View Full Version : green water...*SIGH*
breaker_1113
07-20-2003, 2:19 AM
ok ive been having major problems with green water for about a year now. when i first got my tank the water was crystal clear and i noticed that my ph was low so i decided to add proper ph 7 the powder stuff. i think this was the biggest mistake every because a week after i added this i literally couldnt see like a foot into my tank. btw its a 45 gallon long.
i did many water changes and the green water would get better but then itl come back again.
i tried turning of my lights for a week or so and the green water didnt get worse but rite when i put it back on, it came back. i talked to the people at the LFS and they told me to put green X in my filter. that didnt work. then i bought accu clear( some liquid stuff) and put it in. to my surprise the water became crystal clear but once again came back in a week.
plz help me ive had this for about a year now and i cant stand green water.
sorry for the long post but plz help
ty
What is your water change regiment? Do you vacuum the gravel? Green water is from to many nutrients and to much light. It is generally an indication that your tank is overstocked and/or that you overfeed. Look here (www.skepticalaquarist.com) for more info under algae. I believe cyanobacteria. HTH.
Poor filtration may be another factor. What kind of filter do you have, and how ofter do you clean/replace the media?
I think Scott is on the right track. My guess is overfeeding, most people do, especially when fairly new to the hobby. Another thing to consider is weather or not the tank is getting direct sunlight. This can trigger an algea bloom.
The lights out method has worked for me in the past, but in my case I had to cover the sides of the tank with black paper to keep all ambient light out.
I had an outbreak of cynobacteria, (BGA) once and it was more like a bright green carpet all over the substrate and plants...not a bloom in the water.
Algea and bacteria are like any other living thing. Take away its food source and it goes away. Best of luck to you.
NJ Devils Fan
07-20-2003, 10:34 AM
You could try a U.V. steralizer. A person on another board said that he got one when his tank water was green and within about 3-4 days, it was crystal clear.
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=10945
scott
07-20-2003, 10:50 AM
UV definately works wonders but IMHO it is better to figure out if there is a deeper issue and solve that instead of relying on the sterilizer. This way the water quality will remain high w/o using a "crutch".
NJ Devils Fan
07-20-2003, 11:14 AM
Thats what is always my suggestion. The u.v. is the last resort if you absolutely can't find the cause.
breaker_1113
07-20-2003, 2:00 PM
ok thnx alot guys i feed my fish about 1-2 times a dayjust as muchas they can eat in a couple of seconds.
the fish are small sa/ca cichlid.
i clean my water about 50% every 2 weeks and clean my filter.
my tank is neer a window and i think some sunlight mite be going in.
ill try some of ur guys's suggestions and get back to you
thnx alot
one more thing my filter is an ehiem 2213
NJ Devils Fan
07-20-2003, 4:06 PM
Yea, if it's by a window, then thats surly the reason for the algae.
All of my tanks are directly across from windows and none of them have algae. Your problem is something else. When I had green water in my 90 it is directly across from french doors and everyone at the LFS said it was sun. It turns out it was the nine CA/SA cichlids they recommended for the tank, not to mention the three times a day I was feeding them (as recommended). The cichlid population took care of itself, unfortunately, and I started feeding once a day and now the tank is crystal clear, always. When I had green water I was changing thirty gallons every other day to try and stop it, and it didn't make a dent. Now in the cichlid forum you are talking about the ph dropping (sorry I just realised you were the same person before I posted there) to below 6! This is major bioacidification IMHO which is from over feeding and not cleaning properly.
breaker_1113
07-20-2003, 8:19 PM
thnx alot for the info
and wats IMHO?
In my humble opinion. check my post in cichlids.
breaker_1113
07-25-2003, 1:32 PM
ok this is wat i did so far to help cure my green water.
ive been doing a 40% water change every day for 4-5 days and i raped a towel around my tank and turned off all the lights. i also only feed my fish once a day. my green water has gotten alot better but i hope it stays this way.
the other problem i have is low ph. my tapwater ph is around 6.6 but the ph was 6 or even bellow. after i did all the water changes i finally got my ph to about 6.2. im wondering if it will get higher if i keep doing water changes but is there ne other methods??
thnx alot
breaker
Add about half a cup of aragonite to your filter. Put it in a bag or stocking. Usually a fish store will give it to you if you ask. It will increase your KH and possibly your ph but at the very least will keep the ph from crashing. All of this is in the link skeptical aquarist (www.skepticalaquarist.com) . Cut the feeding for two days, trust me they don't need it. What is the ph after it sits out overnight?
swampfox25
07-31-2003, 2:35 PM
What about live plants?? I would add more if you have some or a few if you dont something easy like Java Fern. It should take all the nutrients and choke the algee
tricksterpup
08-01-2003, 12:44 PM
Yeesh,
I am trying to do Daphnia Cultures and can not get green water for the life of me. Some people have all the luck.
Save the water and do a Daphnia culture.. great live food and fun to watch bounce around the water.
jim
Large CA Sa cichlids dont usually permit plants swampfox
pinballqueen
08-02-2003, 6:05 PM
when i first got my tank the water was crystal clear and i noticed that my ph was low so i decided to add proper ph 7... i think this was the biggest mistake ...
Yes. The ph adjusting chemicals contain things that algae feed on. It is always preferable to bring your ph to what you want it via natural means... i.e. putting rocks in that will raise your ph if it's low or adding peat to lower a high ph. The best thing, of course, is to suit the type of tank you have to the type of water you have. Pick fish that like the water you're stuck with.
i did many water changes and the green water would get better but then itl come back again.
i tried turning of my lights for a week or so and the green water didnt get worse but rite when i put it back on, it came back.
It will continue to do so until you fix the root of the problem. Right now you are only treating the symptoms.
i talked to the people at the LFS and they told me to put green X in my filter. that didnt work. then i bought accu clear( some liquid stuff) and put it in. to my surprise the water became crystal clear but once again came back in a week.
Don't ever put a chemical in the water as anything other than a last resort. Once again, you are treating the symptom, not the problem.
The way I get rid of algae when it happens (as it invariably does in my sunny home... I need drapes, doggone it...) is this: I turn the lights out on the tank, give the fish a normal feeding, and then cover the tank with a blanket. Then I forget about it for a week or so. I don't feed them, I don't "peek in" to see how they're doing, and I don't turn the lights on. I just leave it. After a week, I uncover the tank and do a large water change (about 50%), feed my fish, then lather, rinse repeat... I do this for about 2 to 3 weeks, and the tank will be clear for months and months. It works until I decide to open my windows up to air the house out or I forget and leave the lights on overnight after entertaining guests....
On my non-planted tanks, I don't ever turn the lights on unless I am in the room and looking in the tank, because there is no need to. The fish get enough ambient light from the outside to let them know what time of day it is. My planted tanks, I go easy on the light, not even giving them the 12-hour blast that most new fishkeepers do with a non-planted setup. I turn the lights on for 4 or 5 hours, and that's all. And the hardest thing in the world: only feed your fish every other day. That ensures that you are not overfeeding. Just feed them what you normally feed them on a daily basis every other day, or at least give them a fast day or two a week, and your water will be much happier.
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PBQ I respectfully disagree. Sunlight has no bearing on algae. I had my home built specifically with lots of windows and all of my tanks get direct sunlight. Algae is not an issue. I find that as the tank matures I get a nice "pasture" of algae on the driftwood that does not increase or decrease but as far as green water or algae on the glass.....never anything more that normal scraping will take care of.
pinballqueen
08-02-2003, 6:32 PM
Originally posted by scott
PBQ I respectfully disagree. Sunlight has no bearing on algae.
Thank you for the show of respect. I know for solid fact that certain algae rely upon sunlight to grow. The green types use chloryphyll, which most certainly requires the suns rays (or another suitable light source) to process nutrients into something usable by the plant. Maybe you have low-e windows in your home? Or possibly all the other triggers that form algae problems in your home tank are absent due to your stellar maintainence of your tanks. it takes a certain set of criteria to trigger an algae bloom. Sunlight is one of those things, but not the only one. Other factors, such as nutrient levels and filtration have to be considered. MY algae problems are caused from sunlight and/or overexuberant feeding (when my sweetie thinks he'll be nice and feed the fish for me, etc... or if I just plain forgot that I already fed them, which does sometimes happen. I'm a scatterbrain, so sue me...).
I'm thinking it's the ph regulator causing most of his problems. However, my method works for the biggest part of the problem, and has every time it has ever happened to me in the 15 years I've been keeping fish. And, if it doesn't work, then at least too much light/too much food can be ruled out as a cause and alternative measures can be taken.