Algae in pipes

Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
How do I clean algae in my drip irrigation piping.
The damn algae is all over the place, clogging the drippers and pipes.
I spend a few mins everyday cleaning up. But there is no end.

Can I use bleaching powder. What ratio should I mix with water.
I am guessing bleaching powder is totally unsafe for the plants.
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,476
Reaction score
5,580
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
How do I clean algae in my drip irrigation piping.
The damn algae is all over the place, clogging the drippers and pipes.
I spend a few mins everyday cleaning up. But there is no end.

Can I use bleaching powder. What ratio should I mix with water.
I am guessing bleaching powder is totally unsafe for the plants.
Are you sure it is algae? Algae can only grow in the presence of sunlight and all of the piping I have ever seen is black. I too have drip irrigation and my drippers plug up, but it is with calcium deposits.
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Are you sure it is algae? Algae can only grow in the presence of sunlight and all of the piping I have ever seen is black. I too have drip irrigation and my drippers plug up, but it is with calcium deposits.
I am pretty sure it's algae.
I'll describe what I encounter everyday - the thing that clogs the pipes is dark green, soggy leaf like matter. I can't really grab it with my fingers. It kinda melts away.
I have regular pipe that connects from the tap to the black drip irrigation pipes. I can see greenish stuff in the regular pipe too- around the inner walls.
Are you saying algae does not grow inside the black drip irrigation pipes?
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,476
Reaction score
5,580
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
I am pretty sure it's algae.
I'll describe what I encounter everyday - the thing that clogs the pipes is dark green, soggy leaf like matter. I can't really grab it with my fingers. It kinda melts away.
I have regular pipe that connects from the tap to the black drip irrigation pipes. I can see greenish stuff in the regular pipe too- around the inner walls.
Are you saying algae does not grow inside the black drip irrigation pipes?
That is correct. Algae just like any other plant needs sunlight to be able to produce chlorophyll, the green stuff in all plants. So, if you can see green stuff IN the regular pipe that means that enough sunlight penetrates the regular pipe walls to enable algae to grow and the algae flows with the water pressure into your black irrigation pipe and drippers thus stopping them up. So somewhere in the water line there has to be something clear or opaque enabling the algae to form, if it is algae. Sometimes different chemicals, especially chemicals with copper in them, will react with each other and form a greenish film like substance, but I have only seen that when the chemicals are mixed in a bucket and it sits around a day or two. Is you house piped with copper and do you use a fertilizer injector on your drip system?
 
Joined
Oct 19, 2014
Messages
228
Reaction score
27
Would it be possible for you to take parts of the system off and soak them in a large wash tub or bath tub? If you are able to do that you could bleach them and then rinse them several times to make sure there is nothing left that would harm the ground.
 
Joined
Feb 15, 2014
Messages
14
Reaction score
0
Would it be possible for you to take parts of the system off and soak them in a large wash tub or bath tub? If you are able to do that you could bleach them and then rinse them several times to make sure there is nothing left that would harm the ground.
I can do it for the pipe connecting the tap to the black drip irrigation pipe.
It's about 9ft. But definitely can't wash the drip irrigation pipes.
 
Joined
Feb 2, 2014
Messages
11,476
Reaction score
5,580
Location
La Porte Texas
Hardiness Zone
8b
Country
United States
I can do it for the pipe connecting the tap to the black drip irrigation pipe.
It's about 9ft. But definitely can't wash the drip irrigation pipes.
So, if the tank is clean whatever is causing the green stuff begins at the pipe. Can you remove it from the tank? If you can why not remove it, cap one end and fill it up with bleach, let it sit for a day or two and scrub it out. What kind of pipe is this?

I clean my irrigation (1/4") pipe and drippers every year, sometimes twice. My problem is a lime or calcium build up though. All I do is disconnect whatever section is plugged up and stick it in a 5 gallon bucket about 1/2 full of vinegar and then us a turkey baster to force the vinegar through until no bubbles show. Let it sit overnight and do the same thing with water to wash it out and it is just like new
 

Ask a Question

Want to reply to this thread or ask your own question?

You'll need to choose a username for the site, which only take a couple of moments. After that, you can post your question and our members will help you out.

Ask a Question

Similar Threads


Members online

Forum statistics

Threads
26,588
Messages
256,620
Members
13,257
Latest member
corncob

Latest Threads

Top