Water has turned green

rcb031

rcb031

AC Members
Aug 13, 2009
51
0
6
39
Ottawa, Ontario
Real Name
Rob
Hey everyone...its been a long time but I'm back with more questions...I have recently had my 10 gallon FW tank turn green on me...After trying some "Jungle Buddies - Water Clear" tablets, a full water change and scrubbing all my decorations under hot water, and changing the sponge and carbon filter I have had the water go back to being green...Any one know what might be the issue or recommend something that I might be able to do to help clean up the water and make it purtty again?
 
What is the photoperiod you have on the tank? If it doesn't have live plants, then 6 - 10 hours of light should be good. Excessive light will lead to algae blooms. I have also heard that putting a break in your photoperiod (say 5 hours on, 2 hours off, 5 hours on) can help deal with algae as well, as algae doesn't photosynthesize as well as higher plants.

If you don't have live plants, consider adding some. They will out-compete the algae for nutrients, and if you get low-light plants you won't have to worry about the lighting too much.

You can also consider a UV sterilizer, which (although a bit pricey) will definitely clear up your water.

Regular water changes will help deprive the algae of nutrients (twice a week).

You could also try cutting back on your feeding, as you could be overfeeding the fish, which is causing the excess nutrients the algae are enjoying so much.
 
something to consider before making drastic water changes, is your own tap water. It may harbor the nutrients the bloom needs to survive, and algae like that tends to thrive on shock changes, where regular plants won't adapt so quickly.

Also, don't scrub your decorations under hot water anymore, it won't fix anything, and there may be nitrifying bacteria on the surface, depending on how porous it is. :)
 
Green water is mostly an aesthetic problem. It's actually great for your fish, as it is so effective at consuming ammonia, it can actually starve your biofilter.
 
Do you have plants?? How long are your lights on?? If no plants, you do not even need to turn them on.

Is the tank near a window, if it is-- either move it or cover that side.


PS---"taking everthing out and cleaning under hot water" may have kill your BIO system.
 
tanker said:
Do you have plants?? How long are your lights on?? If no plants, you do not even need to turn them on.

Is the tank near a window, if it is-- either move it or cover that side.


PS---"taking everthing out and cleaning under hot water" may have kill your BIO system.
Click to expand...
my "plants" are all plastic :( I have the light on from about 8am until around 11pm..I could wait for a bit of the day to pass before turning it on...and no the tank is about 15 feet away from a window and its out of direct sunlight...the water was green before I did the water change and within a few days it was green again
 
yeah, try running the light no more than about 10 hours a day. There is no sense in discouraging the use of lights just because someone doesn't have plants, I wouldn't keep fish if I wasn't able to look at them!

definitely cut down the length of time the light is on, however. this will help immensely.
 
That's not what I meant. If you are not home (and there is no one viewing the fish) just keep it off and turn on when you home.

Or get some bulbs that do not produce any algae.
 
rcb031, I am trying to grow green water for my daphnia (with no success). How did you grow yours? Did you just have a lot of light and fish food?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom