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Re: Fermented Barley Straw, Take 2...... (long)
> Date: Thu, 6 Jul 2000 12:27:54 -0500
> From: "James Purchase" <jpurch at interlog_com>
<snip>
> If there is plenty of oxygen available in the
> water, lignins can be oxidised to humic acids and other humic substances.
> 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.
If it is humic acids that are the magic bullet, would not peat moss work just as well as barley straw? Many
people have had good luck using peat in the substrate or in filters.
We used to use Duplgan water conditioner when it was available. It resembled, in
color at least, peat water. Perhaps it contained some humic acid and was thus
beneficial to algae prevention (Dupla never stated it was good for that; it was
just a water conditioner with "natural" things).
Oh, and if barley is the magic bullet, how about using a dosing pump to inject
small amounts of Budweiser? Or Michelob for the high tech people. Or is Coors
the magic bullet? No, that's Coors Light and the Silver Bullet. Nevermind :-)
Just kidding. Please don't inject beer into your tank.
George Booth in Ft. Collins, Colorado (booth at frii_com)
http://www.frii.com/~booth/AquaticConcepts