Hi Gang! I have this cheap fiberglass fountain, that I only use distilled water in, as recommended by the manufacturer, and after about a month of constant running, goopy stuff winds up on the pump and interior walls. It has a large hole in the back, which I have covered with a screen that is secured by velcro, to keep out debris, but yet it's removable for adding water, and to perform a cleaning.


What can I use, that's safe for wildlife, to reduce the goopy build-up, so I don't have to clean it every single month? I saw the suggestion of charcoal in another thread. Would that keep goop away? I mean, some of you have large/huge ceramic containers in disappearing fountains with lots of rocks, or waterfalls with huge rocks/boulders, and the like, that are major projects to assemble. It wouldn't be practical, easy, or cost-effective for you, or your groundskeeper, to completely disassemble every 30 days for a scrubbing! So what do you do/use to keep the water clear and goop-free (among other things), that is safe for wildlife?

Maybe query the manufacture.

crawgarden said:Maybe query the manufacture.

That's a great idea, crawgarden, except I've had it for several years, and the manual is long gone.....

Bummer, has the "goopy stuff" just started?

crawgarden said:Bummer, has the "goopy stuff" just started?

It typically gets "the goop" about every 30 days...

Might the goop be biological in nature? Bacterial films and algae matrices can appear anywhere there's constant water. A little bit of bleach added at intervals, or other microbialcide, would prevent and clear that type of build up.

Good idea, perhaps go to a tropical fish store and get an algaeacide and try that

For the sake of saving money, how much bleach per gallon, (keeping wildlife in mind) and how often?

Bleach is effective at killing most microbes in water in the 2-4ppm range, which is something like one drop of bleach per gallon of water. Bleach is routinely added directly to drinking water in tropical areas to decontaminate it half an hour or so before drinking--it is well tolerated by most animals in small doses.

Since your bleach will probably be diluted to 5% or so when you buy it, common purification guidelines are usually around two drops per quart (or liter). This is around 1 teaspoon per 12 gallons.

The bleach will clear out of the water within a day or two, depending on temperature/sunlight, so I would plan to add so many drops to your fountain every week or two. Bleach does break down into standard table salt, though, and I'd still plan to thoroughly clean out your fountain every season.

I also know people who swear by vinegar added to their water features, but I don't have any experience with that and can't say much about its effectiveness.

I'd been apprehensive to use bleach, knowing that birds tend to drink from the fountain, but with your help on concentration, Paul, I think a weak application of bleach is the ticket.

The fountain only holds 2 gallons of water, so 16 drops total (1/8 or 1/4 teaspoon?) ....and I'm good with cleaning it every season vs. every month, that's for sure!

I swear by DWV to easily maintain (clean) my birdbaths (I've written an article on that), but if left for more than three days, the water clouds up, so my non-scientific observation is that it doesn't necessarily kill off microbes.

Thanks for your help, Paul!

Time to get me a dropper!!

That was my main concern with vinegar (though several people I asked recommended it). Vinegar is a food source (even humans can metabolize it, which is how we handle alcohol) so cloudiness is the expected outcome when delivered to a biotic population. The same thing happens with sugar. Either one added to a biologically active pond or aquarium should cause cloudiness from bacterial blooms. I've often had to warn people who want to use it to lower the pH of their water. Not necessarily bad in that case, since the bacterial matter can be a source of food up the planktonic food chain, but really counter to what we're trying to accomplish in your fountain.

Dana, you said you had the fountain for several years, have you had the "goop" for several years or just recently?

It's the kind of fountain that can't be run year round up here in the north, so, with that said, the goop appears about one month after it's cleaned, and with constant 24/7 operation, during the warm season. Therefore, it requires a monthly cleaning, when in use.