Chemical control can be uneven, time consuming, costly, and can have detrimental effects on the water quality or pond life. The U.V. sterilizer, when properly used, is guaranteed to eliminate green water with only yearly maintenance and no detrimental effects on water quality or pond life. Simply pump pond water through the U.V. sterilizer, exposing the water borne algae to the ultraviolet radiation produced by the U.V. lamp and destroying the organism. You may also wish to control water borne bacteria, or even protozoa such as ich. This can be done by varying the size of the unit and the flow rate.
Flow rate is critical.
The dwell time will vary according to the target organism and the radiation intensity. See flow chart for sizing information. When seeding a pond with a beneficial bacterial culture, such as Backup Bacteria, turn off the U.V. sterilizer for 24 to 48 hours to give the beneficial bacteria time to attach themselves to the substrate. In other words, the unit will still destroy the target organism at that flow rate at the end of a full year of continuous use. Despite this fact, you will find that most manufacturers make outrageous and inaccurate claims about their lamps.