Green water

[geno8701]

I have a 125 gallon with 1 Oscar, 1 Jack Depsey, 1 Flower horn, 1 Green Terror, and 1 Jaguar. I normaly replace 25% weekly. Fresh back from 30 day vacation, one of my friend did a 50% in my presence. upon my return i did another 25% and water is still greenish. I am going to do a 100%. But for curiosity is this a algae bloom or just nasty water.:help:

[jptsr1]

How long do you leave the light on? is the tank near a window?

J.

[cdfishie123]

how long has your tank been setup?

[geno8701]

Tank is near a large window, Light stays on for 12-15 hours a day.

Tank has been established for about 4 months.

[jptsr1]

Tank is near a large window, Light stays on for 12-15 hours a day.

Tank has been established for about 4 months.

that's a lot of light. that could be the cause of your problem.

J.

[jpappy789]

I agree A LOT of light!

[nickmcmechan]

switch the lights off until the water is clear

can you move the tank away from the window?

if not can you put a background on the side of the tank facing the window?

[proverbs308]

If you can afford it I would recommend getting a UV sterilizer. After I installed mine I have not had any problems algae bloom.

[MbunaFishKeeper]

yeh my light is on for 3 hours a day also the sunlight from the window will start an algae bloom as did to my tank

[andy1234]

change the light bulbs.. sometimes they might have the spectrum that will grow alot of algae.. I would go with 3000K a standard light bilb that you get get at home depot

[terror spawnin]

Is you filter system too small? It may be rated for the tank size, but not actually doing the job. Over populated tanks need oversized filters to begin with.(I don't recommend adding a larger filter to pack more fish in your tank either)
Adding a common pleco that is as large as the rest of fish will drastically cut the algae bloom problem, even in tanks in front of a window. I have two large tanks that get direct sun through blinds from sunrise till around 11:00am. Every week or so I take my large pair of plecos and rotate them from tank to tank. A light green algae bloom is nothing to freak out about. A majority of your fish are indiginous to that type of water.

If your fish are full size you might consider upping to a 180 gallon tank or larger. Most knowledgable aquariests would consider a 125gal suitable for any one of your fish by itself.

[mystic1]

I had water that was tinted green in one of my tanks. I tried so many different things but it never quite dissappeared. What I finally did to get a handle on it (no problems since) was take a piece of a clean white sheet cut to the size of my filter cartridge. I draped it over the front of my cartridge on my HOB filter. I pulled it off 2x a day and rinsed it then put it back. After 2 days my water was crystal clear and I had removed enough small particles that I have not had green water since. It is a very inexpensive thing to try. It also gives you a very good look at what you are dealing with. Good luck.

[cdfishie123]

thaT is alot oF LIGHT