UV sterlizer

[White Lightning]

Just wanted to know if anyone here is running a UV sterlizer on their pond. I am running into problems with green water and am considering purchasing a Tetrapond UV sterlizer 36 watts. My pond is approiximately 350-400 gallons and pretty heavily stocked. Three 10 inch koi, and five large comets. The pond gets a fair but of sun which is the cause for the green algae. If not a UV sterlizer, has anyone had any luck with commercial products?

[Fishnut]

With such a heavily stocked pond, you're going to NEED the sterilizer!   The products on the market are designed as a temporary solution but the excess nutrients and light in your pond means the algae will always come back.  I have one that I hook up to my pond every spring.  It goes from green (to the point where my fish have to be at the surface to see them) to clear in 3 or 4 days.  Once the biological component of my filter has caught up, I find I don't need it anymore.  The pond is under a tented gazebo though so sun exposure is minimal.

[cemantic]

We use one every spring, UV Clarifiers do work though they take a while.  Once they have run for a couple of days you need to clean your filter regularly to get rid of the algae.  I also use a water clarifier that causes small floating particles to clump together thus making it easier for the filter to do it's job.  The key I have found is use the UV Clarifier for a couple of days, clean the filter daily if not twice a day and use the water clarifier.

And patience.

Another idea is to put some barley straw in help control the algae in the first place.  It does seem to help but not as the only solution. There are also products that help break down dead material in the water.

[littlelil]

i installed the Tetrapond 9w sterilizer on my pond a few weeks ago and it did wonders. I was really amazed. The pond cleared up from opaque to crystal clear within a week. I think my pond is about 400 gallons and i've got about 10 comets about 2" each..

[bergenm]

I have an 11W 'Pressure-Flo 700' on a 250G heavily stocked pond - probably the single best investment to date...