# Pennies in the water trough.



## iridehorses

I was reading on Yahoo about uses for pennies. One of them was to put a few in the outside bird bath to inhibit algae. (They recommended coins minted before 1982 because the copper content was higher).

What I'm getting at is the question: will adding copper to a horse's water trough help with algae and how much is necessary in a 100 gallon tank?


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad

hydrogen peroxide added to the water in a trough prevents algie and will not harm the horses.. I used it for one year and it seemed to work fine.
I use muriatic acid in the troughs to wash them out weekly. It really cuts the algie and makes the tank look like new


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## ponyboy

RiosDad said:


> hydrogen peroxide added to the water in a trough prevents algie and will not harm the horses.. I used it for one year and it seemed to work fine.


Are you serious?? Hydrogen peroxide is not supped to be drinkable!


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## iridehorses

Neither is Clorox but a cap full in the water trough will cut the algae also, I'm not comfortable with either. The question, though, is about copper.


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## stacieandtheboys

I saw that same article and had the same exact thought! Maybe just enough to cover the bottom?


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## RoadRider / Rios Dad

ponyboy said:


> Are you serious?? Hydrogen peroxide is not supped to be drinkable!


 
I used it for one summer on 25 horses plus we had a doctor in the barn and she approved it also.

Google copper in preventing algie and you find lots but not really anything????


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## equiniphile

I have a smaller trough for just 4 horses, like 25 gallons maybe, and refill it a few times a day. I wash it out with a sponge and hot water every week, and it stays really clean. I've never had algae grow in it. I've also found that when I used to use buckets for their water, they freezed a lot quicker than now, when I use a trough. Why is this? I used to use heated water buckets in winter, and when I switched to a trough, I put a heater in it and the horses were deathly afraid of that big red scary monster. Gave up on that expedition xD. I've never heard of preventing algae with pennies....I've heard of using copper sulfate. Here's an article I found:

Prevent moss or algae growth in livestock, nurse tanks


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## Brighteyes

ponyboy said:


> Are you serious?? Hydrogen peroxide is not supped to be drinkable!


 
Actually, it's perfectly safe.  I drink it whiten my teeth (even though it tastes like fish), I clean my fish tank with it, wash cuts with it... Couldn't live without the stuff. 

If you drink too much though, it will make you throw up. Gave it to my dog once when he had eaten some ant poison. But, diluted in water, it won't do a thing.


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## Pidge

Just another thought...if your using copper to keep algae out that would raise the copper content in the water itself...that means it would almost be like a copper supliment in the water wouldnt it? just a random thought...i dont have a clue as to if it keep algae off lol


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## iridehorses

I came across this article: FA-13/FA008: Use of Copper in Freshwater Aquaculture and Farm Ponds and from what I can gather, you need to be careful not to overdose the copper level. It is dependent on the pH of the water.


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## AlabamaHorseMom

RiosDad said:


> hydrogen peroxide added to the water in a trough prevents algie and will not harm the horses.. I used it for one year and it seemed to work fine.
> I use muriatic acid in the troughs to wash them out weekly. It really cuts the algie and makes the tank look like new


After like 30 minutes Peroxide simplly turns in to water. Thats why its kept in the dark bottle. As long as you werent using like GALLONS of it, and the horses waited a half hour or so to drink it, Peroxide would be fine.

If you have any luck with the penny thing please let me know! What an interesting idea!


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## 5cuetrain

I have about 10 100 to 500 gallon troughs and two things work well here in Texas.

1> Goldfish--I use them in the bigger tanks and they sure like to eat the algea and the tanks stay clean.

2> for the smaller tanks I use copper sulfate--most feed stores down here sell it-- follow the directions carefully and life is good. The one I use has been tested and approved for livestock.

Overflow the tanks each time you fill them. Good for the fresh water and good for the horses feet when its dry down here.


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## Indyhorse

Wow I haven't heard this in relation to algae before - but strangely have heard that pennies in the water buckets suppress a mare's heat cycle. I believe it's an old cowboy myth, however. I always kept goldfish in the water troughs growing up. Now I just scrub the tank weekly with ACV, haven't had a speck of algae since Ive used this method.


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## qtrhrsecrazy

I just take a brush and clean tanks.. no algae problem. I work 2 jobs and still have time to do this. I'm not comfortable with putting stuff in the water


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## nrhareiner

Here my well have quite a bit of Iron algae. I bleach the well about once a year to help cut down on it. 

I find that with about 2-3 horses/100 gal tank the water last about 3 days if I fill it up and then let them drink it down to the point it is easy to dump. So it gets dumped washed out and cleaned every 2-3 days through out the summer. Not so much through the winter but it dose not need it as much in colder weather.

As nice at is might sound to put all this stuff in the tank to clean it or keep it clean. I find that in the end it is just as easy and a lot cheaper to just dump the tank when there is a few inch of water left clean it out and refile. The horses really like it much better too as they drink a lot more that way.

I know this might not be possible for all areas but if you can fill a tank you should be able to clean it unless it is one of those really large ones.


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## jamesqf

Err... Why not take the pennies to the store and spend them?

Modern pennies are made with only a thin plating of copper over a cheaper metal - zinc, I think. If you're hoping for some dissolved copper in the water, I think it'd be better to use some scraps of copper water pipe.

However, I have to wonder just how much copper is going to get into the water. A lot of older - 100 years or more - houses use copper water pipe, and I'd think that if it dissolved at all, then after a century or so those pipes would be full of holes.


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## QHDragon

Brighteyes said:


> Actually, it's perfectly safe.  I drink it whiten my teeth (even though it tastes like fish), I clean my fish tank with it, wash cuts with it... Couldn't live without the stuff.
> 
> If you drink too much though, it will make you throw up. Gave it to my dog once when he had eaten some ant poison. But, diluted in water, it won't do a thing.


Wow, I never knew there were so many uses for it! I would totally try the teeth whitening thing if the taste of fish didn't make me sick.


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