in the old days when i was young (mid 1960's)i used ugf in all my tanks.i also used internal box filters.thinking back all of my tanks were crystal clear.i had the cloudiness associated with setting up new tanks but after a few weeks the water turned clear and stayed clear.i never recall having green water during my 15 plus yrs of fishkeeping.i had a little brown algae on the glass which i easily removed.the four tanks i have now have, have experienced the green water problem.the hob filters i use are ac's and regents and their is more than adequate filtration for the tanks.i have went from 12hrs to 6 to 8 hrs of lighting per day.i gravel vac and change water (about half)every week.i even starve the fish two days out of the week and i do not overfeed.i of course will get through this but i just wonder if i had used ugf if i might not have these problems.green water is a problem with many aquarist's.those of you who still use ugf do you experience the green water syndrome?i have floating plants in all of the tanks i might add.(anacharis and hornwort.hmm..maybe some duckweed or water sprite might help.allwet..........
ugf verus hob/cannister
- Thread starter allwet
- Start date
I have an UGF and a power head. No algae what-so-ever but then again mine has no actual sunlight just indoor house lighting (track lighting to be exact). I don't necessarily think a filter would be your problem.. maybe more the direct sunlight your tank is getting.
I think the algae probs heve more to do with the shift from incandescent to flourescent lighting. Lights now give off a lot more juice than they used to. You say that you had ocasional brown algae. Isnt that a sign of excess nutrients and low light levels? We have just shifted the type of algae that we now have. Most lights are meant to be at least able to keep plants alive so thats more than enough to have algae flourish.
get a diatom filter, that will fix it in no time. (2 or 3 hours) UV will arguably help too....
now as for the rest of it, i really don't understand it. as an experiment i tried to make green water and i literally had to leave the tank lights on for like 30 days straight to get it. this was with a 10g with flourescent and just a few guppies i was 1/2 heartedly trying to breed...... and i overfeed!
so what are you doing wrong? too many fish maybe? algae "blooms" are typically caused by high nitrates and/or high phosporus/phosphates. now maybe you're getting more nitrates now because the water is being handled more efficiently with the HOB. but that still isn't the root cause.
a basic way to deal with it, completely darken the tank for a few days. lights off and wrapped with a blanket or something so NO light gets in. also do a couple of decent water changes, that should help thin out whatever is causing it.
the key here is probably to increase your maintenance. more water changes and/or more frequency so the stuff the algae eats doesn't have time to collect. by diluting it with fresh, clean water it will hopefully break the cycle. no food for the algae to eat.....
now as for the rest of it, i really don't understand it. as an experiment i tried to make green water and i literally had to leave the tank lights on for like 30 days straight to get it. this was with a 10g with flourescent and just a few guppies i was 1/2 heartedly trying to breed...... and i overfeed!
so what are you doing wrong? too many fish maybe? algae "blooms" are typically caused by high nitrates and/or high phosporus/phosphates. now maybe you're getting more nitrates now because the water is being handled more efficiently with the HOB. but that still isn't the root cause.
a basic way to deal with it, completely darken the tank for a few days. lights off and wrapped with a blanket or something so NO light gets in. also do a couple of decent water changes, that should help thin out whatever is causing it.
the key here is probably to increase your maintenance. more water changes and/or more frequency so the stuff the algae eats doesn't have time to collect. by diluting it with fresh, clean water it will hopefully break the cycle. no food for the algae to eat.....
I think jp457 hit the nail on the head.
Diatom filters and UV sterilizers will undoubtably work, if you care for the price tag. Personally I waged a three week war with green water. I did fifty percent water changes every other day and didn't even turn the lights on and left a towel around it. It would clear up a little and then come right back. Finally it was explained to me how I was overfeeding and horribly overstocked. Well my liberal use of algae destroyer and nine CA cihlids in a ninety took care of my overstocking, and upon recommendation from a LFS (the same guy who explained about the feeding and overstocking) I tried clarity by seachem. It cleared the whole tank in about four hours. I then maintained a better cleaning schedule, fed less, and with less fish I have never had a problem since. The clarity definately gave me a fighting chance though, the water changes and lack of light really didn't seem to help for an extended period of time because I hadn't addressed the real issue.
Diatom filters and UV sterilizers will undoubtably work, if you care for the price tag. Personally I waged a three week war with green water. I did fifty percent water changes every other day and didn't even turn the lights on and left a towel around it. It would clear up a little and then come right back. Finally it was explained to me how I was overfeeding and horribly overstocked. Well my liberal use of algae destroyer and nine CA cihlids in a ninety took care of my overstocking, and upon recommendation from a LFS (the same guy who explained about the feeding and overstocking) I tried clarity by seachem. It cleared the whole tank in about four hours. I then maintained a better cleaning schedule, fed less, and with less fish I have never had a problem since. The clarity definately gave me a fighting chance though, the water changes and lack of light really didn't seem to help for an extended period of time because I hadn't addressed the real issue.
thanks to all for your replies.very helpful info.the one thing i dont have now that i did have back then was the diaton filter.had two of them back then and i might have to order one real soon.i have done the large water changes,cut down on feeding,less light,gravel cleaning and etc etc.of course their is light coming into the small room.i use mini blinds and the tank does not actually get any direct sunlight.i also might look into the clarity as scott mentioned,although the diaton filter seems to be the way to go.allwet.........