Water Gardening Direct Blog

Slow flow rate from your pump?
Make sure your pump is clean with our
Pond Pump cleaning advice

A pond pump is the heart of your ponds life support system and the flowrate it achieves will dramatically affect the health and clarity of your pond. To ensure your pump is in tip top condition for the new season we strongly suggest examining it to clean and check for wear and tear. To help with this we have created a simple guide to help you along.

Green Water?
Make sure your UV Quartz is Clean

During the start of the season with everybody undertaking pond spring cleans we sell a huge number of replacement UV bulbs, but changing your bulb is only part of the job. All UV bulbs are protected from the water by a quartz sleeve, these come in lots of different shapes and sizes, but are common to all units and are there to keep the water away from the electrics. They are made out of quartz glass because the UV light used in out systems does not travel well through normal glass, unfortunately, this does make them delicate and prone to damage. In the same way that the UV light produced by the bulb will not pass through normal glass, it will not penetrate in to the water if the quartz sleeve is dirty. After a faulty bulb the second most common reason for poor UV’s performance is the quartz sleeve being coated in limescale. This limescale build up can be so extreme that you can’t even see your finger through the quartz, so the light has no chance.

Although the winter has been very mild (yet very wet for many). Spring time is still a little way off, but hopefully the temperatures will continue to allow you to get out and start preparing for the warmer weather.

Before we go any further lets just clarify the question of fish feeding. It is very important not to start feeding your fish until the pond water reaches a consistent average temperature of at least 6 Deg C and at this level you should only use Wheatgerm based foods. Below this temperature, your fishes metabolism will slow to the point where undigested food can rot inside the gut. Additionally, bacteria in your filter will not be sufficiently active to process any waste that is produced by feeding fish, resulting in water pollution.

To keep you busy, it’s a great time to inspect and service your pond equipment. Your UV may need a new UV bulb as it requires replacement approximately every 6-12 months (dependant upon type). If replaced in the spring you will ensure it is working at its full potential as the green water starts to develop. The UV quartz should also be checked and cleaned to ensure maximum UV output. We suggest the use of a UV cleaning treatment which will clean your quartz without having to strip down you UV.

If you forgot to clean your filter before the shutdown in the autumn, thoroughly clean your foam and media with pond water. If your foams are more than 3 years old and feel soft and floppy they may be due for a change. Your can purchase replacement foams for your filter in singles or sets and gradually swap them over a period of a few weeks, but remember that most manufacturers will only honour their performance guarantees if genuine replacement foams are used.

See our full range of :

Wheatgerm Foods – UV Bulbs – UV Cleaning treatment – Replacement Foams – All Spare Parts