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algae control?

Hi guys,

I guess this can apply to more than just sundews. This has never bothered me before when I grew carnivores in a large terrarium or outside, but now that I'm growing them in pots, algae seems to creep up periodically on the surface of the medium. What do you guys do? I've just been flipping the algae-covered part over and burying it, as opposed to throwing it away.

I water with deionized/distilled water that I get from the lab I work in.

Thanks.

Johnny
 
You can manually remove it with tweezers or overfill the pot and coax the mat of algae off the surface and remove it.
 
What I described is one, non-chemical, curative way. What Elgecko described is the best preventative approach.
 
I've used vinegar applied with an eye dropper to the algae to kill it. Before applying make sure the soil is wet and don't apply too close to your CP. Apply sparingly directly to the algae. I'm still experimenting with it on moss, but it looks promising so far. I water all my plants from the top which helps flush any residual vinegar out. If you only water by the tray method, the acidity from the vinegar may build up and kill your CP.
 
Tannic tea. You can water the plants with it, won't hurt them. But algae hates the stuff. Algae has completely disappeared from any tub I use it in. Safer than vinegar, Steve.
 
If the algae isn't too pervasive, you can remove it by spraying with water. Just use a spray bottle at close range and the algae will be knocked off the surface. It seems that disturbing the top of the soil frequently keeps the colonies from forming.
~Joe
 
thanks for all the advice
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