Green Water...What to do?

harlock your the man! I will try exactly what you said and let you know what happens. You dont think being aggressive fish that they will start biting at each other during the fast do you?
 
Hey! Wait a minute! Don't throw that water away. It's worth bucks. Your local killiefish breeder will love you for it. Also excellent for feeding baby brine (smile)
 
midiamin said:
Hey! Wait a minute! Don't throw that water away. It's worth bucks. Your local killiefish breeder will love you for it. Also excellent for feeding baby brine (smile)

I'm curious as to why you would want to raise brine shrimp to maturity? I'm pretty sure that feeding BBS is much more nutritious than feeding adult BS
 
To feed them to adult fish who are too large to bother with tiny little nauplii. It'd be like trying to feed by catching gnats.

What sort of cichlids (note spelling) have you got in there? Eight sounds an awful lot with most species. This might be behind the green water.
 
My tank is also green. I just recently changed my tank light to one with a spectrum more appropriate for my plants. The water soon went green. I only have a biological filter, which was having some filtration issues, as I was wrapping stuff around the intake to protect ADF's from breaking their legs.

If I am to leave plants in the tank, would it be advisable to do daily water changes and keep the light on for a few hours a day? My floating plants are flourishing in the light so I don't want to change it. Should I go back to a chemical filter (I have city tap water)? I used some fertilizer a couple of weeks ago, but not since. I am trying to stay on just a biological filter. Perhaps just a brief use of chemical filter to get out extra nutrients. Any advice?

Lisa
 
Well, Lisa, healthy plants should outcompete algae for nutrients. You should look into why the algae is growing. Believe it or not, ferts can help the plants stay healthy and outcompeting the algae. Your problem, I suspect, may be related to CO2, however. Do you inject CO2 in any way? What is your cleaning schedule? What plants and how many do you have? Tell us more about the filter; brand, type (power filter, canister?) What kind of loach is in that tank? I have a feeling you are overstocknig that 15 gallon and that could be the main contributor.
 
Far:

OK here is the deal with my tank. They are mostly mumba (sp?) I think there is 11 (eek) In the tank. I never wanted that many, but a friend of mine HAD to get rid of them and no one else would take them so I had to give them a home. The water seems to be clear now, ill update it 4 days when my fast and eclipse (lol) is over with. Its like armagedon for my fish :laugh: :huh:
 
Well the 15 g specs are below. changes are that the clown loach is a young'in and the the betta is relocated to a private tank (recovering from recent tail injury, going to add him when the tank conditions are stable).

filter is a whisper, hangs over the back. 5-15 gallon, I can't remember the model #. It came with mesh bags to put carbon in, I have replaced that with a fluval sponge.
I inject no co2, and I will not inject it either. If my plants don't survive, I'll get new ones. Fertilizer is as far as I'll go and to get co2 going will be too big and more $ I can't spend.

Anyway that aside. I suspect the green came from a combo of changes in a very short time. I added 4 frogs, a bunch of plant - 5 stalks that are putting out new growth and roots like crazy. don't know it's name. A few days later, I added a light with better growing spectrum (18,000 K power glow). And a bit of fert (tetraplant). Somewhere in there I put in a new sponge with bio-filter media in it (it was in the filter with the old media to get bacteria-ized) and had some intake problems-not taking in very much H20 Only a trickle came out. Just a day ago, I got the intake up to normal providing good filtering and better aeration. The tank had just recovered from a mini-cycle/bacteria bloom. then turned green and fuzzy.

http://www.plantgeek.net/images/plantpics/Acrispus.jpg
In this pic, it is not the sword-leafed plant, it is the other small-leafed plant intertwined.
I have 2 small clumps of grass 2 banana plants and 1 wisteria (small), all have new growth in the 1 week since new bulb added.

Cleaning is crazy right now. Water changes every other day if it is too cloudy, every 2 or so as things stabilize, otherwise weekly. clean front glass as needed, vaccuum every 2 weeks though weekly recently, clean decorations when they get all brown, filter rinse once a month. Test water with every change or weekly when things are stable.

I feel guilty not giving any advice to civicman: Sounds like you got too many fish. You're going to have to get another tank :) I smile because my aquarium hobby started with a betta in a vase and in an effort to give him a better home, I now have 2 tanks (well 3 since he is in hospital tank which was the first tank I had for him...complete circle). I swore I'd never have fish after an annoying experience as a child (we over cleaned soap and water weekly- I couldn't even keep my own room clean!). Good luck with your green.

Thanks all
Lisa
 
Lisa, have you checked into DIY CO2 reactors? They are very simple and inexpensive to set up and maintain. The work marvellously as well, on smaller tanks, like yours. Check out this post from the Aquatic Plants forum of Aquaria Central. It lets you know just how important CO2 is, why it is, and also, explains how to make a do-it-yourself CO2 reactor for under 10 bucks. I used to use one before I started dosing Flourish Excel, and it's when I saw my plants start to take off. Mine cost next to nothing to build because I had almost everything I needed already. All it takes is a 2 liter pop bottle, some airline tubing, some aquarium silicone, an air stone, yeast, sugar, baking soda and warm water. You don't even have to be very handy with tools or anything... you drill one hole. With CO2, proper lighting and a good fertilization schedule any well stocked and planted tank can be algae free.
 
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