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The First and Built to last!

TMC (Tropical Marine Centre) developed the first UV cleansing system in the 1970's and has been manufacturing them ever since. Being the first on the market TMC know how to make a great UVC and the numerous awards they have won prove that their UVCs are a firm favourite within the market place. The TMC Pro Advantage range is built from only the highest quality plastics, and using only the very best component parts, making sure the product will last a long while. It has been voted as the 2009 and 2010 Koi awards champion of UVC's, meaning you can be safe in the knowledge that this UVC has been tried and tested by customers and suppliers alike.

 

Easy And Simple

 

The TMC UVC is set up in four main ways which are shown in the below diagram. The TMC Proclear always has to be fitted onto a system that has a filter. If you don't have a filter in your pond set up the UVC will simply not work properly. It flocculate (clump together) the algae, but then the algae will pass through un-filtered and back into the pond. As the pond has no filter with foam layers inside, the algae has been allowed to re-circulate around the pond and  therefore is able to reproduce and photosynthesise in the pond again.

The TMC will easily let you know when it is on and working. This is due to the translucent hosetails that come supplied with the unit. On a night, and if you look carefully in the day, you will be able to see a blue glow from both of the hosetails which show that the bulb is working. The TMC UVC can either be laid on a flat surface on its base, mounted horizontally or vertically. The TMC Proclear Advantage comes provided with two strong mounting brackets, they allow the unit to be easily attached to a wall or a fence, screws required to fit the unit are also provided. Once the unit is securely mounted, all you need to do is wire the unit into your junction box and your UVC is ready to eliminate any green water.

Requiring almost no maintenance means that this  UVC is really simple to use, all you need to do is clean the quartz sleeve and replace the bulb every season.

 

Safe For The Environment

 

All TMC Pro Clear Advantage UVC's are safe and environmentally friendly, the ultra violet lamp damages the outside layer of an algae cell, which then allows the algae to flocculate (clump together). When the algae cells are clumped together, the filter foam can then trap them. This process uses no chemicals whatsoever, so there is no chance that you can over treat or pollute the pond meaning that all pond life remains unaffected. 

Which model you should get? 

Installing the UV bulb and Quartz Sleeve

 

The TMC Proclear units are probably one of the easiest to use  UVC units on the market. One of TMC's big selling points is that they are so easy to open, this means changing the bulb and quartz sleeve is so simple it makes maintenance a dream. The UV bulb inside the TMC Proclear will last for roughly 7000 hours, so it's best change this every spring, meaning the UV bulb will last all summer and through to early autumn. When taking out the UV bulb it's best to check the quartz sleeve for any lime scale and also  algae build up, to do this please read on.

First you need to peel back the blue rubber end caps, these will pull away with only a slight amount of resistance revealing the two pin bulb and the electrical bulb socket as shown above. Next you will then need to remove both of the compression fittings, these will simply unscrew from the unit. You can then slide off the two o-rings and place these parts to one side for safe keeping. Next start to carefully remove the bulb from inside the quartz sleeve. Now discard the old bulb and fit the new one, remembering to hold the new  bulb with a soft cloth to prevent any grease getting from your hands onto the bulb, otherwise this could stop the bulb from working. To clean the quartz sleeve, follow the same plan as above then just slide the quartz sleeve out of place, then clean with a damp cloth. Dry it off with a paper towel. Repeat the whole process to put the unit back together, making sure all the seals are tight so that they will not let any water back into the unit.

 

Trouble Shooting

 

How can I tell that the unit is working?

The translucent hosetails will glow when the unit is working correctly. In very strong sunlight it may be difficult to tell if the unit is on or off, but at night low light levels will help give a more accurate answer.

My lamp is not working, even at night. What can I do?

The first things that you need to check here are the power supply and the fuse. If you can see no obvious fault with these, proceed to check the white bulb sockets are connected to the lamp correctly. If it looks again like there is no obvious fault, you need to remove both the lamp and quartz sleeve to check if they are broken, if they are not, please give us a call. Please make sure you remember to switch off the electricity supply before carrying out any maintenance.

How long after installation will my pond become clear?

Due to the number of variable factors it can be difficult to give a definitive answer here, the level of nutrients in the pond, amount of fish, water temperature and shading are some of the factors that can have an effect. Normally however assuming that all your equipment is matched up correctly, you can expect to see the pond clear within 14 days, this however sometimes can take up to six weeks if your water has optimum conditions for algae to grow.

My pond has now gone green, even though it cleared at first, what's wrong?

The main reason that this happens is either the quartz being dirty or that the UVC bulb has failed. The quartz might have become gunged up with algae and will need cleaning. If it is neither of the above problems, please check that the UVC unit is the correct size for your pond on the above table.

Will a UVC harm my wildlife such as frogs, newts and fish?

Ultraviolet lamps do not put any residues into your water at all, all they do is damage the outside cell of algae when it passes through the unit to make it flocculate (clump together). They are a lot safer to use than chemical treatments for this reason, as you are never going to over treat your water with a UVC. For these reasons you can be safe knowing that a UVC will never harm the wildlife within your pond.

Should my UVC be on all the time?

Yes. All UVC units are designed to be left running 24/7, the TMC Proclear's bulb has a life span of roughly 7000 hours. This means that you can leave the unit running from Spring to Autumn without worrying that the UVC bulb is going to fail. If you have frost protected the UVC unit, you can leave it running throughout the winter, I would still suggest turning the electrics to the unit off though as the bulb is not needed.

Should I turn my UVC off when using other pond treatments?

TMC recommend that they have extensively tested using their UVC's while also using treatments and it has had no negative effects. It is always best if unsure to either check the instructions of the treatment or speak to the treatment's manufacturer though.

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