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Re: Barley Straw
>From: IDMiamiBob at aol_com
>Subject: Re: Steve's Barley Straw experiment.
>
>Unfortunately, Steve, the barley straw trick reequires bright sunlight to
>break the humics from the straw down into algicidal by-products. We didn't
>get that piece of the puzzle until a couple days ago.
I have an advantage in this regard. My "Easy-Filter"
http://floridadriftwood.com/easy2.jpg is open at the top and viewable
through the aquarium from two sides. At the top it is exposed directly
under the aquarium lights ( one inch away ). The sides the aquarium gets
two hours of rising morning sun.
For Barr; the mysterious chemical info: "These humic substances occur
naturally in many waters and it has been shown that, when sunlight shines
onto water which contains dissolved oxygen, in the presence of humic
substances, hydrogen peroxide is formed. Low levels of peroxide are known
to inhibit the growth of algae and experiments have shown that sustained
low concentrations of hydrogen peroxide can have a very similar effect on
algae to that of straw. " http://www.floridadriftwood.com/straw.html
I've replaced the filter medium with Barley straw for my "experiment".
Unfortunately, if you are using a canister filter they tend to have dark
plastic so you are out of luck.
See my NEW AQUARIUM HARDWARE & TOOLKIT:
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/aquariumlandscapes.html
HOMEPAGE: http://www.floridadriftwood.com
eBay specials; http://members.ebay.com/aboutme/boukmn/