I finally found a FAST, SAFE, and EASY way to kill algae!
If you’ve ever had a pond or a fountain, chances are you’ve had to deal with this annoying green stuff. Algae loves sunshine and warm weather, so you can imagine how fast it can grow in the water!
Algae was clogging up my fountain to where only a trickle of water was coming out of the spout, instead of its normal steady stream. The water basin that held the water was also covered in algae, which I knew I could easily scrub to clean it out. The one thing I didn’t know what to do was how to get the algae out of the tube that ran from the water basin up to the water spout???
After a few trial and errors, I finally found a FAST, SAFE, and EASY way to kill it…
Just adding this one simple household product to the water did the trick. Hydrogen peroxide!
Before adding the hydrogen peroxide, the water tube that shoots the water up to the the watering can, was almost completely clogged with algae.
A day after treatment, I blew on one end of the tube and this is what came shooting out!
In an instant, my fountain was working normally again!! No more clogged tubes!
Note: The dying algae will start letting go of the sides of the fountain and water basin, and begin to float through the system, clogging the pond pump filter. Since I only have a 3 gallon fountain, I simply just replaced the water. For larger ponds and fountains where you can’t just replace the water, make sure to clean the filter often to prevent it clogging with this stuff.
I was a little concerned about my hummingbirds that came to drink out of my fountain after adding the peroxide so I did some research. Apparently, many pond experts have been using this method for over 10 years and have never had any issues with it affecting their wildlife, coy fish, snails, amphibians, or any other living creature that lived in (or drank from) their ponds. WOOT!!
For routine maintenance use about 3/4 -1oz of peroxide per 100gallons of water once a week. For excessive algae use 2-3oz. of peroxide per 100gallons and repeat in a few days.
For my little 3 gallon fountain all I did was squeeze a few squirts of peroxide into the water basin (probably about 1tbsp), then I waited a day and let it run through the system.
It’s nice having an algae-free, smooth-running fountain again!
Marie Lutzow
I never knew about peroxide and fountains! I have one on my wall and one outside in the garden. Love that I can now use a cheap, safe alternative to bleach, and a full shutdown each time I had to clean. Thank you for sharing!
I love your blog, I am a new reader, having come across your blog after seeing your cat enclosure, and instantly knowing I want one! Marie
Tee
Thank you for writing Marie! I appreciate your sweet comments! You will have to post a picture of the cat enclosure if you made one too! 🙂
Theresa
Thanks will try today. Theresa
Tee
Go for it! 🙂
Denise
Hello
I am so happy to hear this info about peroxide! Unfortunately, the guys that installed my water feature told me to use bleach. I didn’t use much but then couldn’t figure out why the birds weren’t coming to visit! This is great! My sons dog comes and drinks it too! By then bleach had dissipated but this is good info since this is all new to me! ! Now I can KEEP it clean rather than turn it off and then powered wash …and then add a little bleach ! It is in a sunny spot! I did not realize that the sun contributes to the algae opposed to moss! Do you recommend any plants that can go in the water feature for healthy growth? It is considered “ pondless” although water can be more prevalent after big rain! There is nothing swimming in it, but it has a nice flow to it! Thanks for any info!
Tee
Hi Denise,
I’m so glad you enjoyed my post! Yes, I much prefer peroxide over bleach just as you do because of the wild life 🙂 Living here in the Arizona desert, algae is a very normal thing because of the warm temps. Hmm…I’m not sure which plants would be best for a water feature but I’m sure if you went down to a nursery, they could tell you. So glad you dropped in to say Hello!
Helen
What if you have mosquito fish in the pond. Will the peroxide harm them?
Tee
Hi Helen,
Good question! I found this info at Pond Wiki:
“Hydrogen peroxide directly comes in contact with the algae and will kill it. This chemical dissipates very quickly into the water, so you don’t need to remove the fishes from the pond. It is an easy and convenient way to kill algae.”
Linda Williams
Will the peroxide harm my dogs who drink from the fountain?
Tee
Hi Linda,
Like your dog, I was a little concerned about my hummingbirds that came to drink out of my fountain after adding the peroxide, so I did some research. Apparently, many pond experts have been using this method for over 15 years and have never had any issues with it affecting their wildlife, coy fish, snails, amphibians, or any other living creature that lived in (or drank from) their ponds.
JoAnn Timmins
What about a bird bath?
Tee
To be safe, I would add 1 capful of apple cider vinegar or 1 teaspoon per gallon of water to the bird bath to keep it clean. The apple cider vinegar also provides vitamins & minerals to the birds..
Dee
Does hydrogen peroxide damage resin fountains? Thx d
Tee
I’m not really sure, Terry. If you find out, let me know!
Mary
How much peroxide can I add to small bird bath to make it safe for all birds including hummingbirds
Tee
Hi Mary,
Honestly, for a bird bath, I would just put a little splash of peroxide as you don’t need too much. Hope that helps!