water is green

[rcross]

We set up a 50 gal tank at christman.first2 weeks crystal clear.then green.my wife continually does partail water changes and uses all the junk tey sell at so called pet stores.where the employees are so well trained and knowlagable. My wife is working way too hard to keep her Christmas present clear.any help would be welcome Thanks

 

[happychem]

Easily dealt with in general, just takes some time and patience.

First off, we need to know more about your tank:
What's your fish stock, how often do you feed, how much, how often and how much water do you change?

What are your NH3, NO2 and NO3 readings?

Does the tank face a window with much direct light? Although frankly, I don't believe that this is much of an issue if nutrients and tank chemistry is properly managed.

It'll clear up. First whatever's off needs to be set right then over a few weeks the water will generally clear up.

 

[cal26w]

u have a algae bloom or pea soup u can treat this a few ways by keeping the light on less then you have it on for with water changes or u can get a algae fix it comes in a small bottle use that according to the directions and your problem is solved I had the same problem i used the algae fix and it clear up the problem and has not come back for a few months
read below also that may help u also

Green Water

There are several levels of this, as well as causes. Water can be a green that's nice and faint, or it can be so opaque green the fish can not be seen. There's one upside to this though, generally algae blooms do not hurt the fish, and that is all green water is, an algae bloom. Algae blooms happen in nature any time the conditions are good, meaning enough food and enough light. Algae feed on several things in the tank.

The green water algae most noteably appears after someone dumps too much food in the tank, or a fish mysteriously disappears to rot under that castle. The annoying thing is it can happen a few weeks after such a thing happens as well, if water changes were not done to remove the food or the fish was not found. The algae only grows because it is getting the two things it needs, food and light. If you cut off either one generally the algae subsides.

As to cutting off the food, try first doing a few partial water changes, vacuuming the gravel each time to make sure your nitrates are nice an low. If the green weater persists, test your replacement water, if possible test it for phosphates, which are heavily implicated in causing green water. Also, some water conditioners still use phosphates, so check that as well. Phosphates in tap water can be a seasonal thing, as agricultural runoff generally has a lot of plant fertilizers, which of course causes great algae blooms, not just in tanks though, ponds and oceans are also as negatively affected by fertilizers and other food dumped into them.

if your water does turn out to have phosphates in it, invest in a phosphate pillow. it sits in a filter and sucks the phosphates out as the water is filtered. It shoud clear up the green water by starving it.

Another cause of green water is sunlight. If your tank gets any sunlight, that is probably why it is green. One proposed solution to green water is turning the tank lights out and wrapping the tank in a towel for a week. Feed lightly, and algae that was caused mainly by light will probably die off. To keep the algae dead, do not leave the light on more than 10 hrs a day, and block off the back and sides of the tank with black paper or background sheets.

One last way to combat green water is chemically. The reason it isn't the most recommended is that it is a TEMPORARY fix. The water will still have the conditions to grow the algae so you will just have to keep treating it. Also, some algae destroyers can harm sensitive fish, plants, and most kill snails or other invertebrates.


http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_algae.php

 

[rcross]

Thanks

Thanks for the advice .I will post results

 

[tricksterpup]

I know I keep on harping on this, but I wish I could keep green water.
Reason why.
For live food cultures. I love keeping Daphina for my fish but I do have problems keeping up a culture of green floating alage.

One reason why tanks tend to get green water from new tanks is that lights are left on way to long. Also they do not have the culture of micro organisms that feed on the free floating alage.
What may help here also, if you have a friend who has a well established tank, grab some water and add it to your tank. this might give your tank the microbes you need. (remember I said it Might).

But lower your light and do often water changes, this may help. best of luck.