Clear water or purified pond water is obtained by using an Ultra Violet Clarifier

This is a 250 word (approx) summary of a chapter from my water gardens book. For a complete list of summaries see the right hand column

Concepts:

pond, water, algae, fish, lamp, quartz tube, clean, watts, install, algae cells, biofilter, dead algae, garden ponds, chemicals, control.

Summary:

- Clear water as distinct from clean or purified water is obtained by using an Ultra Violet Clarifier (UV for short).

- These pond products have been one of the best inventions ever for the pond keeper but surprisingly only a very small percentage of pond keepers in South Africa know of their existence.

- Under these circumstances it becomes impossible to see below about 2 cm from the pond surface.

- In general the fish do not mind too much but the owner of the fish certainly does.

- Draining the pond and filling with fresh water rectifies the problem only for a very short space of time - until the algae colonies build up again.

- As the water passes through the quartz tube inside the UV unit the ultra violet radiation from the lamp (acting like very powerful sunlight) bombards the algae cells, which are suspended in the water flow.

- This is why the power (watts) of the unit chosen must be matched to your pond size.

- If you are not sure go one size bigger.

- So efficient is the combination of a good biofilter and an UV that most suppliers will guarantee crystal clear water when its correctly specified products are used.

- If your pond is highly stocked you may need to install a larger UV than you think especially in South Africa where we have so much sunlight.

- If your pond remains green after installing a new lamp then remove the quartz tube and clean it to allow maximum UV intensity through the quartz tube.