Will someone please tell me about these UVlight so many have mentioned.I've never seen yhem here in the backwoods of NB.
UVlights for pond
Below are two links. The first one is a commercial and home owner aquatics supplier which carries a wide rangeof UV's for pond use. It gives a good idea of the types available for your paticular situation. Usually if you already a pond with a pump and filter you would adding an "inline" UV. You would cut the water line after the pump and before the filter and install the UV there. The water passes through a lighted chamber, killing algae and some types of bacteria.
http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/listings.categories/ssid/382
The second link is a comprehensive article from a UK sight which gives a pretty in depth explanation of how they work and how to size them for your pond. UV's are expensive. Sizing is critical. Too low a wattage for the gph of your pump flow and all you will have is an exspensive night light for the pond water. Extreme oversizing and you are wasting money, however it is definitely better to go up some in wattage.
http://www.petsparade.co.uk/articles/?a=74
In my particular situation I have to 25 watt UV's in a Savio filter skimmer for 2000 gals at a flow rate of just under 3600 gph. I would absolutely not be without them. My pond is full sun. It can produce algae at a prodigious rate, even though I keep a good portion of the water shaded with lillies and lotus. One note of caution. UV's work on the green "pea soup" algae which turns the water green. They do not work on string algae. For that there are other strategies. My pond water is crystal clear.
We did allot of online research last Spring before investing in the UV we got. Go to azponds.com and check out what they offer.
I settled on the Smart UV sterilizer from Emperor Aquatics (25 watt with wiper), it was a bit more money but if you read up on the
Comparisons of basic or regular UV’s compared to emperors smart uv’s it seem money well spent, and boy does it work great!!
Hope this helps, defiantly read about emperors uv though and see what you think, Happy Ponding, Terry.
I should have added that the UV bulb itself usually needs to be replaced after about 12 months of continous use. Hence, they are an ongoing expense. The bulbs still produce light but not in the spectrum that is effective. Some manufacturere's say their bulb is good for 14 months. I have an 8 watt Aqua with wiper on a 75 gal planted blackwater tropical aquarium. This bulb lasts for 14 months. It works well. They also make pond size UV's.
rose-hip - I am going to look at the emperor. I am planning a new 125 gallon discus tank. This is a very touchy tank to maintain and any edge I can get I will gladly take! Usually UV manufacturers make UV's for both aquariums and ponds.
how often do you have to clean the bulbs. That is one drawback that I have heard about them. Too much maintenance.
If you get one with a built in wiper there is no maintenance at all, just a couple of swipes and that's it. Just takes seconds. Those without a wiper need cleaning from time to time. How often depends on the hardness of your water and how fast scale gets deposited on the quartz cover. I pull mine up monthly and wipe down the cover with Lime Off. The style UV used by the Savio skimmer filter don't need to be dissasembled to be cleaned. Probably takes me 15 minutes to do both. The inlines that you have to dissasemble to clean do take more time. In my opinion they are well worth the trouble. I have an inline with a wiper on an aquarium. When I replaced the bulb after a year of use I was quite surprised and pleased to find the quartz glass cover squeaky clean. The wipers do work on the Aqua UV's.
The UV light sound great. thanks so much for all your help.I'd love to have them but they are a little too rich for my blood.I'll stick with the barley pellets I used last summer.the fish have all survived the winter with the new pond heater.The wildlife in the neighbohood use my pond as their watering hole. I have some nursing mother squirrels who come first thing in the am for drink then up to my porch for peanuts.
Yup, they are costly. They can definitely put a dent in a budget and if the barley works I'd stay with that. I couldn't get my algae under control with barley. Fresh water, peanuts sounds like squirrel heaven!
I'm still holding out on the absolute need for a UV algae clearing. I started my pond up about two months ago and was told that it would take up to 8 weeks for the bio-filters to kick in and do their job. It's been a long 8 weeks for an impatient guy. (BTW - I find this DH or DW stuff to be a bit strange after almost 50 years of marriage. We kind'a do stuff together with certain specialities assumed a long time ago. We both found out early on that whatever is important to one should also be important to the other.)
Anyway, my pond is assuming its natural state in life without UV lights for now. I still have not resolved the pond pump issue as I've been busy with other things but the electricity must surely be running on OT. The water is not swimming pool clear but I really think that would not look natural, actually ugly. But I can see every pebble at the bottom of the pond and can easily follow the koi doing their thing way down deep.
Today my first lily opened up and I went to grab the camera but the blue of the flower is not reflected in the picture - too much sunlight. My pond is subject to the full fury of the sun and it's around 85 degrees out. So things are growing rapidly. The lilies are spreading out from nothing. I have all new plants in the pond. It seems to closer to the surface the earlier the blooms come out. I counted 7 buds on one plants. I didn't know that lilies close up in the evening and only show themselves to the sun.
Here's a shot of the water lily first bloom.
Fred
while I'm at it, here's a shot of the water
and my stream has taken on a new function as a creek full of rocks with lots of plants growing within it.
Fred that looks great!!! Your water is clearer than mine. I've just had the pump and UV light going for 3 days now. I saw one water lily bud today.
I have no idea how these plants will act without a winter to hold them back. I know January/February might make them think it's not nice to be out in the cold but it shouldn't really knock them back as the water will always be fairly warm from the winter sun.
I was just happy, happy to see flowers in the water. I love flowers but have always had to admire water lilies from a distance. To have my own is quite a thrill.
If anyone is interested in seeing my pond under development over the last three months, I have a link for each:
January: http://fredrump.phanfare.com/album/243022/323487#imageID=14391111
February: http://fredrump.phanfare.com/album/243024/323991#imageID=14408909
March: http://fredrump.phanfare.com/album/243025/324448#imageID=14434535
It's been quite a process and project. I wish I could start now knowing what I know but I guess that is par for the course. You need to do something before you really know how to do it right. :-)
Fred
fredrump - your water looks really good. I would definitely hold off on the UV. The first year learning curve is a doosie isn't it!
And that stream is something to be envied!
Interesting to hear all your opinions.I thinl the barley pellets are ok up here in the north
I could see the fish and the bootom of the pond but the water was tea colored.I still have the pond heater going to keep some open water for my wild buddies. they like a drink in the AM. If I lived down south and pond was year round I'd be more willing to invest in some of these IV controls
agedgardener I still have my pond deicers/heaters in too. The weather forcast says that I will pluging them in back in tomorrow night and they will have to run for about a week. Bummer.
check lowes I got an 18watt the other day for 56.00 on clearance the box was just sun bleached