Ultra Violet Filters For Algae Control

I have a UV filter installed. How come I still have algae?

It’s a question that comes up quite often and hopefully this article will clear up a few things regarding UltraViolet Filtration. Actually in truth the term “filter” doesn’t really apply to most UV devices. A more appropriate term to use would be either a ”sterilizer” or “clarifier”. We’ll cover this in more detail in a moment, but before we do, let’s cover why UV “filters” won’t work on all types of algae.

UV is often touted in advertisements as an algae control device. And in part that statement is certainly true. Maybe it would be better to mention that it’s what they don’t tell you that matters most.

You see, algae absolutely must pass through the filter tube itself in order to be affected by the ultra violet treatment. If algae can’t pass though it, it simply won’t be reduced. And since UV filter tubes are pretty slim, things like string algae will, in all likelihood, continue to grow.

What UV does well is deal with the single cell algae that you and I know as green water. In the case of these individual algae cells, as they pass through the UV light, it damages their cellular membrane. As these cells break a part, they also begin to clump together in larger masses, which ultimately makes them easier to remove by the pond’s true filtration system.

When you consider this fact, and if you’re looking to install a UV filter, it’s advisable to hook the UV up before the actual biological or bead filter, or whatever type of filtration you might be using. This will help remove the dead algae coming out of the UV so it doesn’t go back into the pond and promote more algae growth.

UV is also designed to limit or lessen the chances of a virus or unwanted bacteria from taking off in the pond and causing problems. Some pond experts believe that beneficial bacteria can be affected by UV. In some cases, this is probably true since UV is indiscriminate in what it targets but there are ways around this issue.

Since Healthy Ponds Bacteria, or a good biofilter is designed to continually release good bacteria back into the pond in an ongoing basis, then it’s very likely that the population of this bacteria will be retained for the most part, even with the UV installed. Single, or infrequent doses of added bacteria may not work as well however.

Another factor to consider is how fast the water flows through the UV itself. Many of the devices should come with some suggestions on flow rates. When the flow rate is slowed down, the system becomes a “sterilizer” which provides a more complete killing or cleansing action of algae, bacteria, and viruses. As the water flow rate is increased the system performs more like a “clarifier” which will kill most algae cells but it may allow some bacteria and virus types to pass through unaffected.

So, UV systems can be a worthwhile addition to your pond’s cleaning technology. They can work, when set up correctly, to help with green water problems, while still allowing other cleaning methods to work on other types of algae problems.

Pond Algae Solutions now carries one of the very best UV systems on the market. To learn more about Aqua UltraViolet just click on the name.