Waterfall cleaner that will not affect colorant

[musicweb]

Is there a waterfall cleaner that can be used with
an algaecide and not affect the blue colorant I'm
using? This is a new waterfall/basin still in progress.
Thanks for any input...

 

[fishlips]

Algaecide can get you in a nasty loop. You kill the algie, it decomposes and then grows more algie.

Buy/use a test kit so you know why your having a problem. For example my well water has 2ppm ammonia right now adding it to a new install would be instant algie bloom.

In short don't fight the algie take away it's food.

 

[Lisak1]

If this is just a water feature (no plants, no fish) I wouldn't hesitate to use algaecide of some kind. But instead of the commercial stuff that costs a fortune, you can use inexpensive drug store hydrogen peroxide. It will kill the algae and I doubt you'd affect your colorant. Or try sodium percarbonate - it's a powdered form and easy to apply to wet rocks. Breaks down into H2O2 and soda ash. Perfectly safe and won't affect other wildlife that might wander into your water feature.

 

[musicweb]

Yep, just a water feature...
Thanks for the advice.

 

[musicweb]

I see several concentrations of the peroxide.
Is there a specific percentage?

 

[Lisak1]

I see several concentrations of the peroxide.
Is there a specific percentage?

Nope. Drug store variety is 3% but I've bought and used it as high as 35%, which is sold as "food grade". Much harder to find now, but I stockpiled some a few years ago that I'm still working my way through. If you can find the higher concentration you can always dilute it down to a more manageable solution - the 35% is pretty caustic. I wouldn't recommend getting it on your skin.

 

[j.w]

@musicweb
I found these instructions online for using the hydrogen peroxide: https://www.watergardenadvice.com/hydrogen-peroxide-pond-algae/