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#1: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-04 21:13:58 by Natty Dread

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?action=productDetail&prod uctId=155068-19811-F30276DA&lpage=none

Rhonda
Richmond, VA
USDA Zone 7

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

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#2: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-04 21:24:45 by John McGaw

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?action=productDetail&prod uctId=155068-19811-F30276DA&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

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#3: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-05 01:25:45 by dr-solo

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" <rthissen.YO@ADRIAN.verizon.net> 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?action=productDetail&prod uctId=155068-19811-F30276DA&lpage=none
>
>Rhonda
>Richmond, VA
>USDA Zone 7
>
>**********
>Basic human psychology is one of my subroutines.
>

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
List Manager: Puregold Goldfish List at
http://weloveteaching.com/puregold/
sign up: http://groups.google.com/groups/dir?hl=en&q=puregold& ;qt_s=Group+lookup
www.drsolo.com
Solve the problem, dont waste energy finding who's to blame
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
I receive no compensation for running the Puregold list or Puregold website.
I do not run nor receive any money from the ads at the old Puregold site.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Zone 5 next to Lake Michigan

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#4: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-05 15:45:40 by james.smith1

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:
>

There is a bird bath block on the market that prevents algae and
mosquitos from getting a foot hold in fountains and biedbaths. A google
search should provide you with information or a visit to your local
garden pond/fountain provider.

I've used small chunks of pool chlorine tablets to keep my fountains
clean. I've always broken them into small portions and added them when
I notice a little green showing up. The beauty of this is they can be
picked up at walmart for a couple of bucks (usually 3" tablets) and
they last quite some time.

JD

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#5: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-06 03:41:19 by Phisherman

On Tue, 04 Jul 2006 19:13:58 GMT, "Natty Dread"
<rthissen.YO@ADRIAN.verizon.net> 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?action=productDetail&prod uctId=155068-19811-F30276DA&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.

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#6: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-07 19:11:26 by gjtoth

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#7: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-07 22:53:13 by Phisherman

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.

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#8: Re: Keeping a fountain clean

Posted on 2006-07-08 17:03:36 by Mindful

"Phisherman" <noone@nobody.com> wrote in message
news:baita21dtq93r1oq6m12r9alie7bvpr56l@4ax.com...
>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.

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