My Water troughs are growing mould....

parvo · **Joined:** Sat Jan 02, 2010 7:39 pm **Posts:** 735

Hi Ben n Deb,

If your waterfowl are swimming in the water then this may be the reason why you are having algae problems. As they defaecate in the water the added nutrients promote algal growth. This also provides a potential disease issue for the chickens.

In this situation any water cleanser will struggle whether it be apple cider vinegar or chlorhexidine (Aviclense). Equally ozone treatment ensures that the water going into the water containers is clean, but won't stop it from becoming fouled once the birds defaecate in it. You really need to have the water treated with rapid filtration and/or UV or ozone treated to keep it clean, which is probably not practical for this application.

Therefore, in my opinion, you either need to:
1) Stop the waterfowl swimming in the troughs and/or supply alternate drinking arrangements for the chickens; or
2) Scrub & clean them regularly as suggested by Roova, try some in-water treatments and see how you go

Let us know what sort of solution you come up with.

Cheers

Parvo

Ben n Deb · **Posted:** Fri Oct 01, 2010 12:28 pm

Thanks for all the comments!

Lots of reading material to check up on.

For now I'll have to stick with the apple cider.

Will let you know how it goes!

If anyone else has anything to add, that would be great too.

Cheers.

muza · **Joined:** Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:44 pm **Posts:** 4

There are algae blocks used for fish ponds that are also harmless to birds one is Biotec Algae Block they work really well and only cost around $4 for a single dose that treats 1200L of water. I have them in my fish pond and the local ducks don't mind

They are available in
1 pack
4 pack treats 4800L
12 pack treats 14000L

Ph (02) 9597 4466

Roova · **Posted:** Sun Oct 03, 2010 6:44 am

http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/PondAlgae.html
The above link is to a site which talks about different types of algae and ways to treat it (in reference to ponds). I did note one statement though:

Quote:

I would also like to note that I do NOT recommend the use of chemical pond algae killers as these often can exasperate the problem in two ways. One is that these chemical do not remove algae, they kill it where it falls to the bottom and adds to decaying organic mulm that then adds more nitrates and nitric acid to your pond which in turn spurs the growth of even more algae. The other problem is related and that is as the dead algae decays it depletes oxygen which can be deadly to the fish and spur the growth of toxic Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacteria).

.

In the end I think nothing is going to beat sweating it out over a water change and a good scrub.

muza · **Joined:** Sat Oct 02, 2010 4:44 pm **Posts:** 4

I found with the block if you continuously use them the algae stays to a minimum but if you stop then it comes back with a vengeance so it pays way to what they are saying I guess. Still the blocks have worked for me so you could try them and see how it goes for you

LookChook · **Joined:** Tue Oct 05, 2010 4:40 pm **Posts:** 4

Would the blocks work is the plastic water dispensers that hang? I have the scrub them twice a week at the moment because of the algae

Karen_H · **Posted:** Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:05 pm

I only just became aware of the apple cider vinegar trick a few weeks ago and what a result! I use plastic containers (recycled off other things) and live in one of the warmer areas

I wash mine out once a week with hot water and a scrubbing brush and when I refill I add the vinegar. We have gone from having heaps of that thick green algae to nothing! The dishes are heaps easier to clean and the chickens seem to be drinking a lot better too

The girls love to jump in the dishes too which means cleaning out more regularly :lol:

Best of luck!

Roova · **Posted:** Wed Nov 03, 2010 3:49 pm

Sound great!! Can I ask a couple of questions...
Is it actually Apple Cider Vinegar you are using?
What is the percentage of vinegar to water?
Were you told if there were any potential health issues for poultry ingesting large quantities of vinegar, or potential eye problems from having their eyes open under the water?

It almost sounds too good to be true, but you never know :-D

RPoultry · **Joined:** Thu May 27, 2010 9:40 pm **Posts:** 933

I recon u cant go past a good scrubing brush, and some houehold grade bleach

I scrub my containers once a week, the mold, agae and slime still comes back, so then u scub it again.........next week :roll:

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