Really? I get to do it first?
[QUOTE=poltroon;7090277]
I have fish in mine, and have really big tanks.[/QUOTE]
FORGET THE GOLDFISH!!!
Most of the waters at my barn are in small-ish buckets… like the bottom 1/3 of a big plastic barrel/drum, so they generally are low enough to need filling every other day or so. If they’re half full and clean, they get topped off. If they’re half full and gross, they get scrubbed and emptied.
[QUOTE=Katyusha;7090886]
What do you do with the fish when you have to clean the trough? Or do the fish keep it that clean to where you don’t have to?
And what kind of fish?[/QUOTE]
I am interested as well. I have a horse at my fathers farm that is retired and gets fat on air. My grandmother (who lives right beside the pasture) feeds her for me every day and tops the trough off. I go to the barn once a week or so to check up on her. I can’t believe in one week how dirty the water gets. I would be interested in what kind of fish people use. I have the standard huge Rubbermaid trough - its a large size because I want to make sure she always has plenty of water. At 5’2" and 110 lbs I can’t dump the water trough when its full.
[QUOTE=AlexisACapps;7090940]
At 5’2" and 110 lbs I can’t dump the water trough when its full.[/QUOTE]
I doubt anyone can. You bucket the water out until it gets low enough to dump.
I used feeder fish (goldfish). Those things they sell cheaply at the store to be fed to larger fish.
Goldfish will make your tanks dirty - you need algae fish. They live off the algae and keeps the tanks clean. They dont cost much from pet stores.
[QUOTE=Magics Mom;7090962]
Goldfish will make your tanks dirty - you need algae fish. They live off the algae and keeps the tanks clean. They dont cost much from pet stores.[/QUOTE]
They eat mosquito larvae though.
Algae eaters are far more fussy about their living conditions.
Plain old unscented non-concentrated bleach! Yes it’s safe, you’ll find it recommended by universities and extension agents. The quantity I keep finding says 2-3 ounces per 100 gallons. I find that 2 tablespoons (less than one ounce) will keep my 100 gallon tank clear until it needs dumping and scrubbing for typical reasons like caterpillar poop, bird poop, dirt and sand from horse antics etc.
I use a half size bucket to scoop water out until I can drag it a few feet and dump it away from the corral. Then I do pour in a bit of bleach as I scrub it, rinse, dump, rinse, dump then fill and add bleach. If I top it off a couple of times I do have to add another TBSP of bleach or it will be too diluted and algae will start up.
I found it actually faster/easier to use a green 3M scrub pad to get it clean over using a brush. Stay away from concentrated bleach or scented bleach. I may try the tablets too if I can find an easy location to get them.
chicamuxen
I’m an idiot…
Never have I done the “bail out with a smaller bucket then dump” thing.
No wonder my back hurts all the time. Duh.
My big water trough sits kind of near a slope. If I just get it scooched over enough, gravity helps a lot.
I just have goldfish.
There’s a plug in the bottom of the tank; I can drain it that way. Once it is low, then it can be flipped and hosed out.
I have a net for catching the goldfish. Some of them have gotten pretty big. We scoop a bucket of water and put them in there while we change the water, which we don’t do all that often. I do obviously fill it and top it off regularly, and skim anything icky off the top.
We have some pieces of PVC pipe in the bottom for the fish to hide in, to keep them from being a wildlife buffet, though we do lose some over time.
It gets very hot here and sometimes the horses knock over lesser waters. In winter, buckets can freeze effectively solid but the tanks do not. The 300 gallon tanks stay put and there’s always water in them. The water isn’t pristine but it’s good enough that when I turned out my mare from her pristine buckets-in-stall, the first thing she did every morning was mosey on over for a nice drink of fish water. The horses like bonking their noses around in it and playing a bit, sometimes chasing the fish, other times just enjoying the splash.
And, my daughter has been known to, ahem, ‘inadvertently’ play in the tank as well.
My horses have survived this way for years.
It is far more dangerous to them to be out of water than to have it be fishy.
[QUOTE=amastrike;7090929]
Most of the waters at my barn are in small-ish buckets… like the bottom 1/3 of a big plastic barrel/drum, so they generally are low enough to need filling every other day or so. If they’re half full and clean, they get topped off. If they’re half full and gross, they get scrubbed and emptied.[/QUOTE]
I tried something like that for a while; frequently by 3 pm, some horse had knocked it over and the horses had no water. It probably would have worked if they’d had a float on them so they were always full or if they had been bolted to the fence. But of course as soon as you do that, it’s harder to empty and scrub them.
I have multiple tanks and rotate them. Fill one half way, let the horses drink it down. Dump first tank, fill second tank half way. Let first tank dry out in air/sunshine. Shampoo, rinse, repeat. Helps cut down on gunk. I also use a handheld snow scraper if icky…easy to scrape, get in the round parts of the tank, and does not scrape off the plastic.
Use a SIPHON HOSE for emptying tanks!
SAVE your body, you need those shoulders for other things!! Along with the wrists and hands holding the buckets.
A siphon hose is pretty easy to get going, empties the tank as fast as it can, is WAY EASIER than dealing with buckets of heavy water. A spring clamp on the side of tank will hold hose in place while it does it’s work and not fall out. You can even go away while tank empties, then come back to deal with EMPTY dirty tank after doing other jobs, so lets you do two things at once.
Siphon hose works for tall or small people, no real effort or physical muscles involved to hurt yourself.
Work smarter, use science to help you, not just harder like men do!!
dirty trough
BTW, have any of you noticed more algae growing in a galvanized tank as opposed to a Rubbermaid tank? Mine are side by side and I have noticed this. But not sure why. BTW, I just ordered more clear water tablets----they are doing an amazing job.
Yep, siphon for emptying water tanks.
Last year when Sandy rolled through, we had time to prepare. Knowing the power was going to go out, possibly for a week or more, I put together 14 days of drinking water for the horses. If I filled up the tubs where they stand and just let the horses have at it, all the water would be filthy in just a matter of days. So I moved all the troughs into feed aisle, cleaned them thoroughly with bleach, and filled them with fresh water that I would dole out by the bucket on an as need basis - preserving clean water as long as possible.
While many people suffered a long time, our area’s power was restored quickly. A friend came by to survey damage and saw I had several hundred gallons of water squirreled away and said “oh man you’re going to have to take this all out bucket by bucket?!”
I said “oh no :lol:… I filled it by hose. Its getting drained by hose.” :lol: and I showed her how I take the same hose I used for filling, ran it down a slope and drew on it, and the water started siphoning out immediately.
You can use just about any hose to siphon, I use my regular 50’ hose. As long as the length of it is running more or less downhill - even a slight grade will do. Just put one end in the tank, draw on the other end (helps if you have strong lungs/diaphram) until you get a trickle of water and then set the hose down, she’ll run like a river till the tank is dry.
My rubbermaid is tied to the fence to try to avoid tipovers. It has some holes drilled in the top edge already.
About siphoning- I’ve had luck with attaching the hose to a spigot and running the hose till all the air is out of it- and then holding the ends up high so the water is trapped inside the hose carefully and quickly remove the hose from the spigot. Then put one end in the place you want to drain and weigh it down with something- and take the other end over a hill. Don’t need to suck the air out of the hose or risk a mouthful of dirty water.
Siphon and drain take too long.
I do open the drain and let it drain some while I am doing my chores but it just seems to take forever. That is why I use a bucket.
I keep a large Rubbermaid (30 gallon) tank inside my run in shed. Since it is not exposed to sunlight I do not have algal growth. Talk about a time saver.
I personally would not use the chlorine tabs in any tank my horses drink from. The chlorine kills the beneficial microbes in their gut. There is plenty of science/literature indicating that this occurs in humans and that as a result we get sick more often. That alone is enough of a caution for me.
Here is one quick reference to my statement above. Just google chlorine effects on immune system and be prepared to be inundated with tons of references.
http://www.chronofhorse.com/forum/showthread.php?410246-Dirty-Water-Troughs/page2
Can’t believe this hasn’t been mentioned yet but if you’re not dumping your water tanks every few days you’re breeding lots of mosquitos.
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;7091973]
Can’t believe this hasn’t been mentioned yet but if you’re not dumping your water tanks every few days you’re breeding lots of mosquitos.[/QUOTE]
That is what the goldfish are for.
There are also things you can put into the water that kill the mosquitoes.
[QUOTE=rcloisonne;7091973]
Can’t believe this hasn’t been mentioned yet but if you’re not dumping your water tanks every few days you’re breeding lots of mosquitos.[/QUOTE]
True only if you’re in an area with a mosquito issue. I only dump my tanks once a month (using a siphon) and in between I refill as necessary. Sure, they get a bit green, but the horses seem to prefer the green water to the fresh water in their stall buckets (they’ve got 24/7 access to both) as their buckets are rarely drank out of.
And, maybe TMI, I frequently taste the water to make sure it’s not off tasting or foul smelling. I’d probably drink it too.
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