A little Algae/UV info

16 years ago

Does anyone know a good spot we can point to as an answer to the standard UV / algae question? I have one, but I can't mention it since I own a business. Please let me and anyone else interested know.

Basically as many have said for hundreds of posts, there is so much difference b/w string, carpet, and green water algae. When dealing with Ultra Violet lights, you must know these differences and wattage/flow numbers.

Carpet algae is healthy! Don't scrub your pond to the black! Have you seen the posts about bio boosts, you just killed a lot of what you paid for. Bio filters carry a lot, but the patina is where it lives too. As long as it isn't really long leave it alone.

String algae isn't a huge negative either, short of appearance. Barley is a great inhibitor, not an algae-cide! If you don't have that bale in a month or more before the season starts it won't help (bales must break down to be effective). Extract or pellets work much quicker and are easier to use. Otherwise there are decent topical treatments or just old fashioned brushes get removal done.

Pea Soup is the only thing that UVs handle. If you still have green water after you use a UV, either the flow or wattage is off OR the UV is faulty. I would refer Savio to any person and have sold/installed their products for a few years. That being said they have had issues with their skimmer UVs. (reference to frustrated with savio and other posts) Just replacing the bulb doesn't always work, the transformer has been the source of much the their issues. They have a new unit that we have had success with recently, Uvinex is its new name I believe. Just remember, every company has praise and ridicule, their products are great on a whole.

If you're done with UVs, the only answer is more plants for filtration, competition, and shade, OR treatment. But that is a whole other post. Good Luck and I hope this brief snapshot of algae and UVs helps.

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Comments (4)

ccoombs1
16 years ago
I partially agree with you. Algae is present if conditions are right for it. Algae needs sunlight and nutrients. If you shade the pond, algae has a harder time growing but it can still grow. If you have more nutrients in the pond than the bio-filter can handle, the result is food for the algae. Food is provided in several ways. Overstocking means too much fish poo and algae loves that. Feeding too much also means excess nutrients for the algae. Mulm build-up on the pond bottom is probably one of the biggest offenders. So to really eliminate algae, make sure you are not feeding it. Keep the pond bottom clean of all mulm. Don't overfeed and don't overstock, and most importantly add bio-filtration (not plants). I know MANY people who are keeping large healthy koi ponds using their UV lights for only a short period in the spring while the Biofilter is getting up to speed. Once the bio-filter is going well, the UVs are shut off for the rest of the season. My own pond is a good example. I have 9000 gallons and feed 40 pounds of high quality koi food every 5 weeks. I use my two 57 watt UVs for a short period in the early summer, and occasionally if the water temperatures get high for extended periods. Other than that, I don't need them.
larryl
16 years ago
Business is business. They need to make money to stay in business. They make money by selling stuff. The more they sell the more money they make. They will recommend UV lights, barley straw, bacteria, fancy filters, and mysterious enzymes because they make money on these things. If you have lots of unneeded money, have fun shopping. But if you don't have money to burn, try adding plants. Plants are cheaper and will work well to control algae. They look good and can be obtained locally. You can often get some from other ponders. I kind of enjoy watching my plants grow.
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Is that four feet wide or tall? Either way though, a single bulb is NOT too much light (not enough, actually), so that is not causing the algae. The only other thing I can think of is that some or all of the plants you bought had a lot of residual fertilizers in the soil in the pot, and that these are now floating around in your water, providing the algae with food. Did you rinse the plants well before adding them to the tank? If this is the case, then add more plants to help use up the nutrients, and do lots of water changes (as in, 50% daily) until your water is clear. I know it's a lot of work, but when you've put so much effort into a tank, you don't want to just tear it down and start over! I really hope you can find something that works! Oh yeah, I just thought of something else. It might not be algae at all, but something called cyanobacteria. This stuff looks exactly like algae, but it's actually a bacteria, and standard algae treatments won't work on it at all. Is it very thick and slimy, and will it peel off in layers quite easily? Or is your water just generally cloudy and pea-soup-like?
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youreit
16 years ago
This is addressed in the FAQ section (link below), but you explained it all very well, Watershaper. It's also been addressed MANY times in posts-gone-by, but most new folks must be too panicked to search or check the FAQs.

One other thing to add, albeit not at the top of the list, is aeration. There are perfectly clear ponds with no water movement at all, but aeration is something to consider, if necessary.

Plants are the #1 option, in my opinion...that is, after the usual time frame has passed when a pond should be allowed to "season" itself. People are so used to quick fixes these days that many won't hesitate to start adding bottled conconctions, when none might not be needed.

I'll be clipping your post, WS, and with your permission, as well as my patience (:D), I'll quote it when newbies require. :)

Brenda

Here is a link that might be useful: What do I do about algae or green water or string algae? FAQ
watershaper
Original Author
16 years ago
I agree with everyone. I do a lot of maintenance and I would guess 70% of the algae issues (in my specific jobs) are caused by overstocking fish and overfeeding. Aeration is huge, especially is you want more fish than what is recommended, and often overlooked. And larryl, yeah there are some pond business people that push product to sell, and I'll agree that keeping it as natural as possible is the best route. But not all ponds work out that way number one and secondly don't group us all together. Yeah a lot of...say used car dealers that sell lemons, but not all of them do. I'm sorry if you've had a bad experience, but don't lump us all together.

Ccoombs1 is right, we suggest UV and treatment for the first part of the season because the larger plants take longer to get established. The rest of the season should get balanced out from larger plants. We suggest full-time UVs for those customers that don't want to get so involved with the plants and testing. Plants, fish/feeding, aeration, thats the way to do it, no question. Thanks for the link and your infomation.

A little Algae/UV info

Comments (4)

ccoombs1

larryl

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A little Algae/UV info

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ccoombs1

larryl

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watershaperOriginal Author

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