I'm not offended @Panzer13. I have pretty thick skin. And I wasn't rebutting - just sharing my experiences with H2O2.
And yes, hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound - but so is water. And, unlike some pond chemicals, it's a naturally occurring compound. So natural that it's the byproduct of barley straw decomposing. It's also found in the human body - it's produced in your gut, in your cells and even in a baby's mouth where the saliva reacts with breastmilk to produce hydrogen peroxide and kill harmful bacteria. Wounds in your skin naturally release H202 to encourage white blood cells to come to the site. It is mildly caustic, but I brush my teeth with it - I wouldn't try that with any other algaecide.
The downside of barley straw is that it doesn't appear to affect existing algae. It may inhibit the growth of new algae. But then you still have the problem of a bale of rotting straw.
And yes, hydrogen peroxide is a chemical compound - but so is water. And, unlike some pond chemicals, it's a naturally occurring compound. So natural that it's the byproduct of barley straw decomposing. It's also found in the human body - it's produced in your gut, in your cells and even in a baby's mouth where the saliva reacts with breastmilk to produce hydrogen peroxide and kill harmful bacteria. Wounds in your skin naturally release H202 to encourage white blood cells to come to the site. It is mildly caustic, but I brush my teeth with it - I wouldn't try that with any other algaecide.
The downside of barley straw is that it doesn't appear to affect existing algae. It may inhibit the growth of new algae. But then you still have the problem of a bale of rotting straw.
