Update on my algae(?) problem - still need help!

C

cgcaver

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Jan 2, 2005
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Here's my original post ----> http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50279



OK, here's what Ive done:


1) Stopped dosing nutrients

2) Barely feeding at all (maybe 2 pellets every other day)

3) 50% water change every 3 days (treated with stress-coat after)

4) Lights on about 8-10 hours a day


The water is still very cloudy. The water is sort of greenish, but I would really discribe it as a milky white haze. It only looks a little better after I do the water change. Here are my readings over the last few days, they were taken right before doing a water change:


Friday 4/29

pH - 7.6 (has never changed since I've owned my tank)
NH4 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 5.0 ppm
PO4 - .5 ppm



Sunday 5/1

NH4 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 5.0 ppm
PO4 - 1.0 ppm


Anyone got any ideas? Im so sick of nasty looking water :( And I think it's really hurting my plants by blocking out the amount of light they can get. It sure looks like the white cloudiness I've seen associated with an Ammonia problem, but as you can see, my levels are literally 0. My tank is starting to look like a sewer and my plants are looking pretty awful too. I could really use some help here guys, this is really starting to get me down :(
 
Sounds like unicellular green algae to me - 'green water'. A 3-day blackout followed by a water change should clear things up, but if the underlying cause remains it will probably come back.
IMHO, the key to getting rid of it in a planted tank is balance - when the plants are growing well they'll outcompete the algae. The nasty attack of green water I got right after going planted really discouraged me, and it seemed backwards to me to addnutrients, but guess what? Once the plants had the light, CO2 and all the macro and micronutrients they needed, their growth took off and so did the algae. Recently, life got a little hectic, I decided to try a new fertilization method, and my 65g got out of balance. The result? A minor resurgence of the green stuff. Things are back on track, and it's gone again.
Try doing a search in the planted forum for 'green water', there should be lots of old posts that can give you more info. Don't give up hope, it can be fixed. :)
 
Okay so what plants do you have? You have pretty low light so I would expect that some are not doing well.
Keep adding nutrients.

You have to figure out why the PO4 is increasing. (Dying plants?)

Start adding flourish excel.
 
Your tank is not in direct sunlight by any chance is it? Also, as we think that you sent your tank into a mini cycle before...the increased cloudy/green water could be attributed to the end of the cycle process. Ease up on the amount of water your changing....50% every 3 days is too much......try like 20% every 3 days if youre going to change it that often and dont touch your filter media for a while unless its just to rinse out debris with your aquarium water. Give this regiment about a week and Ill bet youll see your water clear up...just be patient and dont go on another cleaning rampage :)

As far as your plants are concerned....well its hard to deal with this problem and the other at the same time......if they have taken a severe beating and are infested with algae, I would almost suggest getting new ones....but if they are still slavagable then start introducing a small amount of ferts again.....Excel daily and FE and K a couple times a weeks.....I was never in favor of you stopping that at all but if youre doing a blackout then it makes sense
 
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