Green Water

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Still working on the CO2 plan. Picked up a cheap 10 gallon for the CO2 waterbath. (House too cold to produce decent CO2 in winter. Going to put CO2 generating bottles in temp controlled water bath.)

one little trick I figured out before I went pressurized. Put the bottles on top of your lights. they are putting off heat anyway and they warm the bottle through the day and cool it at night, the mix seems to last twice as long.

Just something I found and would be interested in seeing if it stays true.

 

[Simpte]

Glad you figured out your test kit was bad. 5ppm of NO3 is the MAX a high light tank can use.

 

[dskidmore]

Glad you figured out your test kit was bad. 5ppm of NO3 is the MAX a high light tank can use.

Interresting. 5ppm per day? My tank is still moderate lighting, so it should use significantly less than that, maybe 2ppm per day?

The real question now is what was my natural Nitrate before fertilization? My steady decrease to 0 could have been my test kit going bad rather than an actual decrease.

 

[Glenc]

Hey Simpte. All of my limited knowledge has come from reading, a little through experience, and most from people on this forum. Thanks. A high light can only use a max of 5 ppm NO3? Why?

 

[dskidmore]

Barr Report experiments show 1-4 ppm update per day.

http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1

I'm guessing an outdoor tank like that fellow had in spain might uptake even more than a "high light" tank. Lighting numbers are still rather subjective, most of us don't have waterproof light meters to find out exactly how much light reaches the bottom of the tank, and then that's affected by floating plants that are also taking up nutrients....

 

[Glenc]

Very interesting and informative. Clears a few things up. Thanks.

 

[dskidmore]

Ok, I've made a few changes:

New test kits read:
10 ppm Nitrate
1 ppm Phosphate
6 dKH

Old test kit reads:
pH 6.4

TheKrib.com charts calculate:
25-30 ppm CO2

New levels as a result of using my balanced fertilizer, (actually getting test results now that match my origional custom PMDD calculations,) and adding DIY CO2. I also put some poly batting in my filter.
I think the haze is lessening, I'm impatient for better results. I still can't see the back of the tank.

 

[BlazerFRS]

Wow-That's looking brutal. Are you doing water changes to at least let your plants get some light?

It's probably listed somewhere I but I didn't see it... What have you tried so far?

I'm fighting green water, but it's easy to do multiple 80% WC on a 10g then a 75....

I'm balancing my ferts and doing large WC as often as nessicary to keep the tank quasi clear- otherwise my plant biomass won't be able to out compete it.

If I were you i'd be looking at diatom filters....

 

[dskidmore]

Water changes are challenging. I have a python now so I don't hurt myself, but my kitchen sink can't handle a high drain rate, and it's too cold right now to run the hose outside. It takes about 1 hour to drain 50% of the water, and another hour to fill it. You think that will really do long term good as well as short?

The hornwort is suffering, but everything else seems to be growing in this murk.

I tired a three day blackout, but as you can see, my stand has corner supports that make draping blankets difficult. I don't think I had complete sealing, and the blankets were getting damp from the humidity.

I tried reducing the number of hours of lighting.

I tried nitrate supplement alone. This failed because my test kit was bad and I massively overdosed. In the process of recovery, I bought a PO4 kit, and discovered that was bottoming out too.

I am currently trying balanced fert and CO2.

I'm thinking of taking out some light bulbs, this happened when I upgraded my lights then accidentally left them on for three days instead of set to automatic; but my parrot's feather is finally starting to grow. I want to stick with less severe regimen for a few weeks and see if it's helpful.

 

[BlazerFRS]

I believe the WC would likely be a very temporary fix only; 2hours of work for a 12 hour benefit is certianly not worth it.

It sounds like you're on the right track- get that co2 high and keep it there.

Good luck!

 

[dskidmore]

Well, with close monitoring of sink, I managed to do 50% in only one hour last night. As a side benefit, I was able to better see some of the damaged hornwort and remove it before it broke down. Growing tips look beautiful, but old hornwort growth is fading and dropping leaves. Thinking of alternating the balanced fert with KNO3 to drop my PO4 from 1.0 to 0.5, and make sure I'm not having a K deficiency.

 

[dskidmore]

Well, with close monitoring of sink, I managed to do 50% in only one hour last night. As a side benefit, I was able to better see some of the damaged hornwort and remove it before it broke down. Growing tips look beautiful, but old hornwort growth is fading and dropping leaves. Thinking of alternating the balanced fert with KNO3 to drop my PO4 from 1.0 to 0.5, and make sure I'm not having a K deficiency.

 

[Glenc]

I did two or three 50% water changes on my tank. Green water was back in a few hours, until I dimmed my lights. Ran 1 WPG for 4 days, kept dosing to get my ferts at 10 NO3, 1 PO4, 10K and dosed flourish excel along with my DIYCO2. It was only a ten gallon tank, but it worked for me. My green water wasn't as bad as yours, but it was still pretty bad. Green water as bad as yours will probably mess up your test results, it's going to be a tough go. Good you upped your CO2 production. Fill your warming tank so it covers your bottles at least half way, just before they start to float. You'll get even more CO2 production. Hope your water clears soon, keep at it. You could always try a willow branch.....!

 

[dskidmore]

According to my test results, I'm in target range for CO2. over 35 ppm can be damaging to fish, so 25-30 is plenty. I may follow your suggestion as the production level starts dropping.

I did a 50% WC yesterday and the day before, as well as changing my poly filter pad daily. I can now see the back of the tank. I used the visibility to pull up all my hornwort and trim off the unhealthy parts. I almost lost a shrimp in the process, I was about to empty the bucket I had used for holding the plants, and found the little guy in the bottom. Hopefully there weren't any clining to the plants I tossed.

 

[dskidmore]

Update: Steady improvement seen. Only minor clouding now. Hornwort is still not doing well for some reason, and there is a new hair algae problem. I'm thinking of ordering some new plants to help balance things more in favor of higher order plants. Also planning a complete uproot and replant, moving more in favor of the eloda, and phasing out the hornwort that's dropping leaves everywhere. The parrot's feather has recovered so well that it needs trimming now, going to hack off the lower part from it's bad days, and see if those roots will bud a new plant while the pretty part gets replanted nearby.

Given the slow rate my sink drains at, I actually get a better flow rate from a siphon than from my python. Thinking of doing some old fashioned siphoning to get out the dead leaves; or maybe we'll get a warm day again and I can run the python out the back door. That's a super-siphon for you. (House foundation goes up about 3 feet from ground level.)

 

[dskidmore]

Update:

Sorry I didn't update at the appropriate time...

My Nitrate kit was bad, causing me to overdose KNO3.
Lots of water changes and diligent fertilization with my balanced formula brought everything back right. I had a bit of hair algae after the green cloud passed, but it's kept to manageable levels by my shrimp and barbs.

 

[Plantbrain]

You need a UV, the GW will be gone forever in 3 days or less.
Diatom filters also work.

UV's: 25-30$ on ebay or pay shipping or borrow one from a friend etc.


Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[dskidmore]

Um.. I've already gotten rid of it, without UV.