaps. Green/brown cloudy water is normally caused by these millions of algae remaining suspended in the water. Each algae is about 4 microns in diameter (1 micron is 1 millionth of a metre or very very very small). A filter cannot remove such small items.
Algae growth is most common in ponds where conditions are most suited to their requirements - lots of fish being fed lots of food, warm water as it is in summer, and strong sunlight. When a pond is badly infected by green water then your fish can all suddenly die and this happens overnight normally.
The reason is again simple and is because algae are plants ... they produce oxygen during the day but they produce carbon dioxide at night by taking oxygen out of the water. Algae in large mass can totally deplete the oxygen from a pond.
The fish therefore suffocate. This is also very much more common in heat wave situations because at higher temperatures water can hold less oxygen anyway. To discover more and also learn how to specify the correct UV go to this site to learn a lot about garden ponds and algae and how to resolve the problems created permanently.
3. Importance of PIPE DIAMETER and PIPE LENGTH for a pond ...
Hopefully you have decided to download the free calculator from Free pond calculator page By inserting different values for length and diameter you will see amazing impacts upon pump specification. You might find it difficult to believe but using small diameter pipes (especially long lengths) can reduce your pump flow to a trickle. Pipe diameter has a bigger impact than pipe length im most cases.
Always use the biggest diameter pipe you can and always have the shortest length,In future Gazettes we will talk a lot about pumps and pumping systems because this is the source of live-giving oxygen to your fish and plants as well as your biofilter's bacteria.
In meantime consider going to our comprehensive pond pumps site covering all you need to know about pond pumps and their uses. Where there is a large amount of information on pump selection.
QUICK TIPS QUICK TIPS QUICK TIPS QUICK TIPS
Today's quick tips - all these will be explained in future editions .......................
A. Never switch off your pond pump for more than about 60 minutes if you keep fish.
B. The main reason for a biofilter in a pond is NOT to filter the water. It is to purify the water by removing offending chemicals. These chemicals are actually produced by the fish themselves by virtue of their normal breathing, eating and toilet behaviour.
C. Do not buy fish food with more than 10% ash in it unless you know why. Read the label. Fish food in stick form is normally money wasted and offers no real benefit to the fish. If no label BE CAREFUL of quality.
D. Make sure the delivery pipe from the pump is not kinked or is being restricted by a build up of algae inside the pipe. New articles published on our web site ...............
In case you are not aware of the articles we publish by leading experts in the water gardening field take a look at one of our main sites which covers all kinds of topics related to water gardening where you will see the list.
Peter May, one of the leading UK contributors, is just starting his own website and maybe you would like to see what he has to say there. This is his web address where you will find the details: of the Perfect Pond Detective He would appreciate your visit.
Peter is a real expert in the practice of water gardening. He even dug all his own holes for many years. He offers consulting services and does talks at very modest rates throughout the UK.
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Important Fish Pond & Water Garden Articles to View... - Learn how to choose a fish pond pump ... pond pumps circulate oxygen enriched water to keep fish and pond filter bacteria alive. Fish pond filters make sure water gardens remain clean and healthy for you and the pond fish. Learn how to choose a UV light for your fish pond... UV sterilizers make sure backyard ponds remain crystal clear and green algae free. Water garden plants help to keep garden ponds in balance by removing nutrients on which pond algae feed. Most fish ponds and water gardens are built from flexible pond liner. If your fish pond ever suffers from blanketweed this is the page to view.
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