Barley Straw research review article

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Tom Barr

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This review surveyed several researcher's works to give a more balanced view to this treatment and why it works.

http://www.barleyworld.org/barleystraw/Barley Straw - Algae Control Lit Anal Final.pdf

The possible other points, the type of phenolics, the temperature, microbe's role, carbon limitations, and many other factors pait quite a different picture to all the grandeous claims made by the proponents of Barley Straw extract etc.

Give it a read, it's not too techy and is straight forward.

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Tom Barr
 

Tom Barr

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Re: Barley Straw research review article

defdac said:
I didn't recieve that much attention when I posted it a year ago on APD:
http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200504/msg00278.html
8)

So it can be used as a carbon source like Excel?

The carbon in Excel is much more the DIC, not the DOC sources, it's sort of in between.

But the Excel is inorganic in it's pathway(assimilation) vs this, which organic and then decomposes.

So no.

You can add any carbon source like soil, mulm, etc as a carbon source, dead plant material etc to relive the bacterial loop's carbon limitation.

Seems strange that there would be a carbon limitation for bacteria, but they need their carbs to eat just like people.

New tanks are often lacking in organic carbon, so I suggest to add mulm and peat, both sources of carbon as well as the bacteria.
Various additives to substrates etc seem to really ignore this.
Adding a little soil or mulm really can help.

Note: this is not the same as adding CO2.


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Tom Barr
 

Tom Barr

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I also have a very simple test to see is there's any effect or not from barley straw using actvated carbon, which removes the organic fractions, so you can control for that in such test, much like allelopathy baloney.

In allelopathy controls, they add activated carbon to remove the alleopathic chemicals and the effects on other organisims.

We can simply add actived carbon to the filter to do the same and replace every few weeks. If you do not get algae with the carbon, then it cannot be due to algae suppression by the alleopathic chemicals.

Similarly, the same is true for barley straw suppressing algae if it's an organic fraction that carbon typically removes rather easily and quickly. I'm not sure about how carbon can effect H2O2 concentrations.

It only last about 1 hour in solution before decomposing anyway.
Even there, it's a debatable action of the Barley straw based on the research. Researchers did some test, found them inconclusive, then abandoned the Straw idea rather quickly it seems to me.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 
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