Stock Tank & Algae

[Anonymous]

How do you deal with algae in your stock tank? One guy said "It's no big deal, don't worry about it" and another told me to get goldfish and they'll eat the algae (what about the goldfish crap?).

It's not bad now, but I know if we keep using the tank and never clean it out it'll get like sludge. That can't be healthy to drink.

Thanks Lisa

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[Anonymous]

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[Anonymous]

We went to a fish hatchery and asked some questions about this and the hatchery hooked us up with some genetically engineered carp which cannot reproduce..Our pond is about half the size of a football field and 10ft. deep, and we needed six of these carp which can live up to fifteen years and get up to 30 lbs.

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[Anonymous]

> How do you deal with algae in your
> stock tank? One guy said
> "It's no big deal, don't
> worry about it" and another
> told me to get goldfish and
> they'll eat the algae (what about
> the goldfish crap?).

> It's not bad now, but I know if we
> keep using the tank and never
> clean it out it'll get like
> sludge. That can't be healthy to
> drink.

> Thanks Lisa

Several things can be done. Firsts and cheapest I think is the gold fish. Do not worry with their crap. They eat that also. Grass carp can be put in and will be even better. But here were i live in Texas I was told: 1. Needed a permit 50$, 2. Fish were 50$ and was to insure that thye would never get in public waters. Like a river or lake. The last thing that I could tell you is you can buy chemicals that are safe for all, animals, fish, birds and such. But one jug costs $32 and you would need around ten jugs. Only lasts one year.

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[Anonymous]

> How do you deal with algae in your
> stock tank? One guy said
> "It's no big deal, don't
> worry about it" and another
> told me to get goldfish and
> they'll eat the algae (what about
> the goldfish crap?).

> It's not bad now, but I know if we
> keep using the tank and never
> clean it out it'll get like
> sludge. That can't be healthy to
> drink.

> Thanks Lisa

----------------------------------

I have small goldfish in my watering troughs (300- 400 gal tanks). One trough is concreate and the other is stainless steel. They seem to keep the tanks pretty clean. I put 6 in a 360 gal tank. I never feed them, just let them live off what's in the tank.

Another person told me you could put a small amount of oil (corn or peanut) in the tank. It would coat the top and kill everything in there. Don't put much, or it will make a mess. Makes his horse's coat shinny, accrding to him. I haven't tried this one.

I also live in Central Texas.

 

[Anonymous]

Oh, I forgot. I got the goldfish at a bait store, cost 75 cents a piece.

 

[Anonymous]

yeah there are stipulations for buying sterile grass carp in certain states. in georgia they are only 8-10$ per fish. they work well in ponds, i dont know about stock tanks. we had some and they really cleaned the weeds up and they live for years and get huge! someone said in some places a stock tank and a pond were the same thing but in georgia a pond is a hole in the ground with water in it and a stock tank is a trough filled with water. cows seem to like them both. anyway, ive heard of goldfish being used and the alkalinity keeps the algae from growing, but how do goldfish live without oxygen added to the water in the tank? ive heard of catfish being used, they will gulp oxygen at the surface when it gets low in the water but do they even eat algae? ive heard of copper wire being placed in the bottom and supposedly that works. cant you add a chlorine tablet like they put in pools but smaller? Heres a little trick i use-i empty the old water and scrub the tank with a brush and then refill it.

 

[Anonymous]

I took some little bream from one of the ponds and put them in the tanks. Within a week they were gone. Did that a couple of times. One morning I saw a coon perched on the edge of the tank trying to catch the fish I had put in the day before. He fell in when I yelled but climb out and went up a tree. Within a week no fish left in the tanks. Now I just leave the algae grow and occasionally grap some dry grass ands scrub the sides. Cows don;t seem any the worse for it.

dun

> yeah there are stipulations for
> buying sterile grass carp in
> certain states. in georgia they
> are only 8-10$ per fish. they work
> well in ponds, i dont know about
> stock tanks. we had some and they
> really cleaned the weeds up and
> they live for years and get huge!
> someone said in some places a
> stock tank and a pond were the
> same thing but in georgia a pond
> is a hole in the ground with water
> in it and a stock tank is a trough
> filled with water. cows seem to
> like them both. anyway, ive heard
> of goldfish being used and the
> alkalinity keeps the algae from
> growing, but how do goldfish live
> without oxygen added to the water
> in the tank? ive heard of catfish
> being used, they will gulp oxygen
> at the surface when it gets low in
> the water but do they even eat
> algae? ive heard of copper wire
> being placed in the bottom and
> supposedly that works. cant you
> add a chlorine tablet like they
> put in pools but smaller? Heres a
> little trick i use-i empty the old
> water and scrub the tank with a
> brush and then refill it.

 

[Anonymous]

Two or three times my wife has put coy fish in a concrete trough down at the lot. It was more for her enjoyment than anything else. I never could really tell they made any difference in the crud factor. Never have worried about it anyway.

Coy fish will also do fine with zero maintenance – until the coons figure out they're there. When I told the wife we would have to start trapping coons to offset the cost of the fish she laughed and said she'd just pass on buying any more coy. Fine with me, as coon skins don't bring what they did in the early-to-mid '70s and I'm getting too stove up to pretend I'd enjoy hunting them. Of course, if they get back up to '70s prices…

Craig-TX

 

[Anonymous]

> I took some little bream from one
> of the ponds and put them in the
> tanks. Within a week they were
> gone. Did that a couple of times.
> One morning I saw a coon perched
> on the edge of the tank trying to
> catch the fish I had put in the
> day before. He fell in when I
> yelled but climb out and went up a
> tree. Within a week no fish left
> in the tanks. Now I just leave the
> algae grow and occasionally grap
> some dry grass ands scrub the
> sides. Cows don;t seem any the
> worse for it.

> dun

A easier way is to dump a box of baking soda into the tank.It raises the pH and kills the algae.Dosen't bother the cows,and lasts for a few weeks.

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[Anonymous]

Maybe less frustrating inthe long run, but not near as much fun as watching the coons fall into the tank. We have a Richie tank that forms one type of short almost black algae. The others are Rubbermaid and they get a long stringy green algae. Same water. The only thing I can think of is that the Richie is only about 4 inches deep and the others are a couple of feet deep.

dun

> A easier way is to dump a box of
> baking soda into the tank.It
> raises the pH and kills the
> algae.Dosen't bother the cows,and
> lasts for a few weeks.

 

[Anonymous]

Algae is on-going problem in stock tanks. We have total of 12 stock tanks in our various pen areas ranging from about 75 to 400 gals each. All have drain plugs in them. We top off tanks every day or two and let tank overflow and lot of the algae washes over the side. Then, about once every 7-10 days (depending on how dirty the water looks) we drain tank(s), wash it out and re-fill it. We also use a swimming pool skimming net to remove surface algae from time to time.

All of this is labor-intensive; however, it keeps the water relatively clean and healthy for our cattle and horses. Also, it removes any mosquito larvae swimming around in water.



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[Anonymous]

how safe would it be to pour a little clorox into tank every so often? i know of a man who used to do this and have always wondered about the pros/cons of it...

gene

> A easier way is to dump a box of
> baking soda into the tank.It
> raises the pH and kills the
> algae.Dosen't bother the cows,and
> lasts for a few weeks.



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[Anonymous]

There was a very heated discussion on another board about the same subject a while back. It wouldn't be much different then most city water supplys. That said, we have a neighbor that is using the rural water supply and his cows won't drink out of the small tanks (nose tank size), but use the large tanks with no problem. I think the biggest problem would be the amount you would need to use, and the decomposition of the algae in the tank after you killed it. So you would be down to having to empty it and clean out the dead stuff. Might just as well skip a step and not do the clorox thing

dun

> how safe would it be to pour a
> little clorox into tank every so
> often? i know of a man who used to
> do this and have always wondered
> about the pros/cons of it...

> gene

 

[rafterp]

What can we put in our horses' water tank (we are on well water, not city water) to keep it from turning green? We have some goldfish in there, but that isn't working.

 

[Bez?]

How do you deal with algae in your stock tank? One guy said "It's no big deal, don't worry about it" and another told me to get goldfish and they'll eat the algae (what about the goldfish crap?).

It's not bad now, but I know if we keep using the tank and never clean it out it'll get like sludge. That can't be healthy to drink.

Thanks Lisa

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You do not mention the size of the tank.

If it is 1000's of gallons - put a windmill on it - aeration works well.

If it is small - couple of hundred gallons - use a small - small amount of bleach.

1-2 cap fulls. Stir it up and keep the animals out for a couple of hours.

Otherwise use a stiff bristle shop broom to sweep it out - with the water still in it. When it floats to the top - bucket it off.

It never truly goes away - one of those things.

Bez?

 

[Lammie]

Goldfish. If it doesn't seem to help, you don't have enough goldfish.

 

[gertfan]

we started putting bleach in it, not alot but when ever we fill the tank we put a few good splashes in there.
the main reason we started doing that was 4 years ago at our county fair the steers wouldn't drink, it is city water at the fairgrounds and we have to haul water from the water tower close to home that has very little chlorine in it. From then on we have put bleach in it and there is no problem with algea unless hubby forgets to put in the bleach and the steers drink at the fair so it's a win win situtation.

 

[Cormac]

Why not just pour in a gallon of that blue/green tint from Tractor Supply. That is what is is used for: to block the sunlight penetration thus preventing, minimizing or eliminating unwanted weeds.