Mega algae problem in waterers. What is the best way to get rid of it?

[Germaine_11.20]

Hi,

I have green algae growing in the waterers and other than elbow grease what is the best way to kill it off that won't hurt the chickens?

Will the algae hurt the chickens?

I have been reading about putting ACV in there-- how much per gallon do I need and does it need to be organic? Apple or white?

I have made a few new nipple waterers and I am thinking that they are going to grow algae too because they are outside. Does using white buckets vs the orange Home Depot ones make it worse due to light filtering in?

Also, will the ACV and the nipples for the waterers interact together and corrode the metal or create a chemical compound that I don't want?

Sorry for all the questions!

Any help is greatly appreciated!

 

[Neil Grassbaugh]

Quote:

 

[schellie69]

first clean your water completly and then use the organic apple cider vinger and make sure that it has "mother" in it, use 1 to 2 tablespoons per gallon of water it works great I have been using it for a couple of weeks now and no Algae in the water just make sure that your water is plastic not metal plus the acv also helps the chickens and they do not seem to mind it in the water. there is a post on here about acv it helped me and I am glad I did put it in the water its so much easier now to water the chickens no algae problems good luck. I use 4 tablespoons in a 3 gallon waterer and it has not had any algea growth since I started using it.

 

[Katy]

If you keep them in the shade it helps a lot.

 

[chickenpiedpiper]

another thought you could try; We put lemon slices in out plastic waterers. about one thin slice per gallon. This seems to keep the algae at bay, plus keeps the water smelling nice and tasting better. The slices usually last thru one or two water changes, depending on the sunlight and heat.

You shouldnt do this with metal waterers tho.....

Good luck

 

[Mrs. Green Thumbs]

Well... what I used in my pond for Algae is a UV light. It kills the algae. Other than that I would go down to homedepot and buy some heavy duty thick black plastic bag's and cover the bucket's with them to keep the sun out... or just put a lid on the bucket's and possibly paint them.

 

[LVVCHAP]

One word "Copper" Someone wrote in on another post and said that copper slows the growth of algae, so I put in an old copper elbow for plumbing in the bucket, it works! I also put two pennies in the bird bath and a penny in the dogs water dish. I don't know how it works but it does.

 

[PriceFamilyFarms]

I need to try that copper trick!

 

[Germaine_11.20]

Thank you everyone! I am going to try your ideas and I really appreciate the help. Darker buckets and I am going to try the copper first then the ACV.

I am going to wait on the ACV in these because of the metal nipples. I have heard (don't know if it is true) that ACV and metal can create toxicity in the water.

But in the plain plastic ones I am going to put ACV in there and also try lemon in a few others and see what works the best.

These are mostly outside in the runs and manage to obtain full sun and shade isn't an option. I am going to hang some shade fabric up on the pens though so hopefully that will help too.

 

[chick_magnet]

can i use the copper in a metal waterer?