What UV Sterilizers Can Do For You! *Pics*

Adrya · #1 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 01:29 AM

Do you have a pond or some other type of watergarden? Or even a large fish tank? Are you sick of those huge microscopic algae blooms that turn your water green to the point that you can't enjoy the beauty of your fish? Well there's a solution for you...

Ultraviolet Sterilizers!

Different sizes and wattages and brands available wherever to suit your needs.

A good example of an algae bloom.... this is my own turtle pond, which unfortunately needed a new UV sterlizer. I just got a whole new UV unit instead of replacement bulbs for the UV units i currently had, because the bulbs, depending on the size and brand, can get QUITE expensive. And THIS is the worst possible algae bloom you can get, and this happened quite quickly. Yes, the water looks nasty... but only the algae makes it look that way.

Normally if the water isn't TOO green and more opaque green, the water will clear up in about 7 days.

So I bought a UV unit from Tetra. And the best way you can test a new UV's efficiency is to not change the water, but just leave it as it is and let the UV unit do the work. As bad as this green water was, it was going to take more than 7 days, even though the unit was designed for ponds up to 1800 gallons.

So hook up your pump to the inlet end of the UV unit, and hook up tubing to the outlet end and hook it up to your pond filter. Give the pond filter a good cleaning before running your UV unit. The dead algae and any harmful microbes will get zapped and filtered out.

Typically, the longer the UV chamber, the longer exposure the green water will have and get zapped.

DAY ONE

10-14 DAYS LATER...you can see the water is more opaque green and more clear

WEEK 3 TO POSSIBLY 4....the water is now clear and free of algae

Man..... when I discovered these units 5 years ago and tried them and saw how well they did, I couldn't live without them. These are now a must for any new ponds I make in the future.

There are ponds however that say clear without these as long as there are plenty of plants... but I even still needed one of these for my fish pond even though I had a ton of plants... just all depends on how much sun your pond gets and the right balance.

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NicoleRussell · #2 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 03:34 AM

are their any truth to the rumors that the animals in any contact with the device go blind from the UVS?

Adrya · #3 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 04:00 AM

If the UV bulb was exposed, yes it can cause eye damage... almost like.... looking at the sun. lol

The UV systems are completely concealed in a closed chamber that you cannot see into, so nothing can directly look at the bulb. They're completely safe. The bulb slides into a quartz glass "sleeve" or tube that is sealed and waterproof, and the UV can transmit through the quartz and do its part. The green water flows around and comes into contact with the quartz sleeve and the UV.

This is a diagram of the one that I am currently using. While it does have transparent connectors that the tubing hooks up to, the UV cannot come through it and you cannot directly look at the bulb. All that emits through the clear connectors is just the blue light from the bulb. The connectors are transparent so you can see that the bulb is working. Depending on how large diameter of tubing you're using, the majority of the clear connectors is covered up by black tubing, which is what I use.

But again, these are absolutely safe, and my unit is hidden in the bushes along with the filter and everything else. I have used these for 5 years with no problems.

NicoleRussell · #4 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 04:21 AM

I have always wondered about them...I'm thinking of reserecting my pool for the animals....would this help keep it cleaner?

Adrya · #5 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 05:42 AM

It would help keep it cleaner to an extent... but as for natural buildup and decay of leaves/plant matter and fish poo that creates pond "muck" on the bottom, that's something that would have to be vacuumed, scooped or sucked out with a pump or special filtering system with all kinds of gadgets to help keep it clean like skimmers, pond drains, filters, etc. The UV not only zaps the microscopic algae but it does eradicate most harmful microorganisms on the initial pass through the chamber. The only kind of algae it doesn't kill off is string algae or other clumps and different strains of algae, as it isn't free floating like the single cell algae. But the UV does help prevent disease outbreaks.

I hope that answered your question.

In what way are you gonna resurrect your pool?

NicoleRussell · #6 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 11:40 AM

I had a filtered lizard pool a while back and disesembled it...I was thinking of getting it back up and running.
I assume you would have to change the bulbs--to keep the uvr a a certain level..how do you know when that's required?

Adrya · #7 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 03:26 PM

They say to replace the bulbs every 6 months to 1 year or if the bulb burns out, but they generally have a really long life to them.

The UV I'm using for the fish pond is still working well and it's been 3 years now with no green water problems, and the bulb goes for 24/7, though I turn it off in the winter. The old ones I was using for the turtle pond were working up to 5 years, then burned out. You can replace the bulbs every 6mo to yearly if you want, but I like to use them til they burn out and for me they work good up until then.

I use a couple of these UV + Filter combinations (Fishmate brand) and they work very well, though the ones that I have don't have as much filter media as this model, but any of the models are awesome and it saves money by not having to purchase two seperate units, in my opinion.

Sleepy_FF · #8 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 04:20 PM

geeeeeeeeeeeze. thats some powerful stuff. thats awesome

Adrya · #9 (**permalink**) 08-26-2006, 05:49 PM

Oh yes, it IS awesome.

lol

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