Recirculating Droplet (Nipple) watering system

[mcfarmall]

I am planning on fabricating a recirculating system for my coop that is currently under construction and have a question about water quality. Is there something that can be added to the water to inhibit algae growth in this type of system? I would think that keeping the tank in a dark enclosure could help slow down any biological growth and that there might be a potable additive that might keep the supply more sanitary. A half tsp of bleach per 5 gallons perhaps?

 

[Weiden Farm]

I have a friend with an underground water tank, which contains a pond pump in it bringing the water up to the surface, and then flows through a 4"PVC pipe that is slit for drinking, and then falls back into the underground tank. The water has remined clean and i have not seen Algae buildup. Not sure if it is because the water circulates or because it never sees daylight. Within his underground tank, the water is taken from the bottom and then re-enters the container from the top. It has also not frozen throughout this cold winter.

 

[perchie.girl]

I am curious about this as well. I would love to see what others post on this subject. There are quite a few here that I see also do Hydroponics or Aquaponics.

That being said... There are a couple of things about algae. Years ago I was an aquarium enthusiast I had over three hundred gallons worth of them throughout the house. I also worked at a store that sold tropical fish. Algae while unsightly is not necessarily a bad thing. Though it may play havoc with the mechanisms of the drinkers. They are just a sign that there is organic material in the water. The organic material is what you need to be concerned with.

For instance Recirculating from where to where... Is the water going to be filtered somehow? Biological matter is brought into the water every time the Chickens take a drink. Off the beak, from saliva, falling from the air the occasional foot plopped down through the drinking hole... Chicken Backwash... I would think it would be wise to run the water through filter medium prior to going back to the holding tank. There would be some practical problems with that but not unsurmountable.

One thing if you went with nipple waterers and ran the water through black pvc rather than white through your circulation system you would keep the light out, the nipple waterers would keep back wash out.

Oh DANG I just read the title of the original post....

Keep light out and organic material out and you will have no algae. There are algae inhibitors for horse troughs but keeping out light would be better.

I will go back to my hole now....

 

[NicoleRM]

Research Oxine. I'm pretty sure it is commonly used for this purpose and very safe.

 

[marquisella]

Quote:
I use 5 gallon buckets with metal nipples. I use white buckets with lids. I chose white because I can see the level of water in them so I don't have to open them to check it. I only had 1 bucket develop a little algae and that was after a week out in the sun. I then put about a tablespoon of oxine in it when I filled the bucket up again, and that did the trick.

The buckets inside the coops didn't get algae.
This system was the best thing I have ever used. It cuts my "feeding" time in half. And, I can go away now, and know that they will have water for as long as I'm gone. Before, I had no way to hold enough water for a week at a time. NO mechical parts to break either, so no worries about that when I'm gone as well.

 

[enggass]

Same here for me in the warmer season - 5 gallon bucket with nipple and lasts for days. I put a little ACV w/mother in to keep it fresh. I may try the white bucket idea - it is a pain to have to remove the top unnecessarily to check the level. However, I found that in the winter the nipple froze up easily. I use a heated water bowl in the winter.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
you can put in one of those submersible bucket heaters and plug it in to one of those out lets that turn the power on at a certain temperature.

 

[Mac in Wisco]

Quote:
What is the recirculating system for?

Bleach will do the trick, it's used worldwide for sanitizing water. One-half teaspoon per 5 gallons will give you about 8 ppm solution, which is a good starting point.

 

[mcfarmall]

The recirculating principle is primarily for winter time use based on the premise that flowing water will not readily freeze. In the summer time, the only benefit would be to provide "fresh" (different) water to the droplet dispensers. I don't plan on using the pump unless there is a danger of freezing.