Topic: Water in a water butt

[caseylee]

How do you stop the water in the water butt from going stagnant.  I will be using it everyday, but I am worried that if I leave it a few days it will go funny

[tim]

If you keep a lid on, & keep the dross out of it, no problem. Keeps for months. If you want to drink it, use Pot Permang.

[caseylee]

sorry to sound silly what is dross

[Baccy Man]

Dross = impurities.

[powerspade]

A piece of charcoal dropped in will help it keep sweet

[RobinOfTheHood]

Keep the light out of it is what Tim is saying.   :)

[caseylee]

brilliant thank you, when i got it from a freecycler there was a large lump pf charcoal in the bottom, so I ill put that back in tomorrow.

[kt.]

A piece of charcoal dropped in will help it keep sweet

Huh? Never heard of this before. Don't think this would be any good for me as my rainwater is for hens as well as the plot.  May use it should I get a second plot though.

[Deb P]

Or you could do what I do and leave the lid off and put a goldfish in it to eat all the mosquito larvae......

[Robert_Brenchley]

i once had an algal bloom in mine. First the water turned green, and I didn't take much notice. They use up all the oxygen, and any fish suffocate, but I don't keep goldfish in the water butt so no matter. A couple of weeks later, I had a plague of flies. The larvae were having a field day in there, gorging themselves on the algae, and there were tens of thousands of the things round the shed. The adults only live a day or so, so killing them  with water sprays made no difference. I covered the butt, and after another couple of weeks, the flies were gone and the water was sweet once more.

[star]

A piece of charcoal dropped in will help it keep sweet

Huh? Never heard of this before. Don't think this would be any good for me as my rainwater is for hens as well as the plot.  May use it should I get a second plot though.

I dont think the charcoal will hurt the chooks, its very good for settling stomachs. They wont actually be eating it, you could always check with the vet though. 

[silly billy]

I don't agree with putting goldfish in water butts to me its cruel. Mosquito larvae need to breathe thats why they hang by the surface so a solution is to pour a small amount of Olive oil or cooking oil into your butts, it won't harm your plants but does prevent the mozzie larvae from breathing.

[star]

Great idea SB, I never would have thought about that. And I agree, you cant put a goldfish in a water butt,

[dtw]

You could put a little window in so that the goldfish can see out.  ;D

[star]

And a castle.........you could also put a glass top on so the cat could watch the fun as the goldfish cooks slowly on really hot days as the water reaches critical temperatures 8) 8) :'(

[Deb P]

I had better explain a bit more....... My goldfish has been in his/her (can you sex goldfish?) tank for three years now, and lives the life of Riley! He has a large old water tank with some oxygenating weed in the bottom all to himself, its in a dappled shady spot collecting water off our garage. I wanted a big tank I could just dunk my whole watering can in without having to fuss with a tap. He keeps the water crystal clear and gets fed pellets once a week in the summer. My three cats don't seem to be in the least interested in him, I guess because he isn't visible when he dives down to the bottom. I guess this scenario is closer to a pond than a water butt!

I tried the layer of oil trick on my ordinary upright water butt (old, didn't come with a lid) at home,  as it seemed to be a magnet for mosquitoes. I must have poured about a pint in and it still hadn't covered the whole surface, so I gave up! It just ended up as a greasy slick on the sides of the butt... :-\

[kenkew]

One drop is the recommended amount. I've tried it but not convinced. A lid is only a partial solution too as when I lift my lids I still get a flurry of mossies rise up. Possibly being washed down the fall pipe?

[Barnowl]

Citrox?

[tim]

Great stuff - but against mossies or grot?

[Barnowl]

Just remember that when I read the label it said it was ideal for disinfecting water butts without having to empty them. Suppose that it might not put off the mozzies at all, but they are averse to citronella....