Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock?

   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #11  
7 tanks various sizes and locations and up to 100 gal. Un-attended location. Using household bleach at about 14oz per day will add up to a significant expense, and since there would be about 2500 applications a year, it is a forgone conclusion that spilling during handling will occur with attendant clothing damage, therefore, a liquid product containing sodium hypochlorite is out. When I say pool shock I am talking about a powdered product that remains relatively inert until it is wetted. That could be safely handled and measured quickly, and, purchased in bulk quite cheaply, way cheaper than household bleach.

Among "other products" is copper sulfate, but it kills sheep, so that's out.

The fish ideas are out as well. One or more of these tanks get emptied every day depending upon which ones get attention from the horses. They empty one, and move on to the next.

Automatic waterers are out as well. There are goats roaming this location, and they get into, and destroy, everything. An automatic waterer+goats=$1000 water bill eventually. (A neighbor of mine came up with a fail-safe system that works well, however. He put a sprinkler timer ahead of the automatic valve, so even if the auto-valve gets stuck, the water will only flow for X time and then shut off. I might try it some day, but with multiple locations in this case, it's a non starter anyway).

Oh, hey, just for comic relief, let me add a goat video...[video]https://www.facebook.com/100009544525285/videos/vb.100009544525285/2256215694706559/?type=2&video_source=user_video_tab[/video]

You ever mix powdered pool shock and spilled it on your clothes? Same as bleach. You can't just dump the powder in a tank. You have to put the powder in a bucket of water to dissolve it, then pour it into the larger tank. Seems like more of an opportunity to spill vs just pouring liquid from a jug.
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #12  
I also have a salt water pool and the shock that comes in a bag is not inexpensive. Here it is 7.99 a bag. There just isn’t anything to put in a trough that is safe for horses. Auto waterer or clean it manually on a regular basis. They do make injectors for household water systems, I have a Stenner periostatic pump on my home system that pumps chlorine into our house water. Not an economical solution for the horse trough IMO.
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #13  
I get the pint size plastic bottles of Shock that includes an algaecide for about $6, sometimes less. I toss a cap full or two of dry granules into a 1,000 gallon pool. Dissolves instantly. The label says it's people safe in 15 minutes. Not sure about critter drinking safe.
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock?
  • Thread Starter
#14  
You ever mix powdered pool shock and spilled it on your clothes? Same as bleach. You can't just dump the powder in a tank. You have to put the powder in a bucket of water to dissolve it, then pour it into the larger tank. Seems like more of an opportunity to spill vs just pouring liquid from a jug.

The only reason you mix powdered pool shock at all is to keep the granules from staining the bottom of your pool before they dissolve. Why would I pre-dissolve it in anything in this application? If a tablespoon per 50 gallons is required you toss in a tablespoon and move on to the next task.
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #15  
Reading along which I've been doing since the first post, my only comment is whatever you use, if your stock's (cattle or horses or sheep or whatever), if their nose whiskers and hair turn blonde, you are using too much.:laughing:
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #16  
I get the pint size plastic bottles of Shock that includes an algaecide for about $6, sometimes less. I toss a cap full or two of dry granules into a 1,000 gallon pool. Dissolves instantly. The label says it's people safe in 15 minutes. Not sure about critter drinking safe.

Me neither. I tend not to drink our pool water. Beers instead. :drink:
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #17  
The only reason you mix powdered pool shock at all is to keep the granules from staining the bottom of your pool before they dissolve. Why would I pre-dissolve it in anything in this application? If a tablespoon per 50 gallons is required you toss in a tablespoon and move on to the next task.

My powdered shock comes in a pouch. 13.5 ounces of powder for 13,500 gallons.

13,500/13.5=1000

1 ounce of powder treats 1000 gallons.

1/20 of an ounce(by weight) will treat 50 gallons. You'll have to weigh out 1/20 of an ounce and decide what unit of volume that is (for example, 1/20 of a tablespoon?)

Here's the part I'd be concerned about from the manufacturer's website.

You're supposed to add it while the pump is running to circulate it and:

"wait until your free available chlorine levels are between 1 and 4 ppm (parts per million) before using your pool."

You'll have to measure it with test strips. Also, the PH of the water affects it as well.

Really, this problem with algae in stock tanks on horse farms has to have been around since the dawn of stock tanks. What have people been doing to address this issue all this time? :confused3:
 
   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock? #19  
I think you're better off just cleaning by hand. But, if your intent of controlling algae with chlorine or bleach maybe you could use a floating pool chlorinator with the pellets in it.

here's the one that floats in my stock tank "cool pool".
Float.jpg
 
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   / Water Trough Algae - Pool Shock?
  • Thread Starter
#20  
Really, this problem with algae in stock tanks on horse farms has to have been around since the dawn of stock tanks. What have people been doing to address this issue all this time? :confused3:

Precisely, and it's just possible that all it takes is a little thinking "outside the box" and the leveraging of existing technology and product streams to solve the problem. An obvious solution is to use an easily handled dry product that can be precisely measured in small doses to treat known quantities of water quickly. It seems so simple that somebody must have tried it, and since this board has so many innovative people on it, I thought I would ask if anyone had evaluated the process and determined it to be effective and safe for the livestock. I am looking for empirical evidence. I already have my own opinion, which is that it could be risky, hence, the reason I am asking around for someone who has tried it.

Speaking of the dawn of stock tanks, the old adage "You can lead a horse to water, but you can't make him drink" could not be truer. Horses are extremely particular about their water sources. If there is any scum floating on top, they will not touch it. We have one horse that has to have a particularly colored bucket of she won't drink (an Appaloosa, no surprise there). Horses foul their water regularly by depositing vegetable matter in it when they drink. This jump starts algae growth, and it can become foul in a couple of hours in the summer months, rendering a full trough un-palatable.
 
 
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