• Amused
  • Angry
  • Annoyed
  • Awesome
  • Bemused
  • Cocky
  • Cool
  • Crazy
  • Crying
  • Depressed
  • Down
  • Drunk
  • Embarrased
  • Enraged
  • Friendly
  • Geeky
  • Godly
  • Happy
  • Hateful
  • Hungry
  • Innocent
  • Meh
  • Piratey
  • Poorly
  • Sad
  • Secret
  • Shy
  • Sneaky
  • Tired
  • Results 1 to 7 of 7

    Thread: DIY String Algae Collector Brush

    1. #1
      kimini is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      1,694

      DIY String Algae Brush

      Many pond owners already have a dryer duct cleaning kit for cleaning bottom drains, which typically comes with a 2" and 4" brush. Coincidently, there are "string algae brushes" sold that appear to have exactly the same 2" brush, and since I don't use mine, wondered how well it would work, suspecting that it would be a real pain to clean.

      A quick experiment showed that it does indeed collect string algae very well - and is a real pain to clean. It took so long to clean that I gave up and sat it aside, hoping that the algae would dry out and crumble off. So in conclusion, while it "works", it takes so long to clean that it's practically a one-time use tool, or plan on letting it full dry between uses and hope you can get it all out of the bristles.

      What I ended up using was a wood dowel in a cordless drill, wood because it's got a very slightly rough surface that catches the hairs of the string algae. It ends up with a huge ball on the end of it which can be hard to slide off. A utility knife works well to "unzip" the mess.
      Attached Images Attached Images  
      Last edited by kimini; 03-26-2018 at 10:16 AM.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    2. #2
      Ronfire is offline Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Aug 2017
      Location
      Merritt BC Canada
      Posts
      32
      I use a bottle brush and spin it by hand. To clean it I smack it against a rock. Gets most of it off.

    3. #3
      LynxDK is offline Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      Happy
       
      Join Date
      Aug 2016
      Location
      Denmark
      Posts
      34
      i just use a simple bamboo stick on a drilling machine, then just going around the entire edge of the pond, and when done, i can simply "pull" a long roll og algae of the stick, very effective.

    4. #4
      birdman's Avatar
      birdman is offline DIY Savant
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jun 2005
      Location
      Palm Springs, CA.
      Posts
      21,812
      Quote Originally Posted by LynxDK View Post
      i just use a simple bamboo stick on a drilling machine, then just going around the entire edge of the pond, and when done, i can simply "pull" a long roll og algae of the stick, very effective.
      I use a fiberglass pole, like a fishing pole.
      Attached Images Attached Images   

    5. #5
      Cecil is offline Senior Member
      is Koiphen fan
       
      Feeling:
      Awesome
       
      Join Date
      Nov 2011
      Location
      Ligonier, Indiana USA
      Posts
      1,007
      I use a dip net attached to a long pole and dip it out. But my ponds are much larger than a typical koi pond.
      Last edited by Cecil; 08-28-2018 at 11:05 PM.
      The risk I took was calculated, but man am I bad at math!

    6. #6
      p0wd3rp1l0t is offline Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Jun 2016
      Location
      Wisconsin
      Posts
      48
      where would a guy get one of those poles, or something similar

    7. #7
      kimini is offline Senior Member
      This user has no status.
       
      Feeling:
      ----
       
      Join Date
      Oct 2007
      Location
      SoCal
      Posts
      1,694
      Dryer duct cleaning kit for the brush, Home Depot or Lowe's.

      Hell, you could just buy a wood pole if that's all you want - a wood closet clothes hanger pole.
      Last edited by kimini; 03-31-2019 at 11:47 PM.

      • Remove Ads
        Advertising from Google
        Promoting Koi and Pond
        keeping since 2007

         

    Posting Permissions

    • You may not post new threads
    • You may not post replies
    • You may not post attachments
    • You may not edit your posts
    •