Where can I find a new product as seen on TV for fish in South Coast NSW Australia?

Question

This is a mesh bag that floats on top of ponds or aquariums and is supposed to kill algae and at the same times provides a source of food for the fish (cold water fish)
This product is ( I THINK A BARLEY GRASS???)

Answer 1

http://www.webbsonline.com/catalog/barleybales/index.html?gclid=CInBgurnno4CFSgRGgodIl3mZQ Try this website. It may not be the one you saw on TV but it is the same product and they have a lot of info on it and will mail it anywhere.
I've used the Microbelift Barley Straw Extract before and it works like a charm. Here is their website also:
http://www.microbeliftstore.com/home/ml1/smartlist_10/barley_straw_products.html
Good luck!

Answer 2

I'm not in AUS, so I can't help you with the specifics of where to buy this, other than to try a shop that specializes in ponds and related equipment.

What you're looking for is called barley straw. It's sold in small bales that can be put into any container to put in your pond. Some people use mesh bags like what onions or potatoes are sold in, others use plastic baskets used for planting pond plants, and I've read on this forum where some have used baskets for feeding suet to birds. The actual container only needs to be open so the water can flow through the barley straw, and should be able to hold up being submerged in water.

The barley will help prevent new algae from growing, but doesn't remove the existing algae - this you need to do yourself, particularly any of the attached types of algae. If you're having a problem with this in your pond, you may want to try controlling nutrients and light first. Since your weather is opposite the US, you are probably just starting into your season. As the weather warms and cools, there's an phenomenon called turnover, where the cooler water on the pond surface sinks and the bottom water rises, bringing up nutrients from dead plant leaves and fish wastes from the bottom - these nutrients "fertilize" your algae. Depending on the size of your pond, you can reduce the nutrient level by doing a partial water change, just as you would with an aquarium. It also helps to remove any dead leaves and debris when you find them, and a good cleaning when the weather begins to turn colder. You can add floating plants, or those with floating leaves which shade the water, and prevent the algae from getting as much light (these plants will also compete with the algae for nutrients).

If you fertilize any aquatic plants in your pond, wait until the plants are actively growing, and use a pellet type that you can place within the plant container rather than a liquid one - otherwise the algae is fertilized as well.

Here's info from one of the US universities about the use of barley straw: http://montgomery.extension.psu.edu/NResources/pond/straw-fs.pdf