How does barley straw control algae

However, overdosing the pond with barley straw may cause fish kills because the straw deoxygenates the water as it decays. This is especially a problem if the pond is overdosed with straw during a prolonged warm spell. The straw is most effective when applied loosely in cages or netting. It is best to anchor the straw packages to the bottom, but provide a float to keep the straw near the surface of the pond where sunlight and oxygen are more prevalent.

Apply the straw at several locations around the pond and especially near the water source if a spring or stream feeds the pond. In small garden ponds, small nets or nylon stockings can be used to hold the small amounts of straw needed.

Finding a local supplier of barley straw can sometimes be difficult. You might consult with private and government agencies that work with local farmers, such as farm supply companies, extension offices, and Conservation District offices, to determine if barley straw is locally available.

In addition, several suppliers are available online just type "barley straw" in your favorite search engine. Let's Stay Connected. By entering your email, you consent to receive communications from Penn State Extension. View our privacy policy. Thank you for your submission! Home Barley Straw for Algae Control. Barley Straw for Algae Control. A weighted onion bag with loose barley straw. The problem Excessive algae growth is one of the most common problems occurring in ponds in Pennsylvania.

As with many natural methods of control, the turnaround to see results is often much slower in comparison to mechanical and chemical treatments. If you have a major algae bloom in your pond, and your fish are suffering, opting for a mechanical treatment i.

In fact, in most cases of algae growth, we would first recommend mechanical removal and a pond clean-up before adding barley to the system. Having large amounts of algae usually indicates excess nutrients, excess waste, or low-aerated conditions. Adding more organic material to the pond, such as barley, would only make the problem worse as it takes so long to become effective.

As well as this, as barley straw is reliant on the beneficial bacteria in your pond to break it down, adding it to low oxygen and high waste systems will actually reduces its effectiveness, as bacteria are likely already struggling with the low oxygen content and large bio-load present. For this reason, we always recommend barley as a preventive measure, and not to stop a huge algae bloom already in place. The best way to use barley would be to first eliminate any major algae blooms, and then supplement with straw to prevent blooms coming back the following season.

The main problems that can arise from using barley straw are drops in water quality, which are often caused by adding barley to a pond with low aeration, poor filtration, or high waste. Barley straw is carbon based and organic in nature; no different to leaves, twigs, and pollen which enters the pond and contributes to waste. Just like other organic material, during decomposition it will break down and produce harmful substances, such as ammonia, as a by-product.

Beneficial bacteria would need to break this down or it can become a major issue for fish as concentrations rise. Adding barley straw to a pond which is already struggling with high waste problems would only amplify the issues, causing drops in oxygen and a rise in harmful substances.

If your water quality tests are coming back as good, and you have adequate filtration and aeration in place, adding barley straw to prevent algae should be very safe for fish. It will also work much better as there will be more oxygen for bacteria meaning faster decomposition , and less chance of problems with water condition later down the road. Both of these work in a very similar way to prevent algae, but the delivery method is different, as well as the speed of action.

The straw would first need to go through multiple steps of decomposition before hydrogen peroxide is produced. This process can take anywhere from 3 weeks, to over 3 months, depending on water temperature and pond conditions. Barley straw extract, on the other hand, comes in a highly concentrated liquid form and has been optimized for quicker turnaround. The main drawback of using extract over straw is that you need to be very careful with dosing, as the concentrated nature can make it very dangerous for fish.

Below are some of our recommendations:. Barley straw will only work while decomposing under well oxygenated conditions, and should be left as close to the surface water as possible floating or shallow shelf for the best results. It needs to be close to the surface so enough UV light from the sun can penetrate to form oxygen free radicals that eventually end up as dissolved hydrogen peroxide — the algaecide.

When applying barley straw you want to make sure you have a stable aeration source, such as a fountain or air pump , as well as a filtration system to help remove some of the ammonia and nitrites that come with decomposition. Never use more than is recommended as this will place unnecessary stress on your biological filtration, with very little in turns of extra algae removal.

If you have liquid barley extract, you should also dose as per the label guidelines. Dissolved extract has the advantage of remaining free-swimming and being in constant sunlight, and you should see results faster in comparison with barley straw.

In warmer months decomposition will happen faster, and in colder months it will be a much slower process. This is because beneficial aerobic bacteria work more efficiently in summer and much slower in winter when the water temperature drops. Hydrogen peroxide will continue to be produced throughout the entire decomposition process, and will gradually leech into water over this period.

For barley liquid treatments, results will usually be slighter quicker and the concentration of hydrogen peroxide slightly higher. On average, you should start seeing results within weeks during warmer months and weeks in colder months. Remember, barley straw is a preventive method of algae control, not an algae killer, so a good result from barley treatment would be less algae returning the following year.

To remove large algae blooms, always use a direct treatment method and only use barley to supplement the process. For the best results and algae prevention, adding more barley straw a few times a year is good practice to make sure there is always a low concentration of hydrogen peroxide in the water. To ensure there is always a little barley decomposing and producing hydrogen peroxide, we recommend replacing your straw every 4 to 6 months. Because that is what happened to me.

Please advise! Thank you. How much barley straw are you dosing? Also, have you tested your water quality for further problems? In my experience, water may turn slightly cloudy when using barley straw in the long term, but this is often only when you add too much, too often.

Yep, that should be fine. In-fact, using the Crystal Clear which is basically just beneficial bacteria may actually improve your results from barley as there will be more available bacteria to help decompose the straw, resulting in a quicker turnaround of hydrogen peroxide to combat alage! It may work somewhat in the long term, but the problem with barley extract is it requires bacteria for decomposition.

Alternatively, you could first clean the current algae and then add a non-toxic pond water dye. Water dyes block a large proportion of sunlight, and can help slow the growth of algae. Most barley straw products intended for pond use have been treated and made safe for aquatic eco-systems. Pond dyes will work to absorb a good chunk of UV light, so the effectiveness of barley may indeed be reduced.

Whether barley straw would be considered effective in this situation would probably depend on the average depth of the pond, the concentration of water dye, and how much sunlight you get on a daily basis. The less dye, the more light, and the shallower the water so more sunlight penetrates , the more effective the treatment. Would barley straw work in a pond that is indoors if the area gets only a small amount of sunlight? However, if you have enough light indoors for algae to grow, you should technically have enough for barley to work to some degree.

Hello I live in Ottawa, Canada, and close my pond for the winter no fish , and bring all my supplies fertilizer, beneficial bacteria etc. Are there any specific products that start working in colder water so I can get the best start at prevent summer-heat blooms?

Similar to straw products, liquid extract should last a long time if properly stored in a cool, dry, dark location. If the packaging does not have a date, you could contact the manufacturer to confirm, as the shelf-lives of products probably differ depending on the composition.

In regards to the efficiency of barley, it works the best in highly-oxygenated, warm waters, with plenty of sun exposure and active bacteria — most if not all of which are usually absent in winter. Your best bet would probably be supplementing the pond with a cold water bacteria treatment which would help boost numbers going into spring. Hi Is it safe to use Barley Straw in the plastic net that it was bought in?

Is it safe for tadpoles and newts? Assuming you purchased barley straw intended for pond use, the net should indeed be safe. I have a Koi pond with a few tench and goldfish, will the tench be okay with the bail barley straw option? As I know tench are quite sensitive? Yes, barley should be fine with tench. Hi Chris, I live next to a 39 acre lake with an island that is fed by a creek that comes from larger bird sanctuary lake.

As you can imagine, we have water quality problems and frequent algae blooms during the hot summer months. Do you guys do consulting? Thanks for the information. I occasionally scrape some out with my lawn scarifier. Around the blanket weed the water is crystal clear! I had a problem with algae. Have long hours of harsh sunlight and heat in summer The Karoo, western cape in South Africa.

The water is used and the pond refilled topped up twice a week. The income water is infested with Algae and string algae and is rich in minerals. The water was often green and discoloured. There are about 50 koi fish, tilapia and gold fish that live in the pond.

After reading about the barley straw, I put in one bale, wrapped in chicken wire to hold it together and weights to keep it at the bottom it floats like a cork. After about a month , as it started to decompose the water started to clear. I have to replace the barley straw annually.

So definitely works for me. I have used barley straw in the UK, by the way its is strqw not hay and therefore contains no grains, it is a bi product of harvesting the grains to make beer. We used to stuff old stockings with it, float that in our pond and it kept the green algi in check, it did not help hugely with what we called blanket weed though. The UK environment agency used barley straw bales in stream to control algea and also if there was a spill of any description it was the prefered clean up agent acting as huge filter mediums.

Over 15 years the results we got in our 10 x 5 x3 foot pond did strongly suggest there is something in it. As to if it would work down here in Australia, I need to test it. I have a non scientific gut feeling that both water and air temps come into play, hence whynthe UK get such good results.

So with our temps here, it may possibly create an issue with dissolved O2 content, exasperating the situation. The problem with testing by home owners is that they rarely have two equal ponds to use — one with straw and one without. Press here to subscribe. Garden Myths - Learn the truth about gardening.

By on Algae is probably the pond owners biggest problem and people try everything to get rid of it, even barley straw. Even if it does work, it seems a shame to use it in a pond rather than make beer out of it!

If you like this post, please share This entry is filed under Ponds , Uncategorized and tagged algae , Barley straw , ponds. April 30, at pm. Robert Pavlis says:. Mike says:. August 3, at pm. MATT says:. April 14, at am. June 28, at am. July 7, at am. June 11, at am.

Chris Le Roux says:. June 10, at am.