Review on 🐠 SunSun Hw303B Pro Canister Filter Kit with 9-watt UV Sterilizer - Enhanced 370GPH Flow Rate by Heather Laudun

I bought a SunSun external filter for my balcony goldfish pond. It was easy to set up after searching YouTube for instructions and watching some of the various videos available for this product. The instructions are incomprehensible and seem to suggest that you know everything about canister filters. I have white and blue pods in the bottom tray, charcoal in the middle tray, and biospheres in the top tray. My local fish shop recommends not changing anything for 3-4 months. The filter is **quiet**. I like it very, very much. Someone on YouTube told me not to turn on the UV sanitizer until my tank has run a cycle without checking the nitrites to zero. By this time, my water had turned into a green-tinted PEAS SOUP! So I did a lot of research online about UV light and whether it kills beneficial bacteria. I read that you can't do this because good bacteria stick to the filter material, as well as sand and stones in the aquarium. It doesn't float freely in the tank. (Unless you just put the bacteria in that day.) One Friday night I turned it on (the button on top of the canister) and by Sunday afternoon the water was CRYSTAL CLEAR. So clear I wanted to jump with the fish! It really looked like a miracle. I love this UV light. However, the ultraviolet cleared the water and killed any algae floating in the water. This means I now had tons of dead algae in my crystal clear water. So I got a squirt of ammonia (8.0!) and my fish suffocated on the surface. Fearful of losing all my children, I turned off the UV lights, changed 90% of the water, vacuumed the sand twice, and added a new dose of cyclic bacteria. So far, so good. This is a great filter at a great price. I'm very glad I have it.