NEEPS

Clydesdaleclopper · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 11:42 am Post subject: Water troughs

Wasn't really sure where to put this one. Does anyone have experience of using fish or water snails to keep automatic water troughs in the fields clean?

andybebbington · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 12:20 pm Post subject:

no experiance of it my self but have heard of it done, there seems to be mixed reaction to it some say that the fish waste could be harmfull to the horses or that fish might scare the horse and it wont drink from the trough but the people i know who have done say it helps but you you still need to clean just no were near as oftern

theres a few thinks to think about
what do you want them to do if its algae then some fish are better than others,
never heard of snails used but they will keep algae on the sides down but keeping them in may be easier said than done

what type of water do you have ? and pipe types
if its mains then you would not be able to keep most fish due to chlorine unless you have some sort of filter to take it out, if its private whats the ph like some fish prefer it higher/lower than others.
what types of pipes do you have ? if plastic should be fine but if copper you need to be carefull as copper can be dangerous to many fish if exposed to it.

then how big is the trough? this will dictate how many fish/type you put in. temprature is also an issue if it get really hot then could danger the fish and if the die can poloute the water for the horses but them if its hot the horses will drink more with fresh water cooling it down, then there is the other extream in the winter does it freezer over some fish can cope better than others in really cold water and others dont but they can always be moved in to a big tub/barrel or something in side the buildings were they will be warmer and algae is not so much of a problem in winter.
food could also be an issue there more fish you have the more chance there is they will clear the algae but they may require extra food and you would need to be care full what you feed incase horses get some

another option would be plants, some will keep it clean but not sure what they are like if horses eat them, will look and see.

i would not be too worried about trying it if water conditions are ok for the fish we have a pond in the garden thats not much bigger than an iron bath and theres a heap of fish and they keep it clean and we dont feed them

just shout if you have any questions happy to help
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Clydesdaleclopper · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 1:46 pm Post subject:

The water supply is a private one from a borehole. I'm not sure if it goes through the filtration system before going out to the tanks. The pipes are all plastic.

The troughs aren't particularly big. They are the double plastic field drinkers. I'm not sure what size they are but I'm sure each one will hold at least 10 gallons.

The main problem is algae and muck dropping off the horses' mouths but also the geese are using one so that one is very mucky (little darlings have turned their beaks up at the big container I provided specially for them and won't even go near the burn grr)

lachlanandmarcus · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 3:28 pm Post subject:

TBH I wouldnt think the fish waste would be any more of a problem than the decaying remains of the earthworms that seem to commit hari kiri in our water troughs

)
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terrier · Posted: Tue Oct 27, 2009 9:31 pm Post subject:

being opinionated here but . . . i wouldn't bother with any of it. had horses for years and they always seemed happier drinking from the yukkiest puddle rather than the lovely clean water we provided. if its not a huge trough your horses will drink it fast enough that nothing toxic will get a chance to build up anyway. just empty it with a bucket every so often if it looks horrible.
terrier

Julie · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:43 am Post subject:

Can't you just give it a regular scrub with a stiff brush? It will scrub away any algae and then you can drain it and refill it. I can't abide to see dirty water containers either, there's no need for it.
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Clydesdaleclopper · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 11:56 am Post subject:

The problem is there is no stopcock and no drain for them so cleaning them out manually is very difficult. Plus my knackered pelvis means that bending over to do it isn't really an option. OH does it occasionally but not as often as they need.

lachlanandmarcus · Posted: Wed Oct 28, 2009 12:32 pm Post subject:

I think theres a difference between green lined holding clean water, and ones with filthy water in them. The former is OK, the latter is not ideal, tho if they still drink from it willingly then it probably is no worse than a wild horse would find, if they could find water at all.

We use buckets (tub trugs) and have an IBC container on the back of a trailer which we fill and tow up the field and fill the buckets as required, they are quite easy to empty and they never get very dirty. It also acts as horsey shelter from the wind as there isnt any other shelter (they are in at night).
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