Paula Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 My aquarium was cold water and I added a heater set at about 23 - PH level is around 7 and other tests have come back normal - yet I have a cloudy tank (greenish) - I have taken out the carbon from my hang on filter as I was told this would absorb the chemicals and added filter wool which I change every second day - have added water clarifier but this doesnt seem to be working - it is a 57 litre tank - has anyone out there any idea how to fix this so I can see my fish again - I have white clouds, bristlenose, cory catfish, barbs and leopard fish - this has only happened since I added the heater. I did have driftwood but took this out hoping the water would clear itself. What else can I do? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted January 5, 2008 Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Yes, it is an algae bloom - one of my nine tanks has one at the moment too. Try blacking out the tank for two-three days, no light at all. That should help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paula Posted January 5, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 5, 2008 Thank you willing to try anything Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
smidey Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 IMO you shouldn't change the filter wool every second day. I would suggest once every three weeks or a month. I have noticed that some filter wool will have "loose particals" which may add to the cloudiness. As for the carbon, IMO this should only be used to remove meds or other temp chemicals that you may have added to the water. what it does is absorb things from the water including any fertilisers etc that you want in there. After a period of time, maybe 6-8 weeks it will become full & release what it has absorbed which may be the issue here. i rcommend a 50% water change & make sure your filter is working properly & has the right amonut of flow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naz_Nomad Posted January 6, 2008 Report Share Posted January 6, 2008 Add a filter with a UV. UV light goes a long way towards helping clear green water, which is just free floating algae. You can try the blackout method mentioned earlier, but you have to be really strict and make sure you keep all light out of the tank. It didn't work for me when I tried it. Also, keep your nitrate levels nice and low, adding plants helps this problem. Nitrate is food for plants but also food for algae, which is just a simple form of plant life anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have green water troubles too.. those filters with UVs are really expensive.. would moving the location of the tank do much to alleviate this? My tank must get alot of sun during the hottest part of the day... what about getting aquarium snails? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishychick Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I've been having similar problems too - for over 2 months now. Have been doing water changes at different frequencies for a couple of weeks at a time. Daily 50% changes meant I could see the fish, but didn't solve the problem. Had inherited something called Algol with the tank. Gave that a couple of goes over a 3 week cycle, but the green just kept coming back. Tried a "clear-water" formula food when the last jar of flake ran out. Tried cutting down the lights from 10 - 12 hrs to 8 hrs. Nothing worked and I was getting pretty fed up with those water changes I was still doing! :-? Had just about given up and started researching UV filters (to the point I was in lfs with 1 in each hand deciding which one to buy) when the helpful lfs staffer suggested cutting the lights right back to 1 or 2 hrs daily. I had been under the impression I needed them on longer for the plants (and that could be the case - time will tell!). Also when I got home I noticed the tank was getting quite a bit of reflected light in the early evening, which I think will only happen during summer - which would be about the right time-frame for when my problem started. That was solved by closing a door. I bought a bristlenose while I was there - had thought my wee tank (ar380) was too small for one (also a trio of rummynoses - they're tiny and so cute! ) but apparently not (I stand to be corrected here!). He - or she - has had a great tidy up in the tank, and yesterday for the first time in MONTHS I glanced at the tank, did a second take, and thought "that looks brilliant!" Not sure which of the changes to give the credit to - a bit of trial and error will soon tell! Karen . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted January 9, 2008 Report Share Posted January 9, 2008 I have green water troubles too.. those filters with UVs are really expensive.. would moving the location of the tank do much to alleviate this? My tank must get alot of sun during the hottest part of the day... what about getting aquarium snails? Yes, too much sunlight will cause excess algae. Algae needs 2 things, light and nutrients. If you aren't trying to grow plants, then you can reduce the light and keep up the water changes to keep the nutrients low. If you have plants, then it's generally different, get more plants and increase the light so they grow better. That uses up the stray nutrients that the algae would otherwise use. Snails and algae eating fish (small plecos etc) can help with algae thats growing on rocks or the glass, but they wont do anything about the microscopic floating 'green water' type. A UV filter will help with green water, they work well, but yes they are a bit pricey. Algae killing chemicals aren't so good. They may harm your fish, and if nothing else about the tank is changed, when they wear off the algae just comes back. Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I mite try more plants then, does the algae problem affect the fish in any way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I mite try more plants then, does the algae problem affect the fish in any way? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ianab Posted January 10, 2008 Report Share Posted January 10, 2008 I mite try more plants then, does the algae problem affect the fish in any way? Within reason - No. As long as the water parameters are fine and the filters are working the fish will generally mooch around in the green water just fine. It mostly just looks bad and makes it hard to see the fish :-? Cheers Ian Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted January 13, 2008 Report Share Posted January 13, 2008 heyandrea wrote My tank must get alot of sun during the hottest part of the day I have my 10 gallon tank in a bedroom upstairs which if a sunny day the sun will eventually shine directly on tank. Therefore, I either put a piece of cardboard that I have in front of the tank or in the window. But then this is easy because the tank is small. Eventually I will get a blind for the window which would be easier :-? Caper Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 I brought a few more plants for my tank so hopefully it help.. not too keen blocking out too much sunlight as my plants need light. Have a few snails that may help with the algae on the glass as well. Fingers crossed! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Naz_Nomad Posted January 14, 2008 Report Share Posted January 14, 2008 Your plants should get light from the light unit in the tank rather than from direct sunlight. Too much sunlight may cause algae to outgrow your plants and cause blooms. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peterpindare Posted January 15, 2008 Report Share Posted January 15, 2008 i would get 2 x bristlenose catfish to clean the algee and tank !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 my tank is cold water though. I have a friend who has bn catfish perfectly fine in a cold water tank.Alos have heard from a friend of a friend who owns a pet shop that bn catfish adapt to cold water but they just dont breed. So not sure if this could be rite? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Define cold. In an average well insulated home they are probably fine. Not below 18C. They can live colder than that but it isn't ideal Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 Cold as in unheated tank, tank without heater. My house stays pretty warm and is very hot during the summer months. I have a fire place, so in the winter the house stays toasty during most of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 16, 2008 Report Share Posted January 16, 2008 But what I am saying is an unheated tank is not necessarily a "cold" one. I have an unheated tank in my lounge that is sitting st 28C - room temperature. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
heyandrea_ Posted January 17, 2008 Report Share Posted January 17, 2008 Oh okay, well I shouldnt have a problem then, the room temperature in my house gets pretty hot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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