The sure fire way to achieve clean pond water that is crystal clear and free from suspended green algae is to use a biological filter and ultraviolet clarifier. Although UV clarifiers and biological filters are available as separate units, it makes far more sense to use what is known as a UVC biofilter. This piece of water gardening equipment combines biological filtration and ultra violet clarification in a single unit.
The combination of the two units will often save you money and because the units have been designed to work together you will no longer need to worry about incompatibility issues, guaranteed!
The golden rule of pond keeping is to always go bigger if in doubt about the size of equipment needed. The same applies to the choice of UVC filter. Using a model that has say 8 watts of power instead of 4 watts will only ensure quicker destruction of the algae cells. This combined with a high surface area biomedia such as Supra (Alfagrog in the UK) and plenty of oxygen will guarantee healthy, ammonia and green algae free water.
On the other hand choosing a UV light that is inadequate for the size of your pool, the level of sunlight, the number of fish stocked will result in inadequate UV clarification and the development of algae blooms. Algae blooms use up substantial amounts of oxygen and produce high levels of oxygen at night time. Excessive algae blooms have been known to cause the death of expensive Koi and other aquatic fish by suffocation, due to lack of oxygen and excessive carbon dioxide.
A UVC Sterilizer Is Not the Same as A UVC Clarifier
I would like to clear something up for those of you who are new to water gardening. A UV clarifier is also commonly known as a UV sterilizer. They are different products altogether. A UV sterilizer sterilizes the water, killing pathogens and other water borne bacteria as well as using ultraviolet light to destroy algae cells, whereas a UV clarifier does not sterilize the water but has been designed solely to kill green algae using UV light. Ultraviolet sterilizers are normally used in large Koi ponds and tend to be much more expensive.
Factors Affecting UV Wattage Required To Achieve Clear Water
* The higher the number of fish living in your garden pond the higher the wattage of the UV unit needed.
* If your pool is situated in a sunny area and not in the shade then you will need more UV wattage; increased sun equals increased levels of floating algae.
* The deeper your fish-pond, the cooler the water temperature will be. Cooler water requires less UV light in order to destroy floating algae.
* If you have a small fishpond then you will only need a low powered UV clarifier.
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly!
There are several algae types commonly found in fish ponds. Some are much more easily controlled than others, whilst others are actually beneficial to your Koi and goldfish.
The good algae are the small algae that you commonly see attached to nearly every available surface in the pool, including pumps, piping and the side walls. This algae type is fairly small and grows to about half an inch long and acts as a tasty snack for fish.
The bad algae are the filamentous string algae varieties, such as blanket weed, which can grow rapidly and reach several feet in length. Once colonized it is very difficult to eradicate totally and will often need to be removed with a rake or stiff brush. Barley straw products are often used to inhibit the development of this particular pest.
The ugly algae are the floating green algae, also known as planktonic algae. A single algae cell only measures 4 microns in size but in vast numbers your water becomes cloudy and often becomes quite smelly. This floating algae variety is particularly deadly at night time, when it uses the oxygen in the water and produces carbon dioxide. Severe carbon dioxide spikes often cause the death of fish due to suffocation. A combined UV biofilter is the best option for the majority of water gardeners looking to control floating green algae.
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