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Expansion
Retrofitting
filter-systems or updating a water feature is now easier than ever!
One of Bloomers’ most helpful services is to design changes
to your water garden using today’s most efficient components.
With guidance from our online articles, you can determine the best
renovation for your water garden.
While
updating your pond you should always consider both the flow rate
of your pump as well as its location within the pond. When enlarging
the volume of the pond, you must be sure that the flow rate is still
compatible. Flow rates for different size ponds can be calculated
right here at Bloomers.com! The location of the pump should still
be situated opposite the waterfall or input to the pond, so to optimize
the current within your pond. This will make it very difficult for
algae to colonize. Keeping those things in mind, you may consider
alternatives to the existing filter design. Changing your system
to a bottom-up or top-down filtering system (depending on your needs).
Both will have their benefits, and flow rate will vary depending
upon what type of system you have.
Many
older ponds have very small and non-efficient mechanical/pre-filters.
This is not a flaw in its design, it’s just that filtering
systems today are much more effective and efficient than they were
just a few years ago. A very common upgrade for many pond owners
is that of a skimmer system. The skimmer is a large pre-filter in
which the pump sits and draws water from the pond through a series
of netting and/or pads. While the obvious benefit of using the skimmer
is a greater amount of space for debris to be collected, another
benefit is how water moves through it. The skimmer creates a surface-fed
cycle for filtering. This is advantageous because airborne debris
will not have much of a chance to become saturated and sink, plus
the current created makes it very difficult for the surface to freeze
over, allowing you to run this system year-round!
So
before you begin altering your original pond, ask yourself what
was wrong with the initial design, and what is the end result for
the project. Keep in mind, the more often you change the ecosystem,
the greater the chance of damaging it.
Ultra
Violet Lights:
Another
common addition to an existing pond is an Ultra Violet Light. This
light is most commonly used to combat excessive algae growth. It
is important to know which Ultra Violet unit best suits your needs.
Ultra Violet Clarifiers are one of the quickest ways to lower your
particulate (green water) types of algae. After being exposed to
the light for a specific amount of time (dictated by the flow rate
of the water through the sleeve) this algae is no longer able to
reproduce successfully due to ultraviolet radiation energy. Before
long, there will not be any particulate algae left to colonize and
the water will remain clear, provided your filter draws its water
from one end of the pond and releases it to the other. Ultra violet
Sterilizers are usually larger units that operate at slower speeds
(usually about 1/5th of the pond size an hour) and combat
many more organisms than just particulate algae. Both types of sterilizers
will require protection against freezing during the winter. Freezing
will shatter the thin quartz sleeve inside the UV light, and replacing
this sleeve can be quite difficult. This protection is easily accomplished
through the installation of an in-line PVC fitting that can be disconnected
(to release the UV light, allowing it to be brought indoors) then
re-connected without the light in-line. But perhaps the greatest
feature of a UV light is that it is entirely safe for both fish
and plants.
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