GREEN WATER! please help

[paul87]

My water has been green for months now and I don't understand why. I've been doing plenty watet changes, I've tried algae killing meds and have reduced lights alot daily. Its my girlfriends tank and it is a 10 gallon. It has a whisper power filter, heater, 2 10w 600 lumen fluorescent bulbs and is a bare bottom tank with 2 rocks, 1piece of Malaysian driftwood with 1 anubias Nana plant attached to it. I added the plant recently to see if it would outcompete the algae. The tank inhabitants are 1 albino African clawed frog, 1 clown pleco, 3 nerite snails, and 2 ghost shrimp (if they have not been eaten yet!). I'm thinking of getting rid of the clown pleco seeing as it eats wood more than algae and is adding to the bioload. That way it will just be the frog and some snails. Any ideas on solving this green water problem? Here's a pic if it right now. I did about a 90% water change a week ago.

 

[jetajockey]

What's your lighting schedule like? CFLs over a 10 can be a high light situation, I've used them in the past to culture greenwater algae to feed fish fry.

 

[paul87]

8 hours a day on, 16 off. Would I be better off with the 15w incadecent lights that came with it?? I didn't like them cause they get hotter, use more power, and are yellow instead of white

 

[jetajockey]

I'd reduce the amount the lights are on, if possible. Cutting back to one bulb will help, but it might give it a lopsided look. If it's near a window or gets natural sunlight that could also be part of the issue.

One other thing that helps is adding live plants. It often takes multiple approaches to get it to stay gone. A UV sterilizer is also an option but expensive, especially when the issue can be dealt with by other means.

Do you dose fertilizers in the tank at all?

Greenwater algae blooms can also be a sign of a sizable ammonia concentration, possibly a minicycle, have you tested the water? Did this pop up after adding fish? Did you do a heavy cleaning on the tank?

 

[paul87]

Its been like this for a while now. No new purchase besides that plant. I don't fertilize at all. Any other light you would suggest? I wanted to get a standard fluorescent Hood but it would probably be about the same as the 2 compacts huh? I think they are about 15w and up

 

[paul87]

I've been thinking a out adding duckweed. It should block some of the light and help in absorption of nutrients. I hear its impossible to get rid of but I'm OK with that. Its barebottom with a frog and I have no plans of adding more plants. Good idea or no??

 

[paul87]

I forgot to update this. But I did order greater duckweed and put it in my tank. The same day before I put it in the tank was still green as possible. Maybe 3 inch visability. LITERALLY the morning after adding it the water was crystal clear. I really couldn't believe it. So glad I got it. Does these mean it wad a nutrient problem and not a light problem or what? I'm happy now but just curious.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Yes it was a nutrient problem imo. Another trick for those who don't have access to duckweed is to find a willow tree and cut several twigs a few inches longer than your tank is high. Bunch them up and stick them into the substrate leaving a few inches left above water level. This will clear the worse gw ever, and the beauty of it is just simply remove them when the water clears. Usually within 2-3 days.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

I had this issue once.. To clear up the algae bloom (green water) i tried a ton of partial water changes and reducing the duration my lights were on to no avail.. I eventually tried the 'black out' method by turning off all the lights and wrapping my tank in a blanket.. It actually did the trick!

Not sure what instructions i followed but the link below might help... i recall not feeding my fish as much as these instructions imply to though... Good luck!
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/...cles/getting-rid-green-water-black-out-13177/

 

[Paulyboy123]

Try to get algafix it helped me once I had the same problem

 

[paul87]

The willow idea sounds pretty awesome! I like the duckweed though plus its giant or greater duckweed not ad tiny tiny ad regular duckweed but still tiny. It works great and it looks like a place the frog would live. I've tried the algaefix several times with bi success.

 

[_skyla_]

The willow idea sounds pretty awesome! I like the duckweed though plus its giant or greater duckweed not ad tiny tiny ad regular duckweed but still tiny. It works great and it looks like a place the frog would live. I've tried the algaefix several times with bi success.

so what does the duckweed do? if it is benificial for the tank i might get some? ive only seen the regular duckweed here tho

 

[ibn219]

Get alge destroyer at walmart hurry

 

[paul87]

It removes excess nutrients and nitrates pretty good from what I can tell and by what I've read. Can clog up filters and spread rapidly though. I blocked it to one side of my tank so it don't get into my filter. I ordered the greater duckweed on eBay. If you read above I've tried algae meds and am not a fan of chemicals anyway. Walmart I'd the last place I'd get any anyway.

 

[_skyla_]

It removes excess nutrients and nitrates pretty good from what I can tell and by what I've read. Can clog up filters and spread rapidly though. I blocked it to one side of my tank so it don't get into my filter. I ordered the greater duckweed on eBay. If you read above I've tried algae meds and am not a fan of chemicals anyway. Walmart I'd the last place I'd get any anyway.

Sounds good I'll see if I can find some and try it if it clogs up the filter into the outdoor water feature it will go

 

[paul87]

Ill take a pic of how I contained it to keep it away from my filter when I get home later. What size tank do you have? Do u have powerheads in there?

 

[_skyla_]

cool thatd be great its a 70litre (17gallon) . No powerfilter just a built in one that came with the tank so i think it will be ok.

 

[Cichlid Kid]

Imo don't "hurry to walmart" lol. Introducing chems to fix a problem usually backfires on you, then you end up with a bigger problem. There are exceptions of course. I would either do the duckweed or willows. Basically they both do the same thing, removing excess nutrients from the system that the algae thrive on.The reason i prefer willow branches is because theres no issues with clogged intakes or powerheads. I've used willow in my ponds as well as aquariums with great results everytime. The willows will actually start sprouting roots in a few days but by that time the water's crystal clear.

 

[Gotgutz]

Imo don't "hurry to walmart" lol. Introducing chems to fix a problem usually backfires on you, then you end up with a bigger problem. There are exceptions of course. I would either do the duckweed or willows. Basically they both do the same thing, removing excess nutrients from the system that the algae thrive on.The reason i prefer willow branches is because theres no issues with clogged intakes or powerheads. I've used willow in my ponds as well as aquariums with great results everytime. The willows will actually start sprouting roots in a few days but by that time the water's crystal clear.

So I've been dealing with green water for a while and its slowly gotten better but its still has green tint to it. Is there a place you can buy branches? I wouldn't know where to find a willow tree if I had too.

 

[paul87]

My boss has a willow tree in his yard and I know where a bunch are. You know what they look like right?