FYI: algaecide will eat away at the plastic in your pump fairly quickly. More than bleach in some circumstances. Better to just turn over the water more often.
Hi @Bailey_Steinfadt! Welcome to Maker Forums!
Do you have a citation on that damage for the one drop per gallon concentration of the tetra aglae control thatās recommended here? I know that folks here have been running that concentration for years without problems, so Iād like to know more about that.
No citation for Tetraā¦ will look something up here soon if I can.
I worked in a multi-acre greenhouse and the Kleengro we used DESTROYED everything petroleum-based that it touched. Any plastics or oil based lubricants had to be replaced frequently, but at that scale, the tradeoff was worth it because nobody wants to go scrub out dozens of underground tanks. Bleach will do less to the plastics, but more damage to the metal in the system, so we stuck with Kleengro and constant pump-swaps.
For my lasers, and with that experience, I figure swapping the distilled water out and cleaning my reservoir on a regular basis is cheaper and less mental load than dealing with chemical agents. If youāve cleaned properly, kept sunlight out, and used true distilled like you mentioned (now I have to go check what the maker space guys brought me last timeā¦), you shouldnāt have too much growth anyway.
Ah, Iām not the only one here whoās worked in a huge greenhouseāthough thatās now decades ago.
Kleengro is 2-Propanol, Ethanol, and Didecyl Dimethyl Ammonium Chloride (used in high concentrations), whereas Tetra Algae Control is Poly[Oxyethylene(Dimethyliminio) Ethylene (Dimethyliminio) Ethylene Dichloride] (used in extremely low concentrations).
Also, Kleengro is categorized as an acute health and fire hazard, whereas Tetra Algae Control is not categorized as any hazard (just donāt squirt it in your eyes; itās a mild eye irritant).
So I think weāre quite safe here!
Thanks!
As a chemist I agree, the concentration we recommend for Tetra Algae Control is so low ( to minimize conductivity) itās unlikely to have any effect on plastics.