algae problem

[Jshaffer79]

I have been in the hobby for over twenty years and have never had a problem with this . I have been helping a friend with his tank at his restaurant can't get the water clear. I have tried everything i can think of. It is a 20 long, has one goldfish and a small pleco, a shallow layer of gravel, and an in-tank 40gal tetra filter. any advice.

 

[neilanh]

Welcome to AA!

How long is he running his lights each day, and how old are the bulbs?
How often are water changes done?

Do you know what kind of algae it is? Since you mentioned not being able to get his water clear is it a milky color to the water, or is it green?

 

[Jshaffer79]

Before i started helping him he was leaving the lights on all the time but now i have them on only during business hours. The water is green . I have done several pwc's over the last three weeks. He had an undergravel filter frame in it but it wasn't connected to anything so i removed that. I thought that was the problem because when i got rid of it all the waste trappd under it was removed. All the water perimeters are normal

 

[headsonfire]

Hi,
Is he overfeeding his fish?, is the tank getting sunlight during the daytime?
Have you checked for phosphates? and nitrates?
Just an idea....

 

[Jshaffer79]

i used to work for petco, so i have test kits for everything. All levels of everything are normal.the tank does get some sunlight but it is about about fifty feet away from the windows. the tank I have gets way more sun than it and it stays crystal clear, But my lights are only on far a few hours a day, if that. the only thing i have not done is try adding live plants.

 

[neilanh]

If it is green water, your best bet is a 3-5 day blackout. Here's some info:
Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association » Algae in the Planted Aquarium

Others have claimed to have success with a UV sterlizer as well.

 

[Jshaffer79]

i have thought about that but it would look bad in the middle of the restaurant

 

[neilanh]

It's an option. IMO it probably doesn't look any worse than a green tank, but I understand what you mean and the need to maintain atmosphere in a restaraunt.

Maybe you'll want to give the sterilizer a try then. I have heard it works from numerous sources, so hopefully that'll work for you then.

 

[spoonman]

There are canister filters also with built inline uv sterilizers....just a thought...

 

[Jshaffer79]

he isnt going to put the money for something like that . the only one i can find around here is 200 dollars . and i dont think he has a computer to order one

 

[spoonman]

Then I think the only other option would be a total tear down when the restaurant is closed. But, then you arent fixing the problem. You can keep the filter media wet and do a 100% water change and clean the substrate real good and put the fish back in clean dechlored water with the old filter media. If the problem is in the filter media it will be back though. Although I think it is due to over feeding if there are only 2 fish in there.

 

[Jshaffer79]

i dont know the feeding schedule but i keep getting almost no waste when i gravelvac. i dont believe in using commercial products to solve problems but would some accuclear or maybe a bacterial booster help?

 

[jsoong]

You can cut down on the light, perhaps run just enough so the tank still look OK. You might try nutrient limitation - ie upping the water changes to get rid of stuff the algae needs. <Although I've been told this doesn't work too well with green water.>

One quick, temporary, fix is to use a diatom filter. You can rent or borrow one. Also, the "water polishing" filter in the Marineland Magnum canisters do a pretty good job of clearing green water, although it clogs up pretty quick & will need cleaning every few hours. Once you get rid of the green water with filtering, it will still come back if the underlying cause is not fixed.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

It might be something in the tap water also. I grew up on well water, and every time I did a PWC I got green water, but if I ran my Magnum (as above) w/diatom filter for 1/2 day right after a PWC, no green water. Took me a while to figure that out. Might be worth a try. I've got an extra one.