My Discus Tank Keeps Turning Green!!!

[theblueprint]

Help! Why Does The Tank Water Keep Turning Green? Its A Bare Bottom 20 Gal Tank....help!

[anonapersona]

First look at the source of nitrogen, for it could be ammonia (terrible!), nitrites (very bad!), or nitrates (still bad!).

It could be lack of filtration from dirty filter, undersized filter, crashed filter from meds or low pH.

Or it could be ammonia from improper water treatment, as in if you had chloramine and used a water treatment that says "treats chloramine and chlorine" but does not also say "treats ammonia". In any case, green water or green algae is your friend in that it uses the products that otherwise could harm your fish.

Please do water tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, as well as pH and share that data with us.

Then work on reducing the lighting, but realize that the green is telling you you have a nitrigen probelm, if you cut off the light without addressing that issue the fish will suffer.

[theblueprint]

Explain In Lay Terms For Me Plz...

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

If you dont understand that then you need to do a lot of research on how to responsibly keep fish....


I think its likely from having the lights on. Do you have plants in the tank? If not, then you do not need lights. The lights should only be on max 2-3 hours a day. Green water is usually algae bloom from excessive nutrients + light.


-Diana

[anonapersona]

Please do water tests for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, as well as pH and share that data with us.

let's start with that... can you test? If not, go buy an Aquarium Pharmacuticals Master Test Kit, or maybe the local fish store will test you water.

Need:
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
pH
KH

[theblueprint]

If you dont understand that then you need to do a lot of research on how to responsibly keep fish....


I think its likely from having the lights on. Do you have plants in the tank? If not, then you do not need lights. The lights should only be on max 2-3 hours a day. Green water is usually algae bloom from excessive nutrients + light.


-Diana


ouch...im just not up on the jargon much....thats all

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

What jargon?

Theres no way to know about the nitrogen cycle and not know what everything is called :confused:

[theblueprint]

What jargon?

Theres no way to know about the nitrogen cycle and not know what everything is called :confused:


thank you....dont worry ill figure it out....

[theblueprint]

Phospate Did The Trick...now Its Clear Again....and Also Stabilized The Tank Very Well

[anonapersona]

Phospate Did The Trick...now Its Clear Again....and Also Stabilized The Tank Very Well

What? Did you add phosphate or reduce phosphates? I don't see how phosphates would change anything.

[theblueprint]

I Put A Phosphate Pack In The Filter And It Cleared The Water And Stabilized By Nitrigen Levels....

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

What? Did you add phosphate or reduce phosphates? I don't see how phosphates would change anything.

Phosphates in the water can cause algae and cyanobacteria blooms.... usually its cyano. ;) Phosphate 'pack' is to reduce the phosphates in the water.


-Diana

[anonapersona]

Phosphates in the water can cause algae and cyanobacteria blooms.... usually its cyano. ;) Phosphate 'pack' is to reduce the phosphates in the water.
-Diana

Sounds like a lack of water changes to me.

Green water is usually due to ammonia, or nitrates. Both indicate lack of water changes.

Tell me, theblueprint, how often are you doing partial water changes, how much each time, what water condtioner, do you have chlorine or chloramine in your tap water?

[Sploke]

Phosphates can also cause blooms, and are often added to city water. I was doing 6-7 water changes a week and my water was solid green, I couldn't get rid of it. Finally I talked to a guy at my lfs and he mentioned that he had the same problem, and found out it was from posphates in the city water. So, I started keeping the lights off pretty much all day, and that helped quite a bit. I also added a few plants to help, but my JD kept digging them up. That, and no light + plants = dead plants. I tried using the phos-zorb stuff and it worked, I just hate using media that has to be replaced every 2 weeks. It gets expensive.

[~*LuvMyKribs*~]

Yep.... and phosphates are the reason why so many reefkeepers use RO/DI water. To avoid cyano and algae blooms in thier tanks, which can be deadly to the reef. Thats actually how I learned about them.... when I started reefkeeping.



-Diana

[anonapersona]

I Put A Phosphate Pack In The Filter And It Cleared The Water And Stabilized By Nitrigen Levels....

No, I do not see how reducing phosphates can do anything to the nitrogen levels. I think you guys have some very wrong ideas about why plants grow and what leads to algae.

Why does your tank have a high phosphate level?
What sort of water changes are you doing?
What nitrate level do you have in the tank?

Green algeas work to reduce nitrates and ammonia. If you have beat back the green algae by removing phosphates, presumably the algae also consumes phosphates like other green higher-order plants do, then the nitrates and ammonia that was fueling the green algae are now skyrocketing.

Please, please test the water and find out!

If this is the discus tank, expect to see very unhappy fish soon, and possibly cloudy eyes.

[anonapersona]

I think its likely from having the lights on. Do you have plants in the tank? If not, then you do not need lights. The lights should only be on max 2-3 hours a day. Green water is usually algae bloom from excessive nutrients + light.

-Diana

As Diana said, nutrients plus light, you say you have reduced light. That leaves the nutrients in there with the discus. Discus HATE ammonia and nitrates. Ammonia will kill them. High nitrates makes them very unhappy and unhealthy, possible growth deformities and damaged eyes.

[anonapersona]

Phosphates can also cause blooms, and are often added to city water. I was doing 6-7 water changes a week and my water was solid green, I couldn't get rid of it. Finally I talked to a guy at my lfs and he mentioned that he had the same problem, and found out it was from posphates in the city water. So, I started keeping the lights off pretty much all day, and that helped quite a bit. I also added a few plants to help, but my JD kept digging them up. That, and no light + plants = dead plants. I tried using the phos-zorb stuff and it worked, I just hate using media that has to be replaced every 2 weeks. It gets expensive.

Are you certain that it was not that the water department added chloramines and you only treated for chlorine, thus releasing ammonia which then fueled the green algae which cannot grow without lights. If I am correct in this guess, then your tank filter will be significantly more dirty than before (from working harder to clear the ammonia) and your fish will be unhappy, more aggressive than before or just sad, particularly after a water change.

[Sploke]

I use Tetra AquaSafe for my water conditioner.

It says it treats chlorine, chloramines, and heavy metals.

http://www.bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=28329;category_id=2229