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Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jun 17, 2006
Messages
476
Location
Richmond, Virginia
Here's what my tank looked like 5 days ago:



Then, a couple of days ago, the water started getting cloudy. I figured it was a standard post-cycle baterial bloom. I did the standard large water changes to help fend off the cloudiness, and keep the fish happy.

This is what the tank looked like when I came home from work today:





I immediately did an 85% water change, which helped a bit, but it's already headed back to green. I'm cutting back the lights, and will be testing for phosphates/nitrates as soon as the water settles down. I'm sure there's an imbalance somewhere, since I just added pressurized CO2 last week, but this is just shockingly bad.

BTW, basic specs are 120G tank, 300W of PC lights, about 25ppm CO2 (still tuning that), no ferts in the past couple of days due to constant water changes, PH 6.6-6.8, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 6 nitrate 2 days ago.

The good news is that the fish don't seem to mind, and the plants are still pearling like crazy (at least until I cut the lights for the next several days). If nothing else, this hobby sure is educational!
 
FWIW, my greenwater didn't go away after correcting (I think) the cause or with water changes or limiting light. It has to be killed, and most recommend UV, Diatom, or Blackout, with large water changes before and after. In my case the water stays cloudy white but not clear after 4 day blackout -- maybe trying Daphnia next and just moving the tank away from the windows.

The window probably is at least part of the cause -- maybe consider a background to block more of the light?
 
JMO i think the window and direct sunlight could be the problem.
The fact you added co2 just fueled the fire so to speak.
how long has the tank been setup?
 
I battled with green water for ages. I did so many blackouts. They helped, but in the end I bought a uv filter. No green water problems anymore. Not sure if thats a road you want to take, but IMO the best thing for it.
 
The window has solid wood blinds, so there is a little "spill", there is no direct sunlight, and very little indirect. Who knows, that may be enough. I will be adding a background (obviously, I didn't think to paint the tank before I set it up) in the next couple of days.

Meanwhile, I have the lights out and the CO2 off. The tank will be getting room light for now - probably won't be doing a blackout unless other algae starts taking over.

So, this is going to be tough to kill, eh? Great - pretty much par for the course for me. This tank has been a constant source of trouble since the day I set it up, so why should it stop now?

I see I can pick up a UV sterilizer for about $70 (Coralife 9W), or a diatom filter for a little more. What do you guys recommend? The UV will obviously become a permanent fixture on this tank, while a diatom filter will be "portable" among my tanks. On the flip side, the diatom seems to be a LOT of trouble to use, while the UV just sits there and does it's job. What's the best option for now? Thanks!
 
if u want it done fast the diatom will be the best bet. and the results u get are phenomenal. u wont even think your water can be so clean. alot of people have problems setting it up the first time but once they do it its not so bad. it works fairly quickly and can be changed between tanks. just throw her on for a bit in whatever tank and it will be sparkling in no time. just a little pricy... kinda a downside
 
I'll probably pick up a Diatom filter in the future, but I went with UV this time. I also picked up the second cannister filter and inline heater that I've been holding off on. Hopefully, this will be the last of the equipment for this tank.

Thanks for the information and advice, everyone!
 
FWIW... I've dealt with Green Water in the past and was able to successfully treat it using only weekly 50% water changes and balancing nutrients. As with most algae, Green Water probably is a common name for several different types of algae that all look similar. As a result it is understandable that they will all react differently to the various possible treatments. It's also important to note that how severe the problem is before treatment is begun, can also have a significant impact on how well a treatment works. This is why it is best to start with the treatment that is least damaging to the rest of your tank and then slowly work through all the possible treatments until you find the one that works in your particular situation.
 
I'd be interested to hear how the UV works for you....I tried one on my massive GW attack but it didn't make a dent. Then went and got a diatom filter, and yes, while it was a little bit of a hassle to set up the first time, now I have it down to a science and it worked really well. Beware with the UV that while it should kill the algae it won't remove the cells and as they decompose it could throw your nutrient levels off. Be prepared to clean your filters out frequently.
 
Until the UV arrives, I'll be trying to get the nutrient situation balanced, but it's unlikely to have much effect due to the massive water changes that are needed to keep the water from becoming a solid. I'm amazed that the fish show so little distress over this problem.

Regarding the "start with the treatment that is least damaging to the rest of your tank" suggestion, I kind of figured that the UV or Diatom would fall into that category. Obviously, I need to get the tank into balance, but I can't do daily 90% water changes until I find just the right balance. I don't expect the UV to "cure" the situation, but hopefully it will allow me to control the symptoms until a full solution can be executed.

Thanks for the tip about the dead cells - I figured that would be an issue, and will be keeping close tabs on the tank for a while. Hopefully by removing most of the algae via a massive water change before starting the UV, I can limit the decaying biomass. I'll also be doing more frequent 50% changes until I can get things under control.

Thanks again for the good advice!
 
That sounds like a plan....

My GW was really stubborn...after 6 weeks it still looked like pea soup, and that's when I figured the UV wasn't working and got the diatom filter. My fish and most of my plants couldn't have cared less. I did have a few really high-light plants get unhappy on me (a red rubin sword and some Didiplis) but most came through just fine after a good pruning.
 
Just a shot in the dark here.
Have you ever used in-substrate fertilizers? Like 'plant tabs', 'Jobe's sticks' etc.?
If you put them into the substrate and disturb them before they are spent they can/will cause exactly what you are experiencing.
Put a background on that tank any you eliminate most of the back lighting from the window.

Len
 
The good news is that leaving the lights off all day kept it at "mildly cloudy", instead of "solid jello". Nitrates and Phosphates are totally bottomed out, so I've started dosing again. I'll be running low light tomorrow (110W), and see what happens. Ammonia has risen a little, to .25, and if it doesn't drop by morning I will be doing a water change before work tomorrow.

UV should be here Friday, so hopefully I'm on the way to getting this under control.

djlen3: No, I've never used root tabs or other fertilizers, other than the Greg Watson dry ferts, and a couple doses of Flourish before the GW ferts showed up. I will be adding the background tomorrow, but as I mentioned before there is almost no light coming in from the window, even during full morning sunshine (the window faces east). Those wood blinds are good at blocking the light.
 
Well, the good Drs. Foster and Smith beat their scheduled delivery by a day, so I have spent the evening re-plumbing and re-vamping my tank's systems. The UV is on a circuit pumped by an XP2 now. The input to the XP2 is a skimmer, so hopefully the system will keep that film from developing on the top of the water, too.

Since I've been keeping the lights off the last couple of days, the bloom has been very mild (comparatively). The water was fairly cloudy, but not very green, when I did the 80% water change. The UV is now running, along with the two filters (XP3 and XP2), so I'm going to cross my fingers and see what happens from here. I know the plants will enjoy having some light again.

Thanks again for the advice!
 
Final update, hopefully. I just got back from a weekend trip, and the tank is CRYSTAL clear. I dosed on Friday, and will dose again tomorrow, but so far I couldn't be happier with the results.
 
I was debating if I should invest in the uv sterilizer or not and I ended up buying a diatom filter instead. I was curious how well the uv's work, it sound like it's working good for ya.
 
Green water can be a persistant pain that just won't go away. I've had it twice. Glad to hear your tank is staying clear. Good work.
 
I'm a huge fan of the diatom filter as I had a moderate case of GW after a short vacation. I also could not seem to clear it even after fixing ferts and I feel there is a really easy explaination. 2 diatoms filters and 2 hours later and I had never seen the tank so clear.

Since the GW is in the water column as opposed to attaching to something such as the glass/plants, it has first dibs on any ammonia the fish release. As long as there is light your going to have a hard time getting rid of it on its own once its established. Now you also add a carbon source and its party time for these little guys.

To prevent this in the future you definately need to keep your nitrAte levels up so your not bottoming out as the test kits for nitrAte are very inaccurate on the low end of the scale. Where did you come up with 6ppm of nitrAte?
 
7Enigma said:
Where did you come up with 6ppm of nitrAte?

Typo. It was in the 5-10 range (more than 5, less than 10), but I trying to type 5.

Edit: I figure a picture is worth a thousand wows, so here's the result of adding the UV:

 
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