Green tinted water.....algae problem?

[bucsnut79]

Ok, so here is the deal. I have a 110 gallon tank, 48" x 18" x 30", that has been up with fish in it for about 2 and a half weeks. Roughly 4 or 5 days after I had put my fish in it I started to see a light algae film on the glass. Now, almost 2 weeks later, I have a nasty green tint in the tank that prevents me from turning the lights on and enjoying my fish. (Only because I can't bear to look at it.)

I am running a Fluval FX5 on the tank, so I know it's not a filtration problem. Lighting is what may be my issue, I have 2 - 54 watt, 48", 6000K midday bulbs and 2 - 54 watt, 48", actinic bulbs on the tank. I only have them on about 6 hours a day.

I have africans in the tank and the lighting really makes the colors on them pop. I don't have to use those lights, it's just what I already had.

I guess my question is, do I need to change the lighting? If so, what other bulbs would you recommend that would have the same color effect on the fish? Would I be better off keeping that lighting and using a UV sterilizer?

Any help would be appreciated, as my wife and I hate having a nice, big fish tank that we can't stand to look at.

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Usually you're looking at an algae bloom if it's green like that. Answers to these questions might help:

How long has the tank been running - just the 2-1/2 weeks?

Did you cycle the tank?

What are your water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, ph)?

What fish do you have in the tank?

Is the filter new, or did it get transferred from an existing system?

Is the tank near a window where it gets direct sunlight? If so, how much each day?

That's a start...let's go from there.

 

[bucsnut79]

Floyd,

That's what I think it is, an algae bloom.

This tank has been up for 2 and a half weeks. This tank was an upgrade from a 55 and all that water, along with the smaller filter was moved over to the bigger tank. The FX5 is new, but the bio-wheel that is also running is from the 55.

I checked all the water parameters last night. Ammonia was zero, nitrate and nitrate measured .3 or less. I checked phosphates just in case, that read between 0.0 and .25, and my pH was about 7.8.

I currently have 19 africans, 5 of which are less than an inch and the rest are about and inch and a half. I also have 4 plecos, all about and inch and a half.

The tank is not by a window, nor does it have access to direct sunlight.....unless I use mirrors to direct some to it! lol

 

[Floyd R Turbo]

Ok, so are you saying your Nitrite was not zero? If not, your tank is cycling. What test kit are you using?

Did you use the substrate from the 55 also? If not, that's a lot of bacteria pulled out of the system. Could be a mini-cycle.

Did you take any old filter media and put it in the FX5? I would ditch the old filter all together and put all the media in the FX5. You should be able to stick the bio-wheel into a compartment in the FX5 (I think!)

Is the lighting from the old tank? Normally Actinics are used on SW tanks, I could see how they would bring out the colors in the cichlids though. I wonder if the cause. Algae feeds on excess nutrients, you could just be breaking in the new tank.

Shutting the lights off except during feeding would be the first step, I'm assuming with Cichlids you have no live plants, so lights are really for your enjoyment. Do a 72 hour blackout that should help the algae, but watch your pH, the algae die-off will affect it (PWC if it swings a lot)

Oh yeah, are yo on city water or well water?

 

[bucsnut79]

Floyd,

Correct, Nitrite and Nitrate were not completely at zero.

The substrate is not from the old tank. I used gravel in the old tank and went to sand in the new one.

The lighting isn't from the old tank. It was lighting that I had laying around that I could install and incorporate in the hood that I built.

I'm on about hour 36 with no lights on so far.

We are on city water.

Would going through a mini-cycle create algae like that?

 

[ChizerBunoi]

If your water is green then you have an bacterial algae bloom. You could install a UV sterilizer if you had planned to get one as that will clear up the water in no time and keep it clear, or add some mangrove plants/oak tree branches. That will also clear it up.

With those 4 t5ho lights on, are you keeping plants? There is no need to supply that much light for Cichlids if you have no plants in there.