How to keep a water fountain clean?

Question

A few months ago, I bought an indoor water fountain for my home. Since its of the cascading kind, it has a fairly large pools of water. Although I run it nearly everyday, there is algae starting to grow on the plastic bottom and sides of the pools. It is not very noticeable now, but its only going to get worse.

What can I do to keep the fountain clean and free of anything growing in it? (If I put anything in, it needs to be non-residual) Is there anything I can do to get rid of whats already in there now other than letting it go dry and then scraping off the algae? (I'd really prefer not to do it that way; its got about 10 gallons of water and there's no drain or anything so I don't know how I would empty it).

Also keep in mind that anything I put in there has pretty much got to stay in there as far as liquids go because there is no filters of anything if residue is a problem.

Answer 1

You have a lot of options open to you, but first, if you have the manual to fountain, see what it says about cleaning it.  This will help you remove what algae is already there.

Here are some things to help you clean the algae:

Old Rags

Toothbrush

Pipe Cleaners

White Vinegar

Fountain Algaecide

Chlorine

Bleach

Any combo of those cleaners should work for you.

To prevent algae in the future, do not place the fountain in direct sunlight.  Limit the amount of sunlight that gets on the fountain, this will help prevent algae growth.

Small amounts of chlorine, fountain algaecide, white vinegar or bleach will stop algae growth.  Just add a small bottle cap full on a weekly basis.

I hope these tips help, but see if you still have that manual.  If not, check with the manufacturer to see if they have a manual to see what they recommend.

Answer 2

Bleach works. They also sell stuff just for that problem. If you have fish on the bottom, that is another story. Algacide.

Answer 3

Add a cap full of bleach to it once a week that should keep it clean.