UV Location

[carolinaguy]

common thinking on a uv is to install it after the filter. the reason is that filtered water should be devoid of any floating waste or litter that will block the uv rays from reaching a floating algae cell. uv light is a very short wave and is easily blocked by dust. that's why a sunset is red, all the short waves are blocked out.

 

[koiguy1969]

just wanted to express my feelings on this subject not just how i use mine... I live in Michigan (zone 5) where our ponding season is about 4,maybe 5 months basically. from maybe mid May /June when our plants start filling in good and the water is a good steady feeding temp till September, maybe a couple weeks in October before our water temps are down considerably, and plants are significantly dying back. with the short season i have to really enjoy my pond i do not want even a week of green water. if i had 8 or 9 months of ponding as some do, i might not mind waiting thru a couple weeks of green water. but i dont. i use a U.V for a short time in the early season and barley extract for the entire season and my fish and i enjoy crystal clear water and very little string algea to speak of. while i'm on the subject..this is how i use barley extract....when i do water changes i spray barley extract mixed with pond water from a spray bottle on the border stones inside my ponds edge before i start the refill.
koisRus...same U.V i have....runs 10 days a year draws 9.75 watts of power might cost me $3.00 or so, a year to run

 

[fishin4cars]

It's best run after the filter if possible, like said in another post it allows more UV light to actually get to the algae cells. I live in the southern US so we tend to get alot more algae growth down here than up north. I do recommend using Barley Straw or barley straw extract once the pond is clear, this will naturally help keep algae down. a good rule of thumb is when running a UV light run aprox 100 or less as you get to larger size ponds per gallons of water per watt of UV light across the the lights. This slower flow rate will help kill the algae cells more effeciently as they have more time to be in contact with the light itself.

 

[koiguy1969]

barley extract is more for string or other types of filamentous alge than green water type. the barley relaeses humic acids that slowly turn into hydrogen peroxide. where as a U.V wont do a thing for string alge, the peroxide is an effective deterrent of string alge. some use bottled hydrogen peroxide for string alge control....the extract is just a slow time release way.

 

[fishin4cars]

barley extract is more for string or other types of filamentous alge than green water type. the barley relaeses humic acids that slowly turn into hydrogen peroxide. where as a U.V wont do a thing for string alge, the peroxide is an effective deterrent of string alge. some use bottled hydrogen peroxide for string alge control....the extract is just a slow time release way.

Your 100% correct! Or at least that is what I have learned so far also. lol I'm not a expert just a lot of hard knock experience. question, Would straight hydrogen peroxide effect the Ph of the pond? Or any other stressful reactions? How would you dose it?
My 300 gallon pond is notorius for string algae problems, It stays crystal clear but even the barely extract doesn't help much in there. It has a good growth of lilies, anachris, and marginal plants for the size pond it is. I do know that part of my issue is that that pond is in FULL sun, if the sun is up it's on that pond, The pond is 100% above ground and sits on a cement pad beside the swimming pool. Temps in the summer can reach 90+ degrees! I have the lower 1/3 of the pond covered by a very large flat rock for the fish to hide under and stay cool. never had much of fish issues in the pond, but algae is a major issue, never green, fish healthy, has a 9 watt UV, two small box filters with bioballs and Matala filter pads which I clean each one in a pond water rinse once a month alternating between the two. But for the string algae I'm already pulling hand fulls out daily and the water temps here are just starting to reach 65 on a steady basis. Have you got any additional suggestions?

 

[koiguy1969]

ask DoDad about using bottled hydrogen peroxide....he uses it...actually i would like to know the proper measure for maybe a "shock treatment" then use the extract as maintainence. peroxide is very unstable as i recall and dissapates quickly....some pond meds are even nuetralized by peroxide at the end of the treatments. i can only say what works for me...i'm lazy and have a short pond season...so i want to enjoy it!! altho my fish winter in a 800 gal basement pond i enjoy them outdoors more.

 

[fishin4cars]

ask DoDad about using bottled hydrogen peroxide....he uses it...actually i would like to know the proper measure for maybe a "shock treatment" then use the extract as maintainence. peroxide is very unstable as i recall and dissapates quickly....some pond meds are even nuetralized by peroxide at the end of the treatments. i can only say what works for me...i'm lazy and have a short pond season...so I want to enjoy it!! altho my fish winter in a 800 gal basement pond I enjoy them outdoors more.

I wouldn't mind knowing about the SHOCK TREATMENT as well. I could remove the fish in that pond if needed, I only have about 6 1"-2" koi in that pond to watch their developement. They could go in another holding area while I shocked if if that would work.
I started it over this spring about a month and a half ago as it sprung a leak over the winter and I had to put a new liner in it. I used filtering material from a running pond to cycle the water. All the plants are new plants with not fertalizers added at this point. If anyone has amy suggestions on controlling string algae I'm all ears, This is the one problem I have to solve in this paticular pond.