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An ultraviolet
clarifier kills suspended algae as it passes the light source. The ultraviolet
clarifier, in general, does not eliminate string algae, but is very
successful at eliminating pea-green water, especially in ponds where
the water garden is insufficiently planted. An ultraviolet light is
not a substitute for mechanical and biological filtration.
Fortunately I you may not need to use ultraviolet
clarifiers year round, usually it will need to be run for the first few
months of spring until the natural biological balance of the pond can
keep pea-green algae under control. (try using barley straw also)
Some smaller garden ponds that are situated in a full sun
setting may, however, need to run throughout the season.
Homemade UV Light
This is not all that hard to make but you need to be
qualified to work with electricity and understand how to waterproof
your light. You also need to read and be familiar with all the
precautions surrounding Ultraviolet light exposure. In
90% of the cases I would recommend you buy a store bought unit and
be done with it, you really won't save that much money doing it
yourself.
| Anyhow what you are
basically doing here is creating a lid for your filter that
has a fluorescent fixture with UV light bulbs attached to the
underside of it. The lid will need to house the entire
florescent fixture inside itself and have a heavy glass shield
protect the light from moisture. I also like to use a
'refrigerator' type switch to shut the light off if a kid
lifts the lid without your knowledge. The two cautions
here are that you need to use a
GFCI type outlet and that you make absolutely sure that
you cannot see any stray UV rays when the thing is running. |
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|
Schematic |
Again as I said earlier, you might want to just buy
yourself a purpose made unit. |
