QUESTIONS ASKED ABOUT BARLEY STRAW

Question 1 – Can barley straw solve my problem?

Eve from Johannesburg:

I have a small pond (1.5 X 0.5 m) which is tiled on the inside which has just been installed. After a week the water was already green and smelled like dead carp. Will you product be able to help with this problem as well as keep plants and future fish alive?

KoiNet:

Do you have any circulation in the pond? Little fountain pump or an air pump? Are there any fish in? If you do have circulation it is worthwhile to consider some barley straw to control the algae. One small bag should last you about a year.

Eve:

At the moment there is no circulation/air pump but I was thinking of getting a small water pump. There aren’t any fish as yet however we may be getting goldfish in the new year. I would like some barley straw.

KoiNet:

Do you have any circulation in the pond? Little fountain pump or an air pump? Are there any fish in?

If you do have circulation it is worthwhile to consider some barley straw to control the algae. One small bag should last you about a year.

Eve:

At the moment there is no circulation/air pump but I was thinking of getting a small water pump. There aren’t any fish as yet however we may be getting goldfish in the new year. I would like some barley straw.

KoiNet:

The action of the straw is that while it is decomposing in an aerobic environment, specie specific bacteria releases anti-algal toxins. The best results will be achieved while oxygenated water flows over the straw.

So I do suggest that you get the water moving in some way to eliminate stratification. A simple way to do this is to install an aquarium air pump with sufficient pressure to operate from the bottom. That will cause an updraft current to mix the water and improve the operation of the barley straw. You can also use the air to operate an air lift pump so you can direct the flow.

Question 2 – How does it work?

Barry from Pretoria:

Are this magic and just another way to make money out of useless junk? How does it work?

KoiNet:

No, it is not magic. It is a biological way of the control of algae. When the straw decays in an aerobic, aquatic environment, the organisms responsible for the decomposition of the cellulose body of the tuff straw cells release components that eliminate, or retard the growth of algae. That we know. We just not know for sure which organisms and what chemicals are doing the work. We also do not know for sure what type of algae is affected.

It is a case of not yet clearly understanding the process. It is living organisms, and on a microscopic scale they have their own territorial battles of survival that depend strongly on the environmental conditions and other competing organisms.

Barley straw is used especially in the UK. One has just to read the literature on the barley straw to understand the process, the controversy and legitimacy better. Because there is as yet not clear-cut methodology and response that can be repeatedly scientifically measured, no one has registered barley straw as a pesticide and sale based on claimed algae control for public dams and ponds are forbidden in the USA. But this is just technicalities and a question of semantics, because it is legitimate to sell it as a water clarifier. You just must not say it “controls algal growth”.

Question 3 – Is it safe?

Jonathan in Gauteng:

What will happen to my other plants? There are iris and bulrush in my vegetable filter.

KoiNet:

No, it will not kill macrophytes (higher plant life).

Question 4 – Will it make me angry?

Barry from Pretoria again:

What about my UV clarifier now. Was it an expensive and useless investment?

KoiNet:

No. Not at all. The UV light, if installed to specifications, will kill free-flouting organisms like viruses, bacteria and algae in the water. So it sterilizes and clarifies the water.

As a clarifier is why most people buy them, but 6 to 8 months of continues use renders the UV-tube mostly ineffective, but by then in most cases the balance in the pond has matured from free-floating algae to “carpet” algae and no one notices the UV-light except the electricity meter. Next season you have problems again with excessive algae, and buy a new tube.

If fast multiplying algae is taken care of, the UV tube can do what is does best – killing bacteria and viruses. Put your light on a timer to be on long enough for 2-3 pond turnovers. The growth rate of bacteria are generally much slower that algae. Only when the fish are suffering from bacterial disease let the UV be on all the time to limit the buildup of pathogenic bacteria.

Your UV-light can be a valuable tool in healthy pond management, but then it must be in tip-top condition and the flow rate through the tube must not be too high. It must be installed to specifications.