An hour southwest of Washington, D.C. is real horse farm territory. Rolling green hills are dotted with mares and foals, along with cattle and sheep grazing and stopping, occasionally, to drink from clear, quiet lakes.

Behind this idyllic scene, are the efforts of Jim Rowe of Mid-County Farm Supply, distributor of Alken-Murray Clear-Flo® products. Jim treats the lakes and ponds of many of the farms and homes in northern Virginia. He has helped turn murky, algae-ridden waters into ponds so clean and clear, that it is safe for horses to drink from them.

When Jim first visits a farm having a water body to be treated, he notes the dimensions and water source, the type and concentration of algae, and pollution sources. He also takes a water sample that he tests, later, for ammonia, pH, suspended solids and other parameters. Then, he devises a treatment program specifically suited to that water body.

One of Jim's successes has been with Boxwood Farm in Middleburg, that has several bodies of water flowing one into the next. The lakes and ponds had stringy hair-like algae growing in them and their interconnecting pipes.

The first pond was fed by a spring, had a half acre surface and was six feet deep. An aerator had been installed, but it was not doing much to inhibit algae growth. This pond fed into two connected shallow ornamental koi fish ponds, whose water was too murky to see the fish. These ponds then flowed into a large lake. All the waters were surrounded by lawns that were regularly fertilized. Water samples showed that ammonia was high (2.5 mg/L). "That was a sorry pond, first time I looked at it," Jim recalls.

The owners were throwing a garden party in several weeks and wanted to clean up the water, at least partially. Jim helped rake out the worst of the algae and then prescribed Alken Clear-Flo® 1200, a tough product on organic matter and ammonia pollution. By decreasing ammonia, the algae would be starved out. They applied one and a half gallons, once a week, for the first two weeks, three quarts, weekly, for the next two weeks, and then two quarts, each week, from there on. They only had to treat the top pond, because the bacteria would be carried into the following ponds, with the water flow.

Within two weeks, there was a visible change. The water was significantly clearer and there was no new algae growth. The waters were so clear that the koi fish were easily visible in the small ponds. Everything looked beautiful for the party. By thirty days, the quality was even better.

Thereafter, the upper pond was treated only once a month, with two quarts of Clear-Flo®.

The following summer, the upper pond was treated only once a month, to maintain clear, algae-free water. Water quality testing showed that the ammonia was down to 0.4 mg/L. When the weather is exceptionally warm and dry, the ornamental ponds tend to grow more algae because they are so shallow. In this case, they are all treated with one pint of Clear-Flo® per week.

The lower lake does not receive any treatment, at all. The owners have continued to use Clear-Flo® in maintenance doses for six years, keeping their waters looking beautiful.