Water Tank Algae

[Dusty Britches]

I put 2 gold fish in my 300 gallon tank. The water doesn't stay crystal clean, but as long as they are alive I know the water is safe to drink.

I still like the clear water, so I drain the tank whenever I think about it, use a pressure washer to clean, and refill.

I tried putting the algae eaters in there, but I think the goldfish ate them. :roll: When I cleaned the tank I found complete skeletons of the algae eaters.

 

[bevkel]

I've been using copper sulfate (bright blue) crystals and it has really slowed the algae growth. It basically changes the pH of the water to inhibit the algae. Instructions are included with the product. I'm using ~1 tsp of crystals dissolved for my ~350 gal tank. I have had to put it in about every two weeks during this hot period.

 

[Hutch]

I went to the pet store and got 6 gold fish. Put them in my tank and they keep in very clean!

Koi?

No, just the plain cheapies!

 

[flaboy]

Don't know if the radio show was pulling my leg or what while driving the other day I heard them saying to put copper in the tanks. Just old copper pipe or wire or whatever you have. I put a couple fittings in my dog pool (labs) a few weeks ago and it sure enough seems to help. I think more would be better but I only had two tee's laying around. I am going to try it in one of my troughs shortly though.

 

[dj]

flaboy
I've used scrap copper in water tanks for 12 yrs and it never seemed to effect the algae one way or another. I do it for copper deficiency in soil and hay.
We had lime spread 2 weeks ago and some was thrown into the tank. That seems to have cleared it up. I'd of never thunk it. Must have been that ph thing that bevkel mentioned.

 

[rc]

chlorine tablets. Works fine for horses and cows. Folks who live in the city drink it too.

 

[Chuckie]

rc, where do you get the chlorine tablets that you put in the drinking water. Is it the same as what is put in a pool? Or is there a chlorine tablet that is used strictly for drinking water?

 

[jp]

I use a genaric clorox. I put one capfull in the drinking water every couple of days for the cows and every day for the horses. it wont hurt a thing and the water and tanks stay clean. some people feed thier stock city water and that contains alot more chlorine

 

[msscamp]

What is a pleckie? A catfish with those sucking plunger lips that sticks to the side of an aquarium?

Sorry for the delay, Dad totally screwed his knee and I'm up to my eyeballs in irrigation water. A pleckie (can't pronounce or spell the full name) is not a catfish, it a a whole other fish. They do stick to the sides and bottom of an aquarium, though and they eat algae. That is their job. They will also grow amazingly large, but it is in proportion to their environment - like goldfish do.

 

[Susie David]

Alot of good information, now that the son has returned to school and the tank cleaning is left to me...but then the weather is starting to turn and I haven't noticed algae in the winter months...DMc

 

[rc]

rc, where do you get the chlorine tablets that you put in the drinking water. Is it the same as what is put in a pool? Or is there a chlorine tablet that is used strictly for drinking water?

I am on a well at home but work for a municipality. I don't use chlorine in my well water but know that it is used in city water. I do use them in my treatment plant at home. In Mississippi treatment plants are prefered over septic tanks. They are fed by areator pumps and the chlorinator tank is the last stage. When the water discharges from the chlorinator tank it supposedly is 95 % pure, but I still know where it comes from. the tablets are purchased at a hardware store and are the same as pool tablets only smaller. They disolve very slowly.

 

[Chuckie]

Thanks rc. And thanks msscamp. I know the fish you are talking about. It is a dark grayish color and he seems to never move when you are looking at him. Seems he has a few darker spots on his body. On the scale of being pretty, I give this fish a -10. But I am sure the good he does must be a +10.

 

[msscamp]

Thanks rc. And thanks msscamp. I know the fish you are talking about. It is a dark grayish color and he seems to never move when you are looking at him. Seems he has a few darker spots on his body. On the scale of being pretty, I give this fish a -10. But I am sure the good he does must be a +10.

Welcome! That's the one, uglier than hammered s^@#! But very efficient at controlling algae!

 

[J-CCCC]

We have a couple of items from Wal-mart for spa cleaning that save a lot of labor. I don't empty my tank just brush around a bit then use the spa net to collect the big stuff. Seems the cows drop a lot of grass into the tank. The other thing is a spa suction cleaner. Connect it to a hose and guide it around the bottom and sides and the water clears up quick.

I also run a big minnow tank aerator in the tank. Moving the water cuts down on the algea and mosquito growth.

Using clorox as Bez outlined would sure work to clear up a messy one and wouldn't hurt anything. I use one part clorox to 10 part water to clean out my hydroponic growing pots and tanks where we grow tomatoes and peppers.

 

[NM CowBelle]

Pleco's are great for controlling alge in a stock tank like Msscamp wrote.Gold fish are to.Just the plain cheap goldfish are good as dj wrote.The petshop that I work in we order pleco's just for this reason.The only thing is you need to make sure they are not coming out of an aquriam that has an areator in it or you will have to use one alsur cheap goldfish live in a stock tank about a 100 gallon one.We have no areator in it because most people by them to feed to other fish or to put in their ponds and stock tanks and their not gonna have an air system.

 

[msscamp]

The aerator is a valid point, NM Cowbelle, and one I didn't think of. We always had goldfish in our stock tanks when I was growing up and I always got as big a kick out of the cattle discovering the fish as I did the fish doing their thing. Yes, I'm very easily entertained!

 

[dun]

You folks must not have many coons. When we'vetried putting fish in the tanks the coons pretty much clean them out within a week or so.

dun

 

[aussie_cowgirl]

we use a thing people call 'blue stone' i think it may be CuSO4 or copper sulfate for people who arent familiar with element symbols. We also use Limestone, just throw a rock in and its good for a while.

 

[GMN]

Someone told me once to put some vinegar in the water in the tank, don't know how much, it is supposed to work, I was always afraid to do it with my milk cows, but I know some people who drink it themselves with water on a daily basis, so I guess it wouldn't hurt a cow.

 

[msscamp]

You folks must not have many coons. When we'vetried putting fish in the tanks the coons pretty much clean them out within a week or so.

dun

You know, now that you mention it, I never saw a racoon the entire time I was growing up and living on the ranch. Coyotes, an occasional fox, lots of deer and antelope, rabbits, a few bobcats, not even going there about the mountain lion, possums, but no racoons. The fish we put in the tanks lived there for a long time and grew to be amazing (it seemed so at the time, anyway) lengths, some of them were 5 or maybe 6 inches long. Their biggest hazard was when we cleaned the tanks out. Several ended up boiled before we kids figured out what to do with the buckets they were temporarily put in while we cleaned the mud out of the tanks.