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Old 05-07-2006, 12:25 AM posted to rec.gardens
 
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Default Keeping a fountain clean

chlorine tablets, or, use this method. wont hurt the birds. Ingrid
http://www.bchealthguide.org/healthfiles/hfile49b.stm
Disinfection using chemical methods:

Unscented household bleach (5% chlorine) can sometimes be a good disinfectant - e.g.
when the water is not heavily polluted, or when beaver fever or cryptosporidiosis are
not a concern.

Disinfection using bleach works best with warm water. Add 1 drop (0.05 mL) of bleach
to 1 Litre of water, shake and allow to stand for at least 30 minutes before
drinking.

Double the amount of bleach for cloudy water, or for cooler water.

* A slight chlorine odour should still be noticeable at the end of the 30 minute
waiting period if you have added enough bleach.

The disinfection action of bleach depends as much on the waiting time after mixing as
to the amount used. The longer the water is left to stand after adding bleach, the
more effective the disinfection process will be.

"Natty Dread" wrote:

I have a lion's head fountain on my patio with about a 12 gallon fill basin
on the bottom. The water flows out of the lion's mouth into an upper basin
with three outlets in which I stacked some river rocks to improve the
flows. There are no fish or plants. Algae has started to accumulate on the
rocks and in the bottom basin, and I'd like to put somethingin the water to
keep down the green. My dad suggested bleach, but birds use this fountain
as a bird bath and I don't want to do anything to hurt them. Any
suggestions? If bleach would work, how much should I put in, or in what
ratio of bleach to water? Thanks in advance for any info. If you need to
see the fountain to get an idea of the size, here's a link:

http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?actio...6DA&lpage=none

Rhonda
Richmond, VA
USDA Zone 7

**********
Basic human psychology is one of my subroutines.




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