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I have medium sized decorative pond that gets harsh western sun from about noon until sunset. Ironically, the algae got worse in winter. Visibility in the pond was down to about 1 inch. It was positively disgusting and it stank.

2 week after putting the Pondmaster UV filter into the pond, the water was clear as crystal.

However, as the manufacturer indicates, "filter" isn't the proper terminology. It's a sterilizer. It doesn't eliminate the need for a normal bio filter. This kills the algae and other parasites so the bio filter can remove them from the water. If you have a particularly green pond (as I did) clear the filter pads weekly until you've regained control over the algae.

Again, note that the UV system addresses free algae - not the string algae that grows on the sides. It's basic logic - if the algae is stuck to the side, then it can't pass through the steriliser to be killed.

Change your filter pads regularly until you've gotten past the 2-3 week period when you're waiting for the pea soup to vanish. All that dead algae needs to be removed. Make sure you get any old leaves out too - that will speed things up.

If you don't see results, make sure you have the right wattage, and also adjust the pump to ensure the water isn't moving to fast. Algae cells need about 1-2 full seconds exposure to the lamp to break the cell membrane and kill them.

Bottom line - it does PRECISELY what it says.

This UV clarifier is one of the worst products I have encountered avaialable for consumer purchase. The halos will fail after about a year; the unit will disintegrate, resulting in a huge leak and the pond will be pumped dry unless the pump has a float switch. The manufacturer claims the clarifier may be installed outside the pond. WRONG. The environment will eventually degrade the halo connections and they will crack, leak and fail. Please don't purchase this horrible product.

I am well into year 2 of my new pond, I have a 15,000 gal. Koi pond and utilize 4 of the 40 watt units. My pond water has gone from green to pretty clear.
I had a problem within weeks of installation, with one of the 4 units. I also was ready to give a poor rating on this product for bad customer service ..... but after several e-mails to Susan(SusanM@DannerMfg.com), she was able to rectify my problem with a defective ballast and is sending me a new one, along with a new quartz sleeve and a new bulb. (would have been easy if I had only had kept my reciept - word to the wise - Keep your reciept).

I would recommend this product again - Patience please if you have problems with your unit. Susan just needed proof of purchase and date bought to allow her to make everything right (so it falls within the one year warranty). Business is business and I purchased it knowing it was a one year warranty. If there is a defect, I am confident the company will make good.
** However, I would like to see a modification to allow cleaning of the glass sleeve to be a bit easier.

PS - This spring I added more 40 watt units to my large Savio skimmer/filters. This seems to be the final touch my water needed. Now I can easily see the small stones at the bottom of my 5 1/2 ft deep pond.
* I strongly agree with the previous fellow, Clean your filters daily (2X a day if needed until your water clears up), your UV lights won't work properly if its full of dirty water. If you don't have bio-filters, GET ONE (or two), they make a big difference and complete the natural filtration/cleaning process (savio makes a nice one).

My UV clarifier is probably 10 or 11 months old and it's already dead. The bulb burned out about 6 weeks ago, well short of its 1 year expected life, and was replaced. Last weekend I noticed the light was dead. I replaced the $80 bulb, plugged it back in, and nothing. The UV clarifier is dead. Typical. Can't anyone many anything that actually works anymore?

It's also annoying that the input and output tubes have such a tiny diameter. I think they went out of their way to find a size that was difficult to convert to more standard sized tubes.


EDIT: I was very mad when I wrote the above. The next day I contacted Pondmaster to complain, but they quickly began to resolve my problem. They sent out a new ballast which arrived in a few days and a complimentary bulb. The new ballast works fine. They made this process extremely easy for me and they didn't need to. This was an example of how a company can turn a bad situation into a favorable one because after this experience I wouldn't think twice about purchasing another Pondmaster product.

I have the product a 1 because it broke when it shouldn't have, but after seeing their customer service in action I'd like to change it to a 4 but I can't. I won't change it to a 5 because I still find the UV's tiny in/out pipes annoying ;)

Out of all the pond UV lights to control algae in ponds I think Pondmaster is by far the best ! I have a large pond so I chose the 40 watt unit. Most of all the submersible unit is great it is vitually invisible!~ We also build ponds for a living and this is the unit I put in my new pond constuctions!

Have been using the Pondmaster Ultra Violet Water Clarifier in my pond for about five years, with good results. Decided to replace the entire unit instead of just the bulb this time. This is much better than using chemicals to control the algae.

This product works just as advertised. My water was clear within a week and has remained clear after installing it 3 weeks ago. Also, it was easy to install and it is money will spent.

Bought mine a year ago and the ballast gave out after about 3 months. Pondmaster does not sell any replacement parts except for the bulbs (now have 2 good ones). Pondmaster website contact wouldn't return emails. Ballast is sealed and cannot be removed to be replaced.

Warranty was void because I had to add an extension to the cord (this is no way affected the ballast -I extensively bench-tested the unit).
Expensive piece of tubing at this point. It did work fairly well while it worked.