Tsarmina Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 my tank is green on sunday and wednesday nights i did a 75% water change and it hasn't changed. tank is by a window, but doesn't get any direct sunlight on it. currently contains approx 75 guppies and 1 CAE. i have removed all of the sand that was on the bottom and replaced it with gravel (purchased from pet shop. done on wednesday), plants are java moss and java fern. filter has a sponge and carbon. heater working fine - temp around 26oC lighting if raining - turned on around 10 - 10.30am lighting if sunny - turned on around 4 - 4.30pm lighting off at midnight everynight parameters unsure due to 2 large water changes in 1 week. inside of tank on glass there looks to be some algae colour varying shades between white and green. i think thats everything any ideas and what can i do??? it only takes 2 days after a water change to go back to the green it was. thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Ummm...did you give the new gravel a good wash? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Billaney Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Adele had the same problem with her cichlid tank and we found putting heaps of plant in the tank for a few day absorbed all the "green" and the water cleared nicey , i think its to do with the phosphates in the water but no chemist. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted March 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Ummm...did you give the new gravel a good wash? yep. tank was green before the gravel went in. i put it in during the 2nd water change this week. Adele had the same problem with her cichlid tank and we found putting heaps of plant in the tank for a few day absorbed all the "green" and the water cleared nicey , i think its to do with the phosphates in the water but no chemist ok. does anyone have any spare plants or cutting that they can give me? as the last lot i got my pleco enjoyed eating. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 the 75 guppies would be your reason. And the tap water probably has lots of gunk in it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
owen Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 with the tank right by a window you could try growing plants out the top of the tank with their roots in the water like philodendrons or Umbrella Plant for example. plants that grow with their leaves out of the water tend to be better at sucking up nutrients as they arnt restricted by the amount of co2 in the water Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caper Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Ira, why do you suspect the guppies for making the water green? Is it because of their waste products?...Just curious :-? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted March 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 tank size is 915x380x400mm. the 75 guppies would be your reason. And the tap water probably has lots of gunk in it. i don't believe it's the tap water otherwise my community tank would have the same problem. the water in there is clear. most of these fish are juvenilles. all males are removed once sexed and they are in the community tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LYNDYLOO Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 I have exactly the same problem T, damn annoying aye, my Angel Bubba tank is by the window, it also gets no direct sunlight, it doesn't seem to matter how much water I take out of it or how much water I put in it , it is always green. Think maybe I might just try adding some Plants as Paul suggested, and see if this makes any difference. Lynda Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Guppies are dirty fish. And the easiest way I've found to get rid of green water is to filter it out. Put some filter wool packed tightly over the intake of your filter or a powerhead or whatever and it usually, for me at least, filters the algae out of the water just fine. You just need to clean the wool in the sink a couple times a day for the first few days. Cleaned up a tank I had that was so murky green you couldn't see more than 2" into it to crystal clear in about 2 days. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
peanuts Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 what is the flow of your filter - ie litres per hour. could be that the filter can't handle the load now - I would suggest running one a bit bigger than you have and as Ira has suggested placing some filter wool in until it clears. and lots of plants help with removing guppy waste. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted March 31, 2006 Author Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 filter is 700lt/hr. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo1 Posted March 31, 2006 Report Share Posted March 31, 2006 Sounds like an algae bloom to me. Why not try covering tank with a blanket and no lights for 3 days. I have seen it work before. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted April 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 thanks all. i am going to try the filter wool idea first, while i work on getting some more plants. if that doesn't work, then it will be the black out idea. if i can help it, i don't want to put any chemicals into the tank, so we'll see how it goes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted April 1, 2006 Report Share Posted April 1, 2006 Hi Tsar, Sounds like you only have the prob in the one tank.. which would eliminate the water type you are using.. and possibly the substrates, if you have the same types in the other tanks. Just looking over the thread, and my feelings are that it could all lead to your feeding routine.. ie:.. too much too often. Seventy odd guppies will take a fair bit of food.. and judging the correct amount would be a bit hit and miss. Algae is the lowest form of plant life in the chain, and with an excess of nutrients.. (fish waste plus left over food).. it will easily over-run a tank in a few days.. especially if there is little cmpetition in the way of other plants to soak up the excess. Before going to the extreems.. I would put them on a diet of one feed only per two days. If they are hungry, they will attack the algae, but won't erradicate it.. but with a few decent plants in there you should see a difference within a week. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tsarmina Posted April 5, 2006 Author Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 well, i went to the extremes and did a 100% water change. took everything out; plants, gravel, etc. took some water out of the community tank and put it into a small plastic tank, put the guppies in to that (was looking a little cramped) and then, with the lid on, put that in the community tank to keep the fish warm and in clean water till i had refilled their tank. the tank is looking very bare at the moment. when i put the guppies back in, i was rewarded with 4 fry within 10mins. will be adding stuff slowly to the tank. Q. how do i make sure there is no algae left on my plants??? they are currently in a bag, floating in the community tank. i don't want to end up throwing them away as i have a clump of java moss about the size of a tennis ball that i don't want to lose Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
suphew Posted April 5, 2006 Report Share Posted April 5, 2006 Q. how do i make sure there is no algae left on my plants??? they are currently in a bag, floating in the community tank. i don't want to end up throwing them away as i have a clump of java moss about the size of a tennis ball that i don't want to lose I quick dip in bleach and water mixed should do the trick, make sure you give it a good rinse afterwards, till you can't smell the bleach anymore. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 6, 2006 Report Share Posted April 6, 2006 I think it's overkill in this case. All of the algae that makes the water green would be waterborne. The only bits that would be left is in any droplets of water on the plants. Give them a rinse under the tap, that'll be good enough. But even then, you can't totally eliminate them from the water, you limit the algae by starving it of what it needs to grow. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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