Algea in water

[Sandrachx]

we have 2-3 rubber bowls in/out of the sun, around the chicken run. they tend to get algae. i scrub them every 2-3 days with a brush but haven't used anything except Dawn dish soap to clean once every 2 weeks. don't think it's working too well as i can see i'm losing the battle.

can i keep a small bottle of ACV outside, in the coop, for regular treatment of our water for algae? will the summer heat affect it's effectiveness?

 

[Quail Jailer]

I don't know if it will work on algae or not but worth a try, Put a little copper, (wire, pennies etc) in the reservoir.

It helps keep stuff from growing in there, and it shouldn't have any side effects.

 

[buttonquailtx]

Everyone is looking at this wrong. Algae, itself, isn't the danger. In fact, some algae such as Spirulina and Kelp are actually sold as dietary supplements.

What is dangerous is the conditions required for algae to thrive. The requirements are light, phosphates, and nitrates.

Light obviously isn't dangerous.

Phosphates are known to cause health issues such as heart and kidney problems.

Nitrates are the most dangerous. To better understand why, we need to understand the nitrogen cycle. It all starts as poisonous ammonia! Ammonia is broken down by bacteria and becomes Nitrites. The Nitrites are broken down by more bacteria into Nitrates. The algae then feeds off the nitrates.

So, in order to have algae, the water must contain Ammonia, which is very poisonous!

Now we need to findout where this ammonia comes from. The most obvious suspect is birds pooping in the water. Testing tap water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates is also a good idea since tap water sometimes contains these chemicals.

Treating with bleach or ACV only treats the symptoms, but not the cause.