Removing algae

[PlantAKiss]

I just recently started a rain barrel and I was THRILLED that we got LOTS of rain and I was able to fill it within a few days...32 gallons! YAY! However...I tried to keep the light out of it but apparently didn't do that great a job of it as now there is algae in it. It was clear and I could see the bottom but now its all murky.

I have been hunting for a way to rid the algae that would not contaminate the water. I don't want to lose all this free water! So far I have found a few things of interest and I was wondering if anyone had any experience with them.

One is something called Water Witch, I believe. Takes a few weeks but claims to remove algae from ponds and such. Supposely safe to use. Sounds like its some sort of stone or something.

Second is barley straw...a rotted clump put into the water for some reason seems to clean out algae (some people sink large bales into their ponds). But it takes a while as the straw must rot before its effective.

Third is a derivative of barley straw called Clean-It. Supposedly a capful will clean up a large armount of water.

I really hate algae and I'd like to find a way to eliminate it if I can.

Anybody heard of or use any of these things or have another trick to do this?

Thanks water folks!

Suzanne

 

[Travis]

I am not sure on how to remove the algae so it would be safe for cps. I supose you could get several Plecostomus *algae eating fish* and they will take care of the algae. k/d The next time you collect water if you have a cover for the 32 gallon barrel keep it covered. As long as there is no fresh air inside the barrel, algae can not grow.

Travis

 

[scottychaos]

what is the barrel made of?
can any light get through its sides?
if so, there is nothing you can do to stop algae, other than getting a new barrel..
if you try to kill it, new algae will just grow again..you must eliminate the light..(having it open for a few minutes while you inspect or remove water doesent count..not open long enought to make a difference)

if the inside of the barrel is TOTALLY dark when the top is covered, algae wont grow! (no light = no algae).

and..a little algae in the water wont harm CPs, we all get algae in our trays anyway..its probably not an issue, unless your barrel really lets in a lot of light and you get a LOT of algae growth!

tell us more about your barrel set-up, what it is made of, and how the water gets into it..

Scot

 

[PlantAKiss]

The "barrel" is just a large plastic trash can (all opaque). It has a lid. It is covered with a mesh screen which I use only to filter rainwater from the buckets and containers I have out to catch rain water. The lid was off to catch rain and I guess the sun came out. The algae isn't REAL bad, but enough to cloud the water (I used to be able to see the bottom).

I collected the rain over a week or so when we were getting torrents. Now its been dry for a while.

I've just seen these things mentioned on the internet that will either clean up or prevent algae. Was hoping someone might know of or have experience with them. They sound interesting.

Thanks for the info.

 

[goldtrap2690]

i get algae alot and sometimes its not because of sun , it sometimes happens when the weather is really warm too . i hear there is a product called physan , its reported to be safe to cps , efficient at getting rid of alage and there are otehr thiong you can use it for . other wise you can get daphnia and snails to help and the plecostmus fish but that won't help as much .

 

[Giles_KS]

Algae won't hurt your plants - aquatic Utrics are the only ones it could be a problem with. Having aquatic life in your rain butt makes it more interesting,and algae etc. will probably appear in the trays anyway. Why worry about something that isn't a problem - the inside of your barrel is hardly a decorative feature.

Giles

 

[PlantAKiss]

I wasn't really worried about the decorative aspects. I would just prefer not to introduce algae into my pots through the water. The purer the better I say. I know algae can grow anyway even with pure water but I'd like to minimize that as much as I can.

With hurricane Isabel on the way, I dumped my 32 gallons of rain water so I can start over. There's bound to be a ton of water when she blows through (if she hits near my area).

 

[Casper]

Why don't you just get some 5 gallon buckets and fill em up seperatly. (once you get a 1/4 of a barrel, fill the 5 gals) and put a lid on em, that way the water is seperated. If you do get algae in your barrel, it doesn't contaminate all your water.


Casper

 

[PlantAKiss]

I do kinda have that...well not large buckets but I have numerous buckets and containers around to catch the water. (I really don't want roof-shed.) Its a little easier to have one large container spacewise. I already have the garage filled up with gallon jugs. I wouldn't have any where to store a bunch of really large buckets. But...that is a good idea.

 

[Casper]

You could probably get them for free (gotta clean em though) from any construction site in the area. The best thing is you can stack em 5 high. Actually, you can stack them as high as you want, but gets kinda tough to throw em up higher than 5. So space is actually minimal, you could get rid of some of those gallon jugs. Most of them even have pour spouts on them so you can pour em into your gallon jugs.


Casper