Keeping a fountain clean
 

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.

Keeping a fountain clean
 

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.



You might try a google search for "prevent fountain algae" (without the
quotes of course). Loads of answers pop up and one of them may be what
you want.

--
John McGaw
[Knoxville, TN, USA]
http://johnmcgaw.com

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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Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

Keeping a fountain clean
 

On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 19:13:58 GMT, "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.


Adding a small amount of bleach will keep algae from growing, but this
will no doubt be harmful to the birds. There are anti-algae tablets
or liquid made for aquariums that might work well in your case.
Keeping your fountain clean will help cut down on algae growth. Algae
growing in a pond or aquarium is actually a sign of healthy waters.
Another (natural) solution would be to add a small fish. A 50-cent
"feeder" goldfish, if left unfed, will eat the algae and any mosquito
larva. Adding more shade to the area will reduce algae too.

Keeping a fountain clean
 

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:

Try a small bale of barley straw in the fill basin. I use it to keep
algae down in my pond.

http://www.bestfish.com/barlybal.html

Keeping a fountain clean
 

I have another thought. Yesterday I suggested adding a small fish,
but the fountain looks like cats can easily get into it. Pond snails
are particularly fond of algae, so if you add a few to each dish they
should help remove the algae.

Keeping a fountain clean
 

"Phisherman" wrote in message
...
I have another thought. Yesterday I suggested adding a small fish,
but the fountain looks like cats can easily get into it. Pond snails
are particularly fond of algae, so if you add a few to each dish they
should help remove the algae.

The fish will die when the sun heats the water. If the water is used up by
the birds or evaporates the poor fish will die an awful death. Our bird bath
holds 2 gallons of water and on a hot day the birds will bathe away almost
all of it. I keep ours clean by dumping and refilling it twice a week.