Worse Than Snake Oil

[Sangreaal]

Was looking for skimmers on eBay and came across this...

Algae Prevention for Swimming Pools, Koi ponds, Spas, - eBay (item 160219451681 end time Mar-23-08 20:00:00 PDT)

They're selling copper to put in koi ponds to prevent algae. Can anyone tell us why this is not a good idea?

[aquitori]

Quote: Originally Posted by Sangreaal Was looking for skimmers on eBay and came across this... Algae Prevention for Swimming Pools, Koi ponds, Spas, - eBay (item 160219451681 end time Mar-23-08 20:00:00 PDT) They're selling copper to put in koi ponds to prevent algae. Can anyone tell us why this is not a good idea?

The best persons who could answer this would be Bob Winkler and Jim North....All I know is there is never a quick fix to anything in the koi hobby...

[MikeM]

For the benefit of those who are not aware, copper is highly poisonous to koi and other fish. A dose of copper sufficient to kill algae will also kill the fish, or cause long-term health issues through immune system depression and organ damage.

...BTW, if there is algae in a swimming pool or spa, there is inadequate/improper chlorination. No need for copper in these, either... and not a good idea for people to get in copper-treated water.

Just plain dumb.

[PapaBear]

Yeah, that's a plan. Take a silver clad copper bar, dump it in the pond so the copper will act as an anode to protect the silver and "viola", no algae... or living fish I warned someone off of these on another forum a while back. Hope they listened...

[Sangreaal]

I emailed the seller to tell her just how dangerous these things are. Of course, I haven't heard a thing back. Amazing what people will do to avoid the proper maintenance of pond or pool--even poison themselves....