If you own a garden pond then I am willing to bet that you have struggled with green pond algae from time to time! Suspended pond algae is the scourge of water gardeners, world wide. Pond algae can be green algae, red algae, brown algae, string algae. This article is concerned with suspended algae and its effective of pond water.
What Is An Algae Bloom?
An algae bloom is caused by the rapid reproduction of plank tonic algae when there is a lot of sunshine and nutrients in the pond water. The disadvantage of an algae bloom are as follows:
- As the algae die off, they start to rot on the pond floor, giving off ammonia. This places a higher load on your pond filter.
- Carbon dioxide is also released. As carbon dioxide is released back into the pond it starts the cycle all over again. Algae are microscopic plant life that like their larger cousins use up carbon dioxide in a process known as photosynthesis.
- Oxygen is used up as part of the rotting process. Oxygen is critical to nitrifying bacteria and aquatic pond life.
How Does A UV Sterilizer Prevent Pea Algae Blooms?
The effectiveness of a UV sterilizer is affected by temperature to a large extent. At 40 C (104 F) it works at maximum efficiency. A drop in temperature to 20 C (68 F) results in a drop in efficiency to only 50%. Manufacturers of UV sterilizers get around this rapid drop in efficiency by insulating the UV lamp with a quartz sleeve. UV light transmits through the quartz, so the maximum efficiency is maintained.
How Does A Pond UV Work In A Fish Pond?
As pond water containing the floating algae passes through the quartz tube it is bombarded with ultra violet rays, either directly or via highly reflective metal surfaces. The UV rays destroy the cell walls of the algae, causing what is known as flocculation to occur (the dead algae clump together forming a much large mass). This makes removal by a pond filter or pond skimmer possible. Prior to clumping a single suspended algae cell measures about 4 microns across (4 millionths of a meter).
What Is The Best Method To Control Pea Soup Algae?
The only guaranteed way of controlling green pond algae is to use a UV sterilizer or UV clarifier. UV models are available as stand alone models or incorporated into a UV pond filter ... see below for available methods.
The full article can be read at http://www.garden-pond-filters.com/garden-pond-uvarticle.htm where you will find money saving advice and information to help you choose the right pond keeping equipment.Why not take advantage of my pond calculators to help you convert between metric and imperial measurements quickly and accurately.
