Algae and barley straw in garden ponds part 2
Algae and Barley Straw ... Oxygen Again, So Important
In previous web pages as well as this one I have stressed time and again the importance of oxygen in the water. Fish and biofilter bacteria depend totally upon it. Now it appears that barley straw cannot work without oxygen either. Let me explain .....
When barley straw is placed into water it starts to rot. This like so many processes happens more quickly as temperature increases. Rotting requires biological action to take place and in this process the bacteria responsible consume oxygen contained in the water. In addition in the presence of sunlight small amounts of this dissolved oxygen are transposed into a highly reactive form that literally survives only for a fraction of a second. It just so happens that in particular circumstances, as for example when water contains humic compounds this highly reactive oxygen is converted into hydrogen peroxide that in dilute solution is reasonably stable ... for 2 days apparently.
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Hydrogen peroxide is a bleach or in chemical terms a strong oxidising agent. It is also well known that algae growth is interrupted in the presence of hydrogen peroxide.
http://wetrack.it/macarthurwatergarden/a/526Let's get back to our barley straw in the water. It is believed these days (without being totally certain) that the following series of events take place when barley straw is added to pond water.
A whole range of fatty acids starting with acetic acid (vinegar) and getting more complex are produced as are napthenic compounds (moth ball related) and phenolic type compounds (strong disinfectants).
Further enzymatic and bacterial processes create what are called humic and fulvic acids. These are highly complex chemicals. They are much talked about yet poorly understood carbon-rich high molecular weight compounds. They play important roles in all lifeforms. They dissolve in the pond water.
So now after a period of time we have humic compounds, sunlight and dissolved oxygen ... exactly what is required to make oxygen hyperactive and thus become hydrogen peroxide so long as water is present. As little as 2 ppm (parts per million) or 2 gms of hydrogen peroxide per ton of water is sufficient to inhibit algae growth addition of synthetic hydrogen peroxide has also been shown to inhibit algae growth. This may well be worth trying in a pond environment.
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Barley straw article continued Buy the low cost combo pond filter and UV containing Alfagrog or Supra as it's called in USA
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