oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 my 3 foot tank has gone hazey green (mint green color) like ive got an algae bloom - water changes arent helping - will carbon ? any ideas on how i can get rid of it ? its really annoying me now !!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stillnzcookie Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 If it is what we had, we fixed this in a 60L tank by doing a BIG water change, blacking out the tank completely for about 3 days, then doing another big water change. If you don't find out what caused it though, it will probably keep coming back. In our case, the early morning sun was shining on the tank, so we now cover the tank every night. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 13, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 hmm could be worth a shot - i dont have morning sun but more late afternoon and evening sun - by big change how much ? i did a 70% 2 days ago and its already back to hazey !!! will 80% be enough or more ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 Green water is usually caused by one of three things: 1. lack of microorganisms (as is seen with a new setup or an overcleaned setup); 2. medications (which can kill the beneficial microorganisms); 3. nutrient imbalance. You can resolve a green water problem by doing any number of things but one of the most long term solutions is to get any nutrient imbalance sorted out and then let the microorganism population establish itself by doing small water changes over the course of several days. No, it is not immediate, but the root of the problem is addressed with a long term solution. To resolve the nutrient imbalance aim for Nitrogen 10-20ppm, Phosphorus 0.5-2ppm, Potassium 10-20ppm, Calcium 10-30ppm, Magnesium 2-5ppm, Iron 0.1ppm. Other treatments include: blackout the tank for 3 to 5 days or remove algal particles with a micron filter, UV filter or Daphnia in a breeding net. Flocculants can also be used to force the algae into larger clumps that your filter can more easily remove. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 13, 2010 Report Share Posted March 13, 2010 turn off your lights, add filter wool to the intake (assuming its an external filter) and be prepared to rinse it out regularly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 dare I mention a tiny, tiny dose of hydrogen peroxide? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bronze-dragon Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 dare I mention a tiny, tiny dose of hydrogen peroxide? NO! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 honestly! a tiny wee dose, will fix it too. I have been reading lots .... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zev Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Best you write an article for Caryl, then, including the disaster with the fish... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Green water is usually caused by one of three things: 1. lack of microorganisms (as is seen with a new setup or an overcleaned setup); 2. medications (which can kill the beneficial microorganisms); 3. nutrient imbalance. You can resolve a green water problem by doing any number of things but one of the most long term solutions is to get any nutrient imbalance sorted out and then let the microorganism population establish itself by doing small water changes over the course of several days. No, it is not immediate, but the root of the problem is addressed with a long term solution. To resolve the nutrient imbalance aim for Nitrogen 10-20ppm, Phosphorus 0.5-2ppm, Potassium 10-20ppm, Calcium 10-30ppm, Magnesium 2-5ppm, Iron 0.1ppm. Other treatments include: blackout the tank for 3 to 5 days or remove algal particles with a micron filter, UV filter or Daphnia in a breeding net. Flocculants can also be used to force the algae into larger clumps that your filter can more easily remove. well this ones been setup for a year or so - the only difference is the location - i use to be in the lounge and only got morning sun for about an hour then nothing but artificial light for the rest of the day. now its in the kitchen with a good amount of light. im trying the blackout idea for a few days and will see how that goes - does it need to be totally black under the covers or just enough to stop the sunlight etc from getting to the water? i tried a few 40% water changes over several days but the green ness just came back overnight !! so that didnt work. what test kit will cover nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, and iron ? i have filter wool in my fluval 204 but maybe i need to be cleaning that out more often ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 does it need to be totally black under the covers or just enough to stop the sunlight etc from getting to the water Total blackout, no light at all in the tank. Make sure everything is covered up well so no light gets in anywhere. After that, cover the areas that are getting hit by sunlight to avoid this again. HTH Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 definitely caused by too much light. The more the blackout the quicker it will go. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oneeyedfrog Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 Hi, I had this problem with my 250l goldfish tank. It gets quite alot of afternoon sun but then so does the tank next to it. . For a couple of months I tried everything -large water changes( 50- 80%), small ones , none. Filter wool , differents lights , more plants, curtains drawn to stop sun , a black out. It just kept coming back and getting worse. In the end I did a 100% water change which worked and it hasn't come back. So still not sure of the reason for it- an imbalance of ??? The tank still gets sun but no more green water. I feed the same foods but I do have more fish in there now. The nitrate was reading 0 so that could be part of it . Now I think it was 10 last time I checked. Good luck in clearing it- let us know what happens . I found it really really annoying too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 i had a thick blanket over the tank today but check i looked under the covers i could still see the fish - so now i have doubled it and now its so dark in there i cant even see the fish Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 It is a misconception that green water is caused by excess light, particularly sunlight. If you doubt that, just try making a bucket of green water by placing it out in the direct sunlight all day - it is not as easy as you might think! It sounds like your situation has been caused by nutrient excess/imbalance. The plants simply cannot outcompete the algae so the algae is taken the upper hand. Black out will cure the green appearance but to prevent the problem from reoccurring, get the plants growing well by giving them good light and appropriate balanced nutrients; avoid overfeeding so you don't have excess gross nutrients to feed the algae; and support an environment that will allow the beneficial microorganisms to flourish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k1w1y2k Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 You can try blackpout, but this will only be a temporary fix. As you didn't have the problem where the tank was previously, them it is a light problem. If the light is coming from the side of the tank, then cover that side. If it is getting the front of the tank, then I suggest moving the tank, otherwise it will keep occuring. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 this problem has only started in the last couple of weeks - its been in this spot for about 4 or 5 months now - im only assuming its sunlight cause we have been having some awesome weather over the last few weeks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 It is a misconception that green water is caused by excess light, particularly sunlight. If you doubt that, just try making a bucket of green water by placing it out in the direct sunlight all day - it is not as easy as you might think! It sounds like your situation has been caused by nutrient excess/imbalance. The plants simply cannot outcompete the algae so the algae is taken the upper hand. Black out will cure the green appearance but to prevent the problem from reoccurring, get the plants growing well by giving them good light and appropriate balanced nutrients; avoid overfeeding so you don't have excess gross nutrients to feed the algae; and support an environment that will allow the beneficial microorganisms to flourish. i might do a water test - having done one for this tank for a while and see what my params are for nitrate etc Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Manda Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 I had the same problem a few months ago and it was not caused by too much light as my fish tank is set into the wall on my stairs so has very little natural light hitting it. I tried water changes to get rid of it but it wasnt till I used a product called CLEAR (think its by tetra) that it went. That did upset the PH balence a bit, but it got rid of the problem and I havent had it back since. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted March 14, 2010 Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 At this time of year I actually get direct sun on my tank for a couple of hours in the morning, due to the angle of the sun, so need to keep one curtain closed until mid morning or I get green spot algae on the glass at one end. Sometimes you can have this problem and the blackout works and the problem does not return as the inbalance was temporary, for whatever reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oO SKIPPY Oo Posted March 14, 2010 Author Report Share Posted March 14, 2010 yeah i have green spot and i dont mind that so much just hate this minty green water !! At this time of year I actually get direct sun on my tank for a couple of hours in the morning, due to the angle of the sun, so need to keep one curtain closed until mid morning or I get green spot algae on the glass at one end. Sometimes you can have this problem and the blackout works and the problem does not return as the inbalance was temporary, for whatever reason. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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