Algae in pots

[Phatfarmerbob]

I have some orchids in S/H and they are in net pots in a tray of water/fertilizer I flush every few days but the water keeps growing algae. Is there anything I can do about this?

[tmoney]

harvest and start making soilent green.

[estación seca]

I'm not clear what you mean by S/H if they're in net pots. Could you describe it a little bit more?

[Phatfarmerbob]

Originally Posted by estación seca

I'm not clear what you mean by S/H if they're in net pots. Could you describe it a little bit more?

I have them in net pots with leca in a stainless pan with an inch of water every other day I use the water in the pan to water other plants and replace it with fresh by flushing through the net pots into the empty pan untill I have an inch in the pan.

The water I use has a very low dose of fertilizer. I’ll post a picture when I get home

[Dusty Ol' Man]

Originally Posted by Phatfarmerbob

I have them in net pots with leca in a stainless pan with an inch of water every other day I use the water in the pan to water other plants and replace it with fresh by flushing through the net pots into the empty pan untill I have an inch in the pan.

The water I use has a very low dose of fertilizer. I’ll post a picture when I get home

I wouldn't give the water to other plants. Good way to pass along ailments to otherwise healthy plants.

[Phatfarmerbob]

Originally Posted by Dusty Ol' Man

I wouldn't give the water to other plants. Good way to pass along ailments to otherwise healthy plants.

Not other orchids, I have some banana and hibiscus in pots outside that’s what gets the water.

Really just don’t like the way the algae looks, not sure if there’s anything I could do that wouldn’t hurt the orchids tho

[estación seca]

The algae won't hurt the orchids. But if you have multiple orchids in one tray, any that has a virus or water-borne infecton could spread it to the other plants in the tray.

[orchidsunlover]

Hi Phatfarmbob,

My pots are white or clear in semi-hydro. I learned that either buying black pots or putting some kind of material around your pot that is black, such as tape or paper, can help eliminate algae build up. However, this only works if algae is not present in the pot already. If algae is already in the pot, I would remove the plant if you could and clean the leca to remove the algae and then repot into a darker container.

The dark container prevents light from getting through the pot which algae needs to survive.