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
et...
=== The bulbs
===


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

~~~~ }((((o ~~~~~~ }{{{{o ~~~~~~~ }(((((o

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?

"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

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

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

"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

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.

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....

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...

"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