i Tronic blanket weed control
 

Anyone got experiemce of this new device?
The few references I've seen so far say
1/ It's expensive
2/ It's dangerous to koi
3/ It works on blanket weed

Jury seems to be split 50/50 on how good it is. Comments?

"Yabbadoo" wrote:

Anyone got experiemce of this new device?
The few references I've seen so far say
1/ It's expensive
2/ It's dangerous to koi
3/ It works on blanket weed

Jury seems to be split 50/50 on how good it is. Comments?

The i-tronic works by creating copper ions in the water. Many
algaecides are based on copper.

1) the i-tronic kills algae which produces oxygen, so the water may
become oxygen deficient, suffocating fish.

2) if you have added salt to the water, you must refresh the water.
Sodium (kitchen salt or sea salt) will combine with the copper ions.
These bonds can be precipitated on the gills of the fish. Especially
cypriniformes, including koi, are very sensitive to this.

3) the i-tronic kills snails. The copper minerals are fatal for
molluscs, even in small amounts.

This is from the i-tronic manual, page 6 at:

http://www.oasis-water-gardens.com/itronic.pdf

"If all else fails, read the directions."

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

Stephen, from the other side of the big pond, many thanks - most of the info
I wanted is in that pdf file!

Noted it is the "GB" (i.e British) manual - even if it is in fractured
English.

Do you happen to know US cost of
1/ The unit itself (the smallest one, for 5000 liters)
2/ The cost of the replacement anode

I'm curious. I know the UK cost (VERY expensive) of the unit, but, not the
replacement copper anode - and they say it needs replacing once a season on
average. I can calculate the probable cost in Sterling from the US price.

Thanks again, Len


"Stephen Henning" wrote in message
...
"Yabbadoo" wrote:

Anyone got experiemce of this new device?
The few references I've seen so far say
1/ It's expensive
2/ It's dangerous to koi
3/ It works on blanket weed

Jury seems to be split 50/50 on how good it is. Comments?

The i-tronic works by creating copper ions in the water. Many
algaecides are based on copper.

1) the i-tronic kills algae which produces oxygen, so the water may
become oxygen deficient, suffocating fish.

2) if you have added salt to the water, you must refresh the water.
Sodium (kitchen salt or sea salt) will combine with the copper ions.
These bonds can be precipitated on the gills of the fish. Especially
cypriniformes, including koi, are very sensitive to this.

3) the i-tronic kills snails. The copper minerals are fatal for
molluscs, even in small amounts.

This is from the i-tronic manual, page 6 at:

http://www.oasis-water-gardens.com/itronic.pdf

"If all else fails, read the directions."

--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA
http://home.earthlink.net/~rhodyman

"Yabbadoo" wrote:

I'm curious. I know the UK cost (VERY expensive) of the unit, but, not the
replacement copper anode - and they say it needs replacing once a season on
average. I can calculate the probable cost in Sterling from the US price.

That website was all I found. I am not interested since I use snails.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

"Yabbadoo" wrote:

I'm curious. I know the UK cost (VERY expensive) of the unit, but, not the
replacement copper anode - and they say it needs replacing once a season on
average. I can calculate the probable cost in Sterling from the US price.

That website was all I found. I am not interested since I use snails.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA

OK, thanks anyway. Some pond! (I'm green with envy!) Haven't a clue what
Zone 6 is, but it's almost certainly something specific to the US so not
curious.

Len

"Stephen Henning" wrote in message
...
"Yabbadoo" wrote:

I'm curious. I know the UK cost (VERY expensive) of the unit, but, not
the
replacement copper anode - and they say it needs replacing once a season
on
average. I can calculate the probable cost in Sterling from the US price.

That website was all I found. I am not interested since I use snails.
--
Pardon my spam deterrent; send email to
18,000 gallon (17'x 47'x 2-4') lily pond garden in Zone 6
Cheers, Steve Henning in Reading, PA USA