Home |
Search |
Today's Posts |
#1
|
|||
|
|||
Shelf life of UV bulb
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? |
#2
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#3
|
|||
|
|||
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? |
#4
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#5
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#6
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#7
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#8
|
|||
|
|||
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. |
#9
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#10
|
|||
|
|||
do they seriously degrade, or do they keep working so long as they light up?
cheers "~Roy~" wrote in message ... The bulbs |
#11
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#12
|
|||
|
|||
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? |
#13
|
|||
|
|||
"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 |
#14
|
|||
|
|||
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 |
#15
|
|||
|
|||
Still no change....I think im going to disconnect it.
|
Reply |
|
Thread Tools | Search this Thread |
Display Modes | |
|
|
Similar Threads | ||||
Thread | Forum | |||
Bare root strawberries (shelf life, indoor life - to survive in thefrost, ready to plant outside)? | Gardening | |||
vegetable shelf life? in supermarkets | Australia | |||
vegetable shelf life? in supermarkets | Australia | |||
vegetable shelf life? in supermarkets | Australia | |||
Shelf Life of Funginex | Roses |