Help with the green water blues - Aquarium Advice

tazcrash69 · 12-09-2005, 10:04 AM

OK, I goofed up big time. My tank was coming along nicely, with the exception of some thread algae, and high Nitrates. My hornwort was growing out of control, and picking up detritus, so I decided to remove it, BIG Mistake. The result was a Green water bloom. You can see my tank specs in my signature.

The Back story:
The tank was about 3 weeks old. I was getting great growth from all the plants especially my Led Ludwigia, and Water sprite (both reach the top of tank), and I was getting pearling consistently every day. There was some thread algae, and my nitrates were running over 20. I am doing weekly water changes (40 -50%) on Sunday, and dosing Macros on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday according to testing, and Plantex CSM + B + [acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Iron"]Fe[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb] on the alternate days. (Saturday was the day of rest for the tank). I also increased my 10K lighting to 7 hours because I noticed more pearling. As I said above I removed the hornwort which was a big mistake. I was gifted with GW.

Here are the results of my last water tests:
pH: 6.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: .2
kH 8 degrees
Gh 18 degrees.
Temp 76 degrees
[acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb]: 38 calculated as: ((3*kH)*10^(7-pH))

What Iâ€™ve done:
Now, Iâ€™ve shut off the extra lighting, and reduced the photoperiod to 8 hours a day of 130 watts, Iâ€™ve added a couple bunches of wisteria, and moneywort. Iâ€™m very apprehensive to doing any other trimming right now for fear of making matters worst. Iâ€™ve run a Magnum HOT 250 with Micro cartridge, for 2 days, but didnâ€™t see any noticeable difference.

Last dose:
Phosphate .2 grams
Potassium 4 grams (amount I dose when I dose macros).
Nitrate: nothing since I was having Nitrates over 20 since before my last [acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Wild Caught"]WC[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb].

Is there anything else I should do other than a blackout? Should I continue to run the Magnum?

[acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Thanks in Advance"]TIA[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb],

tazcrash69 · 12-09-2005, 10:05 AM

sorry here are the tank specs. I need to update my signature.

Aquarium: 55 gallon with 60 lbs fluorite 20 lbs gravel
Filtration: Eheim 2026 Pimp #168 with Fluval surface skimmer
Lighting: [acronym:8b2aca1aa2="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:8b2aca1aa2] 130 watts of 6700k PCs 12hours, 130 watts 10K 4 hours.
Co2 suppl.: 10lb tank with Milwaukee al in one.
Flora:Java Moss, Water Sprite, Microsword, Anacharis, Water Primrose, Rotala rotundifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Echinodorus x barthii, Bacopa monnieri
Fauna: 3 Sailfin Mollies, 8 Tiger barbs, 6 Cory Julii, 6 Ottos, 2 SAEs, 9 Amano shrimp.

wobbles · 12-09-2005, 11:52 PM

I recently had similar issues. I did the blackout thing which worked well for about 3 days after. My problem was not enough [acronym:14d4756a0f="Iron"]fe[/acronym:14d4756a0f]. What are your [acronym:14d4756a0f="Iron"]fe[/acronym:14d4756a0f] readings?

tazcrash69 · 12-10-2005, 07:51 AM

Never tested for [acronym:3ad8229257="Iron"]Fe[/acronym:3ad8229257]. Too many people I tust say that that test is too inconsistant.
With all the flourite, and using the Plantex CSM+B+[acronym:3ad8229257="Iron"]Fe[/acronym:3ad8229257] at 1/8th tsp I would doubt it's that though.

I may have to do the blackout thing

wobbles · 12-16-2005, 08:35 AM

**** now I have green water. I might go and get a [acronym:41c8748e7c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:41c8748e7c] sterilizer this weekend

travis simonson · 12-16-2005, 10:26 AM

I've seen green water issues in new tanks before and the blackout method works well to remedy the problem. In most cases it will stay gone after a blackout, but make sure to do a 50% water change both before and after the blackout to clear the algae as best as possible. And stop ferts during the blackout as your plants will not uptake any significant amount of nutrients during a blackout.

I use a [acronym:42dc29e663="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:42dc29e663] sterilizer on my 125G and have never had any issues with greenwater in it, so I can attest to their effectiveness vs green water algae. It is a bit of overkill according to most, but it also helps keep the water crystal clear and I simply love mine

Scottm · 12-16-2005, 02:45 PM

Black out worked a miracle for me and didn't seem to affect my plants much. my chain sword died back a little but now its springing back well. I added hornwort for nutrient uptake speed and I am enjoying the results. I have to cut it to pieces every week but its not bad.

wobbles · 12-22-2005, 07:35 AM

I love my new [acronym:1ac4b9ba9f="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:1ac4b9ba9f] sterilizer!!!

No more green water for me. Fish seem to be happier too.

Only drawback is that my [acronym:1ac4b9ba9f="Iron"]fe[/acronym:1ac4b9ba9f] levels went from 0.8 to 0.0. Can anyone explain this?

travis simonson · 12-22-2005, 08:16 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by wobbles

Only drawback is that my [acronym:9380239b3c="Iron"]fe[/acronym:9380239b3c] levels went from 0.8 to 0.0. Can anyone explain this?

It has been noted by those with more chemistry knowledge than me that [acronym:9380239b3c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:9380239b3c] sterilizers may actually oxidize the iron and trace elements in your water column. Your results may indicate that this is actually happening. Because of this possibility, I only run my [acronym:9380239b3c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:9380239b3c] during lights-out in my tank and dose my iron/traces in the morning, right after the lights come and the [acronym:9380239b3c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:9380239b3c] goes off. This gives the iron/traces a full photoperiod for the plants to uptake them before the [acronym:9380239b3c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:9380239b3c] comes back on again. It also virtually doubles the service life of the [acronym:9380239b3c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:9380239b3c] bulb (from 6 months to about 1 year). I have yet to have a sick fish so I think even running [acronym:9380239b3c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:9380239b3c] 50% of the time does a great job of zapping parasites and diseases, and the water is always crystal clear in the morning

wobbles · 12-22-2005, 07:20 PM

Ill try that. Cheers

How do you dose your tank with [acronym:34d598f7d6="Iron"]fe[/acronym:34d598f7d6]? If I have to dose my tank to get it to 0.8 and above everyday, it will become very expensive. Im using liquid ferts at the moment. Is there a more effective way to dose? Also my substrate is [acronym:34d598f7d6="Iron"]fe[/acronym:34d598f7d6] rich as well.

12-09-2005, 10:05 AM	#2
tazcrash69 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Hawthorne NJ Posts: 57 Images: 1	sorry here are the tank specs. I need to update my signature. Aquarium: 55 gallon with 60 lbs fluorite 20 lbs gravel Filtration: Eheim 2026 Pimp #168 with Fluval surface skimmer Lighting: [acronym:8b2aca1aa2="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:8b2aca1aa2] 130 watts of 6700k PCs 12hours, 130 watts 10K 4 hours. Co2 suppl.: 10lb tank with Milwaukee al in one. Flora:Java Moss, Water Sprite, Microsword, Anacharis, Water Primrose, Rotala rotundifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Echinodorus x barthii, Bacopa monnieri Fauna: 3 Sailfin Mollies, 8 Tiger barbs, 6 Cory Julii, 6 Ottos, 2 SAEs, 9 Amano shrimp. __________________ Aquarium: 55 gallon with 60 lbs fluorite 20 lbs gravel Filtration: Eheim 2026 Pimp #168 with Fluval surface skimmer Lighting: [acronym:2871b331de="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:2871b331de] 130 watts of 6700k PCs 12hours, 130 watts 10K 4 hours. Co2 suppl.: 10lb tank with Milwaukee al in one. Flora:Java Moss, Water Sprite, Microsword, Anacharis, Water Primrose, Rotala rotundifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Echinodorus x barthii, Bacopa monnieri Fauna: 3 Sailfin Mollies, 8 Tiger barbs, 6 Cory Julii, 6 Ottos, 2 SAEs, 9 Amano shrimp.

12-10-2005, 07:51 AM	#4
tazcrash69 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Hawthorne NJ Posts: 57 Images: 1	Never tested for [acronym:3ad8229257="Iron"]Fe[/acronym:3ad8229257]. Too many people I tust say that that test is too inconsistant. With all the flourite, and using the Plantex CSM+B+[acronym:3ad8229257="Iron"]Fe[/acronym:3ad8229257] at 1/8th tsp I would doubt it's that though. I may have to do the blackout thing __________________ Aquarium: 55 gallon with 60 lbs fluorite 20 lbs gravel Filtration: Eheim 2026 Pimp #168 with Fluval surface skimmer Lighting: [acronym:2871b331de="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:2871b331de] 130 watts of 6700k PCs 12hours, 130 watts 10K 4 hours. Co2 suppl.: 10lb tank with Milwaukee al in one. Flora:Java Moss, Water Sprite, Microsword, Anacharis, Water Primrose, Rotala rotundifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Echinodorus x barthii, Bacopa monnieri Fauna: 3 Sailfin Mollies, 8 Tiger barbs, 6 Cory Julii, 6 Ottos, 2 SAEs, 9 Amano shrimp.

12-16-2005, 10:26 AM	#6
travis simonson Hortipath Moderator Emeritus Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Englewood, CO Posts: 2,038 Images: 32	I've seen green water issues in new tanks before and the blackout method works well to remedy the problem. In most cases it will stay gone after a blackout, but make sure to do a 50% water change both before and after the blackout to clear the algae as best as possible. And stop ferts during the blackout as your plants will not uptake any significant amount of nutrients during a blackout. I use a [acronym:42dc29e663="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:42dc29e663] sterilizer on my 125G and have never had any issues with greenwater in it, so I can attest to their effectiveness vs green water algae. It is a bit of overkill according to most, but it also helps keep the water crystal clear and I simply love mine __________________ “There is something in the quality of a good translation that can never be captured in the original.” -William Gibson

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12-09-2005, 10:04 AM	#1
tazcrash69 Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Hawthorne NJ Posts: 57 Images: 1	Help with the green water blues OK, I goofed up big time. My tank was coming along nicely, with the exception of some thread algae, and high Nitrates. My hornwort was growing out of control, and picking up detritus, so I decided to remove it, BIG Mistake. The result was a Green water bloom. You can see my tank specs in my signature. The Back story: The tank was about 3 weeks old. I was getting great growth from all the plants especially my Led Ludwigia, and Water sprite (both reach the top of tank), and I was getting pearling consistently every day. There was some thread algae, and my nitrates were running over 20. I am doing weekly water changes (40 -50%) on Sunday, and dosing Macros on Sunday, Monday, Wednesday, and Friday according to testing, and Plantex CSM + B + [acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Iron"]Fe[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb] on the alternate days. (Saturday was the day of rest for the tank). I also increased my 10K lighting to 7 hours because I noticed more pearling. As I said above I removed the hornwort which was a big mistake. I was gifted with GW. Here are the results of my last water tests: pH: 6.8 Ammonia: 0 Nitrite: 0 Nitrate: 10 Phosphate: .2 kH 8 degrees Gh 18 degrees. Temp 76 degrees [acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb]: 38 calculated as: ((3kH)10^(7-pH)) What Iâ€™ve done: Now, Iâ€™ve shut off the extra lighting, and reduced the photoperiod to 8 hours a day of 130 watts, Iâ€™ve added a couple bunches of wisteria, and moneywort. Iâ€™m very apprehensive to doing any other trimming right now for fear of making matters worst. Iâ€™ve run a Magnum HOT 250 with Micro cartridge, for 2 days, but didnâ€™t see any noticeable difference. Last dose: Phosphate .2 grams Potassium 4 grams (amount I dose when I dose macros). Nitrate: nothing since I was having Nitrates over 20 since before my last [acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Wild Caught"]WC[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb]. Is there anything else I should do other than a blackout? Should I continue to run the Magnum? [acronym:ec3ce0f3eb="Thanks in Advance"]TIA[/acronym:ec3ce0f3eb], __________________ Aquarium: 55 gallon with 60 lbs fluorite 20 lbs gravel Filtration: Eheim 2026 Pimp #168 with Fluval surface skimmer Lighting: [acronym:2871b331de="Power compact fluorescent"]PC[/acronym:2871b331de] 130 watts of 6700k PCs 12hours, 130 watts 10K 4 hours. Co2 suppl.: 10lb tank with Milwaukee al in one. Flora:Java Moss, Water Sprite, Microsword, Anacharis, Water Primrose, Rotala rotundifolia, Cryptocoryne wendtii, Echinodorus x barthii, Bacopa monnieri Fauna: 3 Sailfin Mollies, 8 Tiger barbs, 6 Cory Julii, 6 Ottos, 2 SAEs, 9 Amano shrimp.

12-09-2005, 11:52 PM	#3
wobbles Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Victoria Australia Posts: 76 Images: 14	I recently had similar issues. I did the blackout thing which worked well for about 3 days after. My problem was not enough [acronym:14d4756a0f="Iron"]fe[/acronym:14d4756a0f]. What are your [acronym:14d4756a0f="Iron"]fe[/acronym:14d4756a0f] readings?

12-16-2005, 08:35 AM	#5
wobbles Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Victoria Australia Posts: 76 Images: 14	**** now I have green water. I might go and get a [acronym:41c8748e7c="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:41c8748e7c] sterilizer this weekend

12-16-2005, 02:45 PM	#7
Scottm Aquarium Advice Freak Join Date: Aug 2005 Location: BFE North carolina Posts: 452	Black out worked a miracle for me and didn't seem to affect my plants much. my chain sword died back a little but now its springing back well. I added hornwort for nutrient uptake speed and I am enjoying the results. I have to cut it to pieces every week but its not bad.

12-22-2005, 07:35 AM	#8
wobbles Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Victoria Australia Posts: 76 Images: 14	I love my new [acronym:1ac4b9ba9f="Ultra Violet"]UV[/acronym:1ac4b9ba9f] sterilizer!!! No more green water for me. Fish seem to be happier too. Only drawback is that my [acronym:1ac4b9ba9f="Iron"]fe[/acronym:1ac4b9ba9f] levels went from 0.8 to 0.0. Can anyone explain this?

12-22-2005, 07:20 PM	#10
wobbles Aquarium Advice Regular Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Victoria Australia Posts: 76 Images: 14	Ill try that. Cheers How do you dose your tank with [acronym:34d598f7d6="Iron"]fe[/acronym:34d598f7d6]? If I have to dose my tank to get it to 0.8 and above everyday, it will become very expensive. Im using liquid ferts at the moment. Is there a more effective way to dose? Also my substrate is [acronym:34d598f7d6="Iron"]fe[/acronym:34d598f7d6] rich as well.