Subject: Re: stagnant water butt From: "Bill Robinson" <roseguy@gte.net> Organization: Date: Mon, 12 Jun 00 00:43:50 Message-ID: <MOD$000611.15299@rec.gardens.ecosystems>
Adrian in the U.K. has been storing rain water and, in time,
the water turns stinky.
Stagnant water does turn rank - commercial water systems
keep their water fresh by chlorination or by aeration. We
have some very large pots in our garden filled with water
that we use as "water features." We've added some water
plants, a few "feeder" gold fish and provided partial shade.
We don't use any circulating pumps and on the whole they are
clean and fresh because they are an ecosystem onto themselves.
They grow a little algae so we have to clean them out about
once a year but other than that they just do their thing without
the need for additional care.
The pots don't hold enough water to water the garden but they
are one of the delights of the garden.
The plants oxygenate the water, the fish both feed on the
plants and fertilize the plants, we may add a bit of fish
food from time but on the whole the system takes care of
itself in our very mild climate.