Ok Guys I Need Help. My 75 Has Been Green (very Green) For About 5 Weeks Now, And I Can't Get Rid Of It. At My Lfs There Is Only One Guy Worth Talking To And I Asked Him. He Told Me To Put A Thick Blanket Over The Tank For A Week, Then Change The Filter Sponges And Hopefully It Will Be Gone. When I Took The Blanket Off After 8 Days It Was Pretty Clear, I Then Took Off For The Lfs To Get New Sponges, And When I Got Home, It Was Frickin' Green Again, I Think Even Worse Than Before!!! What Do I Do Next? I Only Leave The Light On For Probably A Total Of 2-3 Hours A Day, And Only Feed Once Daily For The Last Couple Weeks. It Doesn't Bother The Fish One Bit, But It Is Really Ugly To Me And All The Guests At My House. Help Me Please!!!!!
Invincible Green Water
- Thread starter csm84
- Start date
take out yer carbon get you some algae gone/some sort of algae med and treat it and keep yer lights off..cept maybe so your fish can see their food...should be good in 3 days..but keep treating....and follow directions....i did this and it cleared my algaebloom up good
I Was Told By Someone At Lfs (although I Dont' Think She Is Very Reliable) That Algae Meds Would Be A "temporary" Fix And The Algae Would Come Right Back, Did This Happen In Your Experience?
Did you do water changes (50%) before and after the blackout? The blackout will kill the cells, but unless you remove them and the nutrient imbalance causing the algae, it will just keep coming back.
Algae meds aren't worth the chemicals that go into them, they're a temporary fix since they only treat the symptoms, plus they're not good for any live plants you may have and they're not great for the fish. When dealing with algae (or any problem), you should be asking "what's causing the algae?", not what will kill it. Does an absense of algae med. cause algae? No. So it is not the solution.
Most likely, you're overfeeding your fish very heavily, this is the #1 cause of green water. Lighten your feedings to one very small portion every day. Aim to feed about as much as each fish's eye.
Balance the lighter feedings with heavier and more frequent water changes. You didn't post your maintenance routine, or I didn't see it in that sea of capital letters, but I'm willing to bet that you're either not changing enough water or not changing it frequently enough. From whatever you're doing now, slowly increase towards either 2 30% changes per week or a single 50% per week.
These two steps will see you with crystal clear water within a few weeks (it takes some time for nature to readjust, there are no quick fixes) and healthy fish for the duration of your tank.
Algae meds aren't worth the chemicals that go into them, they're a temporary fix since they only treat the symptoms, plus they're not good for any live plants you may have and they're not great for the fish. When dealing with algae (or any problem), you should be asking "what's causing the algae?", not what will kill it. Does an absense of algae med. cause algae? No. So it is not the solution.
Most likely, you're overfeeding your fish very heavily, this is the #1 cause of green water. Lighten your feedings to one very small portion every day. Aim to feed about as much as each fish's eye.
Balance the lighter feedings with heavier and more frequent water changes. You didn't post your maintenance routine, or I didn't see it in that sea of capital letters, but I'm willing to bet that you're either not changing enough water or not changing it frequently enough. From whatever you're doing now, slowly increase towards either 2 30% changes per week or a single 50% per week.
These two steps will see you with crystal clear water within a few weeks (it takes some time for nature to readjust, there are no quick fixes) and healthy fish for the duration of your tank.
csm84 for a change The LFS is right..
green water is caused by an Imbalance in the tank..
(So I have learned from here)
Try to figure out that the root of the problem is..
Post your water pharms and some more knowledge will help you..
I would stay away from quick fix chemicals..
BTW I am all in a battle with green water..
green water is caused by an Imbalance in the tank..
(So I have learned from here)
Try to figure out that the root of the problem is..
Post your water pharms and some more knowledge will help you..
I would stay away from quick fix chemicals..
BTW I am all in a battle with green water..
there are a few things that can help if you get rid of greenwater with black out, to clear the water and filter 50 percent with vacum to get the bad stuff out. I started to get a bit of green water and blacked out my tank and added more plants and, I have always kept up the 50 percent or more water changes. The tank is happy and the fish are even though they get fed lightly once per day.
HappyChem... i though i was feeding the right amont.. (what the fish could eat in 5 mins) 
but sadly it was too much..
i have been doin 35% PWC since Friday.. and cut back on th e feeding
hope it will go away in a week or so...
BTW i did not see you post before i posted.. man you type fast
but sadly it was too much..
i have been doin 35% PWC since Friday.. and cut back on th e feeding
hope it will go away in a week or so...
BTW i did not see you post before i posted.. man you type fast
Nah, just started typing earlier! 
5 minutes! There's the problem. Try 15-30 seconds. I expect to see all but the tiniest specs of food gone in seconds after I feed. There're always a few bits that get hidden in plants that they get to later, or the cories get if they're not too busy with the sinking bits I drop in for them, but anything in the open water or surface is gone in seconds.
5 minutes!
There's the problem. Try 15-30 seconds. I expect to see all but the tiniest specs of food gone in seconds after I feed. There're always a few bits that get hidden in plants that they get to later, or the cories get if they're not too busy with the sinking bits I drop in for them, but anything in the open water or surface is gone in seconds.15-30 sec... What the *&%#...
i read in this book that i should wait 5 mins.. :mad2
i have been doin that since th e tank got started.. (1 month)...
i do gavel vacs on SAT and lots of stuff comes up..
i am goin to cut back on feeding even more...
i will post th ename of th ebook when i get home...
i read in this book that i should wait 5 mins.. :mad2
i have been doin that since th e tank got started.. (1 month)...
i do gavel vacs on SAT and lots of stuff comes up..
i am goin to cut back on feeding even more...
i will post th ename of th ebook when i get home...