Shelf life of UV bulb

[robv60]

What is the SHELF life of a UV bulb? I recently purchased a UV
clarifier and it seems to be doing absolutely nothing after about 5
days. The bulb glows, but im just not sure its doing anything. The
clarifier was "new in the box" but I have no idea how long it was
sitting in the box before I plugged it in the first time. Do the bulbs
degrade while sitting on the shelf while not in use?

[Reel Mckoi]

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> What is the SHELF life of a UV bulb? I recently purchased a UV
> clarifier and it seems to be doing absolutely nothing after about 5
> days. The bulb glows, but im just not sure its doing anything. The
> clarifier was "new in the box" but I have no idea how long it was
> sitting in the box before I plugged it in the first time. Do the bulbs
> degrade while sitting on the shelf while not in use?
======================
I never heard of a bulb going "bad" sitting on a shelf. Why not call the
source where you bought the light and inquire why you see no changes yet?
I used mine for 3 years and they still worked.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[robv60]

Well, I have pulled out the quilt batting I have in my filter the last
two days to clean it and it was fairly gunked up with some
brownish/gray muck, dead algae? Maybe its working but I do have some
pretty green water. 18watt UV, turbo twist 6x, flowing @ 850 GPH in a
1750 gallon pond that gets full sun for about 6 hours a day. Maybe the
UV isnt powerful enough to keep up with the algae?

[Reel Mckoi]

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Well, I have pulled out the quilt batting I have in my filter the last
> two days to clean it and it was fairly gunked up with some
> brownish/gray muck, dead algae?

$$ Yep, and probably other "things" floating around in your pond water.

Maybe its working but I do have some
> pretty green water.

$$ Have you any idea what could be feeding this severe algae bloom? You may
just be suffering the "usual" springtime bloom! It hit my ponds when the
fish started breeding this year. Between the eggs, milt and them stirring
up everything my ponds turned dark green. When the plants really took off
the algae started to fade away....

18watt UV, turbo twist 6x, flowing @ 850 GPH in a
> 1750 gallon pond that gets full sun for about 6 hours a day. Maybe the
> UV isnt powerful enough to keep up with the algae?

$$ It should be powerful enough to do the job unless something is adding to
the problem - such as not enough pond plants, too much feeding, fertilizer
running into pond when it rains, a lot of mulm on the pond bottom.... the
number and size of fish, number of tadpoles.... you can see why that's a
hard question to answer.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[robv60]

Well lets see.... This is going to be long....I have pond plants, but
not nearly enough no doubt. I have water hyacinth, I purchased 20
"baby" plants and then bought 3 large plants each with two medium sized
plants growing off of them for a total of nine plants. So, 29 Hyacinth
which really areant multiplying very much-or at all.(Did get my first
bloom today though!) I also have a few water lettuce floating around. A
couple of bunches of anacharis and something else I cannot remember
the name of. One potted water iris and two water cannas. I had several
water lillies but they got snipped off by a snapping turtle that moved
in, since been evicted by me! I rarely feed the fish at all, maybe once
a week if that much. I only have 8 3-4" long goldfish in the pond. No
tadpoles. (Although, on a side note, my front pond had a crazy amount
of tadpoles, not so much anymore,ahem.. The front pond gets a little
less sun everyday. It was pretty clear for the longest time after the
back pond greened up. Just recently, we had a week where it rained
amlost 7 days in a row, now the front pond is greening/clouding up.
Figures since I just put a small koi and a sarassus in it. Cant see
them. Got a UV coming for that one too.) No fertilizer run-off, I did
place a some mall chunks of fertilizer in my lilly pots right before
the turtle decided they needed to go. Also, I really do not have any
circulation other than whats going through the UV Which is still about
1/2 the pond volume an hour. I lose an insane amount of water with the
falls on so until I can get it lined it stays off. No biofilter to
speak of. Im working on one now, its supposed to go at the top of the
falls though-so oh well. I know that definately isnt helping matters,
but, I only have 8 fish in a 1750 gallon pond.

[Reel Mckoi]

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Well lets see.... This is going to be long....I have pond plants, but
> not nearly enough no doubt. I have water hyacinth, I purchased 20
> "baby" plants and then bought 3 large plants each with two medium sized
> plants growing off of them for a total of nine plants. So, 29 Hyacinth
> which really areant multiplying very much-or at all.(Did get my first
> bloom today though!) I also have a few water lettuce floating around. A
> couple of bunches of anacharis and something else I cannot remember
> the name of. One potted water iris and two water cannas. I had several
> water lillies but they got snipped off by a snapping turtle that moved
> in, since been evicted by me! I rarely feed the fish at all, maybe once
> a week if that much. I only have 8 3-4" long goldfish in the pond. No
> tadpoles. (Although, on a side note, my front pond had a crazy amount
> of tadpoles, not so much anymore,ahem.. The front pond gets a little
> less sun everyday. It was pretty clear for the longest time after the
> back pond greened up. Just recently, we had a week where it rained
> amlost 7 days in a row, now the front pond is greening/clouding up.
> Figures since I just put a small koi and a sarassus in it. Cant see
> them. Got a UV coming for that one too.) No fertilizer run-off, I did
> place a some mall chunks of fertilizer in my lilly pots right before
> the turtle decided they needed to go. Also, I really do not have any
> circulation other than whats going through the UV Which is still about
> 1/2 the pond volume an hour. I lose an insane amount of water with the
> falls on so until I can get it lined it stays off. No biofilter to
> speak of. Im working on one now, its supposed to go at the top of the
> falls though-so oh well. I know that definately isnt helping matters,
> but, I only have 8 fish in a 1750 gallon pond.
=======================================
I would say at this point to just have patience and see what happens. You
have adequate plants for the number of fish involved. Keep checking for
turtles as they pass large amounts of feces every day. Bird dropping are
very rich in nitrates. You may try covering 2/3s of the pond with something
that stops light until the UVs catch up. You may also try one of the
colored water shaders that supposedly starves algae for light. Something is
feeding your algae, that's for sure....

I read that a lack of "iron" can also cause pond plants to fail amid plenty
of N-P-K in ponds. If they're not thriving they're not using up the N-P,
and so the algae are utilizing it.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[~Roy~]

The bulbs do not start to degrade until the they get plugged n and
operating. They can just about set indefinately on a shelf unused.

On 7 Jun 2005 13:55:00 -0700, "robv60" > wrote:

>===<>What is the SHELF life of a UV bulb? I recently purchased a UV
>===<>clarifier and it seems to be doing absolutely nothing after about 5
>===<>days. The bulb glows, but im just not sure its doing anything. The
>===<>clarifier was "new in the box" but I have no idea how long it was
>===<>sitting in the box before I plugged it in the first time. Do the bulbs
>===<>degrade while sitting on the shelf while not in use?


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

~~~~ }<((((o> ~~~~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~~~~~ }<(((((o>

[robv60]

Whats a good way to test for N-P-K? I have added 0-0-22, thats when the
pond started greening up, the very next day after adding it. This was
more than a month ago. The hyacinth did perk up a bit when it was
added, but I think the algae got most of it.

[Reel Mckoi]

"robv60" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Whats a good way to test for N-P-K? I have added 0-0-22, thats when the
> pond started greening up, the very next day after adding it. This was
> more than a month ago. The hyacinth did perk up a bit when it was
> added, but I think the algae got most of it.
================
It's my understanding that algae uses mainly P, some N and very little
potash. You can purchase the test kits in most Aquarium stores or larger
pet shops. I've learned what works best for my ponds, so don't bother
testing anymore.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[Oxymel of Squill]

do they seriously degrade, or do they keep working so long as they light up?

cheers


"~Roy~" > wrote in message
...
> The bulbs

[~Roy~]

No, they degrade over time.........Its no different with ther UV
lights in a UV used in the pond or the UV's used in hot tubs and spas
to kill bacteria........over time the bulb does degenerate. We have a
UV on our hout tub, and you can tell when its getting to the point of
needing to be replaced. Id you look at most any manufactuers info,
they spell it out that most bulbs will have a lifespan of usefullness
for about 3 years time, before needing replacement..........we have
seen this first hand wtyh the hot tub. The substance in the bulb over
time of being charged electrically and with the heat inside the bulb
causes it to degrade............So even if the bulb lights up it does
not mean its still good if its around 3 years of age........(actually
that figure is if the bulb is kept on for 3 years continous useage) so
mileage in a pond or aquarium may vary........as a hot tub is usually
left on 24/7/365

On Wed, 8 Jun 2005 09:17:22 +0100, "Oxymel of Squill"
> wrote:

>===<>do they seriously degrade, or do they keep working so long as they light up?
>===<>
>===<>cheers
>===<>
>===<>
>===<>"~Roy~" > wrote in message
...
>===<>> The bulbs
>===<>


==============================================
Put some color in your cheeks...garden naked!

~~~~ }<((((o> ~~~~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~~~~~ }<(((((o>

[Dsybok]

I put an 8 watt UV on my 800 gallon pond at 700 GPM and it cleared
completely green water in a matter of a couple of days. I mean it went from
pea soup to absolutely crystal clear. Pond gets about 6 hours of direct , SO
Cal hot sun a day.

I have a string algae problem since our winter rains, but no water clarity
issues whatsoever. Your UV should be plenty powerful enough unless as others
have said, there is something else at work.

D

D

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Well, I have pulled out the quilt batting I have in my filter the last
> two days to clean it and it was fairly gunked up with some
> brownish/gray muck, dead algae? Maybe its working but I do have some
> pretty green water. 18watt UV, turbo twist 6x, flowing @ 850 GPH in a
> 1750 gallon pond that gets full sun for about 6 hours a day. Maybe the
> UV isnt powerful enough to keep up with the algae?
>

[Reel Mckoi]

"Oxymel of Squill" > wrote in message
eenews.net...
> do they seriously degrade, or do they keep working so long as they light
up?
==========================
It is said they degrade but I saw no lessening in the power of mine over the
3 year period we used them. You must clean the inner sleeve or they will
not be effective. Slime and minerals build up on the sleeve preventing the
UV radiation from working.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[RichToyBox]

In continual use, they will have a serious drop in output over a years time
and need to be replaced. In storage, I don't believe they degrade. If they
are used only for a month each year, at the start of the green water season,
then they are usable for a few years, but they will be weaker each year.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"Oxymel of Squill" > wrote in message
eenews.net...
> do they seriously degrade, or do they keep working so long as they light
> up?
>
> cheers
>
>
> "~Roy~" > wrote in message
> ...
>> The bulbs
>
>

[robv60]

Still no change....I think im going to disconnect it.

[Koi4Me]

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> Still no change....I think im going to disconnect it.
=====================
Why disconnect it unless you can return it? I'm sure they will not take it
back unless you can prove it's defective. Before giving up on it try and
find where the N and P are coming from that's feeding this algae. Or as
suggested before, cover most of the pond with some kind of sun blocking
device to allow the UV to catch up - then uncover the pond. Meanwhile try
and find where all the algae "food" is coming from.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[matrix j]

For a very heavy bloom "very bright sunlight" they take up to 2 weeks to
clear the pond....i have had mine for 3 years already with the same
bulb.



The bulb catches up during the night when there is no sunlight shining
on the pond. So if you have some cloudy days it works much faster.


Also make sure your to buy an oversized unit for your pond....that way
if you do have lots of sunlight you will get faster results.

[matrix j]

Btw....when i had my first massive algae bloom this year my water was
green then turned grey because of the dead algae....i then cleaned the
filter every day until it was clear..the dead algae sometimes floats and
gets sucked in by the filter.....the larger the filter the less
cleaning....

[matrix j]

You said you received a lot of rain....rain contains a lot of nutrients
and if it's heavy it will unbalance the pond for a while...mine does
that too...

[Koi-minator]

"matrix j" > wrote in message
...
> You said you received a lot of rain....rain contains a lot of nutrients
> and if it's heavy it will unbalance the pond for a while...mine does
> that too...
========================
In some parts of the country it's also acidic which can change the PH of the
pond.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[robv60]

Well, rear pond still isnt clear. Just for the heck of it, I purchased
an identical UV(half as many watts though @ 9 watts) for my front pond.
Just hooked it right up and didnt worry about the "proper
flow-through". Well, needless to say the front pond cleared up
completely in less than 48 hours. This wasnt even ran a continuous 48
hours. I had cut it off to clean the quilt batting and forgot to cut it
back on when I left for work. So....I have since put the smaller unit
on my back pond to see if itll do anything. Maybe this will let me know
if I have a bad bulb in the larger unit. We'll see....Also added a
prefilter around the pump, thats all i had for filtration on the UV
unit in the front pond and it seemed to work well enough.Now, if I can
just get my beautiful fish to move so I can see them in my clear water,
that would be great. They just keep hiding all the time.

[Reel McKoi]

"robv60" > wrote in message
ups.com...
> Well, rear pond still isnt clear. Just for the heck of it, I purchased
> an identical UV(half as many watts though @ 9 watts) for my front pond.
> Just hooked it right up and didnt worry about the "proper
> flow-through". Well, needless to say the front pond cleared up
> completely in less than 48 hours. This wasnt even ran a continuous 48
> hours. I had cut it off to clean the quilt batting and forgot to cut it
> back on when I left for work. So....I have since put the smaller unit
> on my back pond to see if itll do anything. Maybe this will let me know
> if I have a bad bulb in the larger unit. We'll see....Also added a
> prefilter around the pump, thats all i had for filtration on the UV
> unit in the front pond and it seemed to work well enough.Now, if I can
> just get my beautiful fish to move so I can see them in my clear water,
> that would be great. They just keep hiding all the time.
==============================
Keep us updated on this UV light business. I wouldn't doubt now that you
may have a defective unit. If the second unit cleared them up as fast as
it has - then that may be the problem. Most are guaranteed so you can get a
refund or another unit.
My ponds have cleared up on their own after the breeding frenzy and peasoup
phase. I have Tetra UV lights but haven't used them in a few years.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[robv60]

well, so far the 9 watt unit has been continuously running on the back
pond for 14 hours. Pond is showing signs of clearing. By this time
tomorrow it may poaaibly be clear. Obviously I have a bad 18 watt bulb.
Problem is the guy i bought the unit from on ebay was hard enough to
get in touch with as it was just trying to ask him simple questions.
Doubt I'll be able to get a new bulb out of him and probably wouldnt
want to deal with him anyway. I may just have to suck it up and buy one
from someone else. Just need to find the best price. I did a 10% water
change in the front pond yesterday, may go ahead and do it in the back
as well. Of course I suppose this will cause another bloom?

[Reel McKoi]

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> well, so far the 9 watt unit has been continuously running on the back
> pond for 14 hours. Pond is showing signs of clearing. By this time
> tomorrow it may poaaibly be clear.

## Another thing to consider is what EXACTLY is floating around in your
pond. As you know the UV lights are useless for particulate matter from
plants and other debris that falls or blows in. A problem we have is when a
koi knocks over a plant and the fine clay soil goes into suspension - what a
mess for awhile. It will even pass through quilt batting. Much ends up in
the 40 gallon settling tank from what I can see.

Obviously I have a bad 18 watt bulb.
> Problem is the guy i bought the unit from on ebay was hard enough to
> get in touch with as it was just trying to ask him simple questions.

## And this is one of the prime reason I never buy *anything* on Ebay
although I check out the goodies there occasionally. It's like buying a
pig-in-a-poke. You pays your money and you takes your chances..........
and the seller is soon long gone.
I don't purchase plants online (aqua plant sellers) anymore either. Just
try and get a refund or replacement if there's a problem.
Last case was riccia I purchased from one I will leave unnamed. It was
anything BUT riccia. Judging by the pine needles and other debris it
contained it was picked off the forest floor somewhere and sold as riccia.
It was a common rock MOSS they sent - the same type I can find here in any
shady wooded area.

> Doubt I'll be able to get a new bulb out of him and probably wouldnt
> want to deal with him anyway. I may just have to suck it up and buy one
> from someone else.

## Buy LOCALLY if you can. It's the safest way to do business. Frugal as I
am I would rather pay a few bucks more and purchase things locally than try
and save a dollar and buy from total strangers or unknown businesses online.

Just need to find the best price. I did a 10% water
> change in the front pond yesterday, may go ahead and do it in the back
> as well. Of course I suppose this will cause another bloom?

## It may. If this continues you'll have to find the SOURCE behind these
blooms.
--
McKoi.... the frugal ponder...
EVERYONE: "Please check people's headers for forgeries
before flushing." NAMES ARE BEING FORGED.
Do not feed the trolls.
~~~ }<((((o> ~~~ }<{{{{o> ~~~ }<(((((o>

[RichToyBox]

See Jan's response to the question on filtration, using the bag made from
window screen and batting.
--
RichToyBox
http://www.geocities.com/richtoybox/pondintro.html

"robv60" > wrote in message
oups.com...
> well, so far the 9 watt unit has been continuously running on the back
> pond for 14 hours. Pond is showing signs of clearing. By this time
> tomorrow it may poaaibly be clear. Obviously I have a bad 18 watt bulb.
> Problem is the guy i bought the unit from on ebay was hard enough to
> get in touch with as it was just trying to ask him simple questions.
> Doubt I'll be able to get a new bulb out of him and probably wouldnt
> want to deal with him anyway. I may just have to suck it up and buy one
> from someone else. Just need to find the best price. I did a 10% water
> change in the front pond yesterday, may go ahead and do it in the back
> as well. Of course I suppose this will cause another bloom?
>

[~ janj JJsPond.us]

>I did a 10% water
>change in the front pond yesterday, may go ahead and do it in the back
>as well. Of course I suppose this will cause another bloom?

10-20% shouldn't. ~ jan

~Power to the Porg, Flow On!~