Help please

[xauz]

Help! Green tinted cloudy water

I'm new to aquariums but have a friend that has been dealling with them along time. I set my 20 gal tank up back in april, it has a marineland penguin 200 with bio wheel. The last few months, the water has been getting really cloudy with a greenish tint to it. I have 1 angel, 5 serpae tetras, 5 danios, 1 pleco and some kind of sword plant. At first, the water was just cloudy then it got the green tint. My friend thinks it might be an ammonia problem but not sure because of the green tint. Could it be some kind of algae bloom? Anyone having any ideas on what is causing this or suggestions as to how take care of this problem, the help is greatly appreciated.

 

[mvigor]

Is the water really green, or is the glass just covered in green algea? At this point it sure isn't going to hurt anything to do a 50% water change. Also please be aware that the Pleco by himself overstocks your tank and contributes to a need for almost daily tank maintenance. He'll get 18 inches long or more before too long here.

 

[Dangerdoll]

Have you tested for ammonia to see exactly what the levels are in the tank?
Green water does scream algae but your chem levels should be checked to see if there is an underlying cause to the bloom. Water changes never hurt so go with them.

 

[xauz]

Thanks for the advice. The pleco is a clown pleco which I've heard and read stays pretty small compared to some others. I just did a 50% water change so we'll see how it goes. The water was really green but there was brownish algae on the glass and stuff. Thanks again for the advice

 

[Star_Rider]

clown plecos are great fish..eat lots of algae, tho they tend to be a bit shy.

make sure you have bogwood or driftwood..clowns are wood munchers.
shouldn't get much bigger that 4 "


have you done the ammonia,nitrite and nitrate checks?
you could take a sample of your water to the local IFS and have them test..if you trust them..or get yourself a test kit.

lots of reason for algae bloom..

is this aquarium relatively new(less than a year old)?
broan algae is a different beast..research I have done on it..
it can grow in low light/no light and is common in newer glass aquariums..silicatge in the glass seems to enhance the brn algae.

good luck

 

[OrionGirl]

Just a quick correction--diatoms (brown algae) do require silica to reproduce, but the glass in the aquarium is not an available source for them.

 

[xauz]

I'll pick up a test kit in a few days when I get a chance to got to the LFS. I do have a piece of drift wood in there at the moment but plan on picking up a few different pieces and some more plants when I pick up the test kit.

 

[xauz]

Just an update. I had the lights off since monday and then turned them on tonight to put in the new driftwood and plants and the water has cleared up alot. I also bought a test and everything tested good. Hopefully it clears up the rest of the way and stays that way now