Green water caused by plants??

[evansbradley]

Hey guys, I recently added live plants to my aquarium just yesterday and all of the sudden the water has turned green and kinda cloudy. I'm also cycling my tank. So is it the plants causing the water change or the bacteria growth?

 

[Andrew McFadden]

I wouldnt think its from the plants atless you bought some that has a lot of lose algae on them. More than likily its from the ammonia

 

[evansbradley]

Okay! Thanks! I'll have to test the water when I get back home

 

[AdamsAquarium]

Do you have driftwood in the tank? If you picked up driftwood, overtime the tannins will eventually turn the tank water yellow and eventually brown. That's an easy fix though

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[Mebbid]

If the water is green then it's definitely an algae bloom. It would feed off of the access ammonia, but now that it's in your tank really the only thing you can do is either use a UV sterilizer or do a complete tank black out for 3 days.

I had this problem with my reef and it drives me absolutely crazy!

 

[FishCr8zy]

Yes green water is something I have been battling for as long as I remeber. Worst thing is I can't do a black out for a pond . I just used a uv sterilizer, they get the job done quick and simple. Daphnia might help clear the water, just make sure to turn off your filters or else the will get sucked up. Metricide also helps.


Sent with my fingers

 

[evansbradley]

Do you have driftwood in the tank? If you picked up driftwood, overtime the tannins will eventually turn the tank water yellow and eventually brown. That's an easy fix though

Sent from my SM-N900V using Aquarium Advice mobile app

I do have one small piece but I just got it the other day? Could that already have caused this?

 

[evansbradley]

If the water is green then it's definitely an algae bloom. It would feed off of the access ammonia, but now that it's in your tank really the only thing you can do is either use a UV sterilizer or do a complete tank black out for 3 days.



I had this problem with my reef and it drives me absolutely crazy!

I think it is an algae bloom because the ammonia levels have spiked and my BB haven't started to take care of it yet..

By tank black out, do you mean just leaving it in the dark for 3 days?

 

[evansbradley]

Yes green water is something I have been battling for as long as I remeber. Worst thing is I can't do a black out for a pond . I just used a uv sterilizer, they get the job done quick and simple. Daphnia might help clear the water, just make sure to turn off your filters or else the will get sucked up. Metricide also helps.


Sent with my fingers

I may have to try a black out if the BB don't take care of it soon. My tank is still in its early stages so I may have to

 

[FishCr8zy]

I do have one small piece but I just got it the other day? Could that already have caused this?

Tannins will make the water yellow/brown and your water is green. That is not the problem. Yes a black out is basically turning off the lights for that amount of time.

 

[Mebbid]

Tannins will make the water yellow/brown and your water is green. That is not the problem. Yes a black out is basically turning off the lights for that amount of time.

Turning the lights off as well as covering your tank to prevent any light from hitting it.

 

[AdamsAquarium]

The green water is not caused by the driftwood. I was just letting you know If your water starts to turn yellow, purigen is a quick fix!

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[FishCr8zy]

The green water is not caused by the driftwood. I was just letting you know If your water starts to turn yellow, purigen is a quick fix!

Sent from my SM-N900V using Aquarium Advice mobile app

Ah ok. Yeah purigen helps. But soaking/boiling the wood in the first place would solve the problem quicker.
Yeah cover your tank as well like Mebbid said. Forgot that part.

 

[evansbradley]

Tannins will make the water yellow/brown and your water is green. That is not the problem. Yes a black out is basically turning off the lights for that amount of time.

Okay, cool. I'll give a black out a shot when I get home!

 

[ScaryFatKidGT]

Algae, I used a half dose of Frita algae clean out and bam, green gone.

 

[Mebbid]

The algae removing products have developed and earned a reputation for killing fish.

 

[aqua_chem]

How old is this tank again? Are you sure the water's green? Euglena blooms usually go from kind of cloudy to green, not green to kind of cloudy. Could it be just a cloudy tank from a bacterial bloom with refracted green from the plants in the tank. Either way, I would wait until your tank is pea soup before trying anything too dramatic.


For what it's worth, I've never had much luck with blackouts and green water. UV sterilizers get the most consistent results for me, although that basically amounts to throwing $50 at the tank to make the problem go away.

 

[evansbradley]

How old is this tank again? Are you sure the water's green? Euglena blooms usually go from kind of cloudy to green, not green to kind of cloudy. Could it be just a cloudy tank from a bacterial bloom with refracted green from the plants in the tank. Either way, I would wait until your tank is pea soup before trying anything too dramatic.


For what it's worth, I've never had much luck with blackouts and green water. UV sterilizers get the most consistent results for me, although that basically amounts to throwing $50 at the tank to make the problem go away.

It's about 2 1/2 weeks at the moment. The water is more cloudy now than green so maybe it was just an ammonia spike

 

[Fishfur]

There is an easy way to tell the difference between algae bloom or bacterial bloom. Put some tank water in a snow white bowl or cup. If it looks green, it's algae. If it's just cloudy, bacterial. You can have both, but usually it's one at a time.

Single cell algaes and/or euglena can come from anywhere, even air, like bacteria and moulds and fungi. So it's not likely to come from wood or plants, though it can. Ideally, rinse anything new for a tank thoroughly, and if algae has been an issue, dip plants in a solution with Hydrogen Peroxide or something like, which will kill them.

So long as the water is safe for them to live in, filter feeders like daphnia, moina or even fan shrimp, can clear a green water outbreak without the use of anything else. Depends on whether you can get them or not and whether or not you want to do it that way.

 

[evansbradley]

The water seems to have cleared itself up. I have done 2 50% water changes as well. Keeping an eye on the ammonia and nitrite levels.

Fishfur, one day I would love to get some shrimp! But at the moment my tank is still cycling and I would hate to kill them