The We Are Pets Blog

How great it is to sit next to your pond during the summer month evenings, relaxing and enjoying a drink, listening to the sound of the waterfall. It would be so much better if you could see your fish!

We speak to many people who have UV filters and still get green water or have UV filters which clear the pond of algae only to get plagued with blanket weed and need a blanket weed remover. Manufacturers guarantee that their UV filter will clear the pond of algae but the instructions should be followed closely for the system to work.

Often customers do not change the tube in their UV system as the light is still working. However, even though the light still shines it won't emit UV rays after 6 months it wont emit any UV rays, rendering it useless. We advise that tubes are changed in the spring so that they last the whole summer. As algae doesn't proliferate as much when there is less sunlight, we can usually turn the lights off during the winter.

When changing your tube, don't forget to give the quartz sleeve that surrounds the tube a thorough clean otherwise the light wont penetrate, resulting in a useless filter. The other thing to check is that your pond pump flow can be too strong, pushing the water through so quick that the light doesn’t have enough time to filter the water. In light of this problem, you should always match your pump to the filter and pond size. If you're unsure about this, we can help.

We recommend a Laguna pond filter that incorporates a UV light as well as a filter. This is a very neat filter that has a divert switch to let you redirect the water out of the pond onto the garden. This feature is very useful for water changing, with the added bonus that there is a cleaning mechanism that allows you to clean the filter without the need to move it or get your hands wet.

By performing regular water changes you will reduce the Nitrate which encourages the blanket weed to grow. Normally the algae uses the Nitrates up but because your UV is doing its job the excess nitrate encourages the blanket weed.

If you already have a UV filter and are suffering from blanket weed, Soll have launched an amazing new blanket weed remover to help. You can actually see the blanket weed dying! The product was initially added to water for oxygenating purposes but the effect of helping you remove blanket weed was a bonus for pond owners.