Olivia Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 I have 10 katadhin sheep, 2 anatolian guardian dogs and 3 border collies. I have several water troughs around the fields for drinking and dunking. I'm having a terrible time with the black plastic troughs growing copious algae. I can scrub them and they are back to green the next day. The metal troughs don't do it. Any suggestions? I really want the animals to have clean, fresh water, it's so blasted hot! Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
waffles Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Not sure if there is any validity in this but my husband puts apple cider vinegar in our chicken's water to stop the algae. We use metal waterers and it has appeared to stop the stuff from growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Maralynn Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 http://extension.missouri.edu/webster/documents/resources/water/Algae_Control_in_Tanks_and_Ponds.pdf Ugh! That's fast. The above link has most of the ideas that I've heard of. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Riika Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 I was going to suggest ACV as well. Some animals don't like the taste though, and will not drink as much as they should. I put out a trough of plain water, and one with ACV so that they can choose. IME, most like the ACV, but there are a couple who don't. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gcv-border Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 That is fast regrowth. If it were me, I would want to try the ACV first and do some research online on goat and sheep sites to get information. I would prefer not to use (what I consider) the chemicals listed in the Univ. of Missouri bulletin. I understand that sheep should not ingest too much copper so I would be careful about adding the copper. I am not sure the authors were being considerate of sheep. Also, I know from a horsey friend that bleach has been linked to anemia in horses. I am vague on the details since it was so long ago, but she told me that a large, professional stable had a bout of anemia in their horses that was linked back to the practice of washing the water buckets in bleach every day. Having said that, I am wondering how well they were rinsing the buckets after washing with bleach. Anyway, food for thought. Good Luck. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NCStarkey Posted August 17, 2016 Report Share Posted August 17, 2016 Hello everyone, I use Chlorine Bleach to combat algae in my plastic stock tanks, and I was pleased to see that it was recommended by the University of Missouri Extension link that Maralynn suggested above. I use 3 to 4 oz of bleach in a 50 gallon Rubbermaid tank. It works great, and my sheep do not mind the taste of the chlorinated water. Scrubbing this kind of stocktank never seems to get all of the algae hiding around the drain hole, and that would contribute to the quick return of the algae under certain weather conditions. Regards, nancy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
juliepoudrier Posted August 18, 2016 Report Share Posted August 18, 2016 I also use bleach, but I just add a capful or two. It seems to work quite well. J. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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