No name wrote:

....
Are there other ways to keep the algae from
growing and clogging my taps?

put something around the barrel that will
block the light would be one longer term solution.
often you can find pieces of wood for little or
no cost (pallets, brush piles, unwanted trees,
etc.).

if you clean the barrel to get rid of the algae
using bleach rinse the barrel out after you are
done and then let it refill (and then keep the
light out). it helps to scrub it a few times as
the bleach works through the layers of algae, but
we get things clean here within about a half hour
and then rinse the bleach away. usually takes
only a little bit to do it too, so don't pour a
gallon of bleach in when only an ounce or two might
work. of course, empty the barrel first before
putting in the bleach and scrub it around to cover
the surfaces and then let it sit for five or ten
minutes before scrubbing it again. after a few
rounds if there is still algae left, add a little
more bleach and scrub it again.


songbird