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Barley Straw
The recent APD references to barley straw, humic acid, and algae reduction
reminded me that I intended to report some time ago on my anecdotal
experiments with barley straw. I purchased about a cubic foot of barley
straw from one of the pond supply houses soon after the first report on the
APD that barley straw was used by pond enthusiasts to reduce algae.
I put about 2 handfuls of straw in a filter bag for a Eheim 2217 canister
filter used on a 125 gallon tank and about 1 handful of straw in a filter
bag for a Eheim 2213 canister filter used on a 40 gallon tank. In both
cases after about 3 months the barley straw had disappeared completely and I
placed new straw in the canister.
By and large I didn't change any of the other tank parameters-lighting,
water changes, fertilization regime, etc. I noticed no changes in the
presence of algae in either of my tanks during the test period. Neither
tank had a significant algae problem, but both had occasional spot algae on
the glass and some algae on older plant leaves which continued during the
period in which barley straw was used in the canister filters. The 40
gallon tank had and continues to have a slight problem with filamentous
algae. The use of barley straw appeared to have no effect on the algae
grown in these tanks.
Anyone else tried using barely straw to reduce algae?
Regards, Steve Dixon in San Francisco