Water tote and using chlorine or other ways to prevent algae

[BigL]

For those of you with water totes how much chlorine do you add to it to prevent algae growth?

Or what else do you do to prevent it? I've painted it flat black to try to limit the amount of sunlight that gets inside.

Or is this not a concern?

[rjbowmaster]

We use bleach

[BigL]

We use bleach

to clean or do you leave it in for deer to drink it?

[M16]

I'd drop a cup of bleach in it just to be sure.

[BigThicketBoy]

Google it but I think I put3 cups per 55gal

[whitetailfanatic]

Do deer drink chlorinated crystal clear water?

[Okiehunter]

How to purify water with Bleach if you plan to drink it.

According to the American Red Cross,
•Use regular liquid bleach (any brand). The only active ingredient should be sodium hypochlorite (concentration 5.25 – 6 percent). If you also see sodium hydroxide on the ingredient list, it is apparently OK and safe. Do not use bleach that contain soaps, perfumes, or dyes. Be sure to read the label. The “Regular” household bleach is usually fine for this.
•Add about 8 drops (one-eighth US teaspoon) of regular liquid bleach per one gallon of water. Use 4 drops if using a 2-liter bottle.
•Mix thoroughly and let stand for 30 minutes.
•Then, smell the water. If the water has a faint smell of chlorine, then it is OK to use. If you cannot detect any chlorine odor, add another 8 drops of regular liquid bleach (4 drops for 2-liter bottle). Let stand, and smell it again. If you still cannot smell chlorine, discard it and find another water source.



It may be useful to have a swimming pool test kit to verify the chlorine level in the water. 1 ppm to a maximum of 4 ppm is safe to drink.

Note that bleach has a shelf life, although you will probably not see a date on the bottle. Bleach loses about half its effectiveness within a year, so be sure to date your bottle upon purchase. Double the dosage if one year old. I would replace bleach that has been stored much beyond a year, just to be sure of full strength effectiveness.

[gonehuntin]

If you can get it in the tank I would use a floating chlorine dispenser like is used in pools and takes the 3 inch chlorine tablets. I use one in a 6 foot galvanized stock tank and it never grows algae. The kids use it as a hillbilly swimming pool.

[BigL]

Do deer drink chlorinated crystal clear water?

I personally don't care about the water trough, but the water tote where the water needs to flow through a 3/4" faucet and hose, I don't want algae clogging it up.

[Tubby]

Paint the outside if the tote black. Algae can't crow without sunlight.

[hunting270]

To purify water for drinking they suggest 8 drops of bleach per gallon of water.

[DPElite]

I'd drop a cup of bleach in it just to be sure.

This is what I used to do and worked fine for shower and dish washing

[Draco]

You can put corn meal in a sock and throw that in there and just let it float around. You will have to change it every couple weeks though. That is what we use in our water gardens here at the house and it works well.

[Cull]

I painted mine black with the plastic adhering paint, use about a cup and a half of bleach and know that my trough is way cleaner than the rest of the water troughs on the ranch, even with a little algae.

Haven't had a complaint from the deer or the coons.

[KactusKiller]

Just be careful not to use too much, I put out troughs last year in July, I tried using the chlorine pool tabs(1/2tab) in a tote and I drained 90% of it this spring. Don't think I ever had a pic of a deer drinking. It was crystal clear but nothing drank it. Didn't smeel like chlorine or a pool but nothing touched even as hot/dry as it was. I haven't refilled them again to try less chlorine. If we haven't got some rain by my next trip I prob will with the suggested bleach mix.