the preverbial newbie post.....

[CORIROC]

Hi everyone. My name is Cori. I am new the site. When I was a kid, my dad had several freshwater aquariums, & I thought this aquarium thing was gonna be easy.... boy was I mistaken.

Right now my biggest complaint is green water. I was away for a week and used a vacation feeder. When I came back the water was so green, I couldnt even see the fish. The monthly 25% water change showed some improvement, but the fish were still barely visible. I was at a loss of what to do next so I tried some algae destroyer, and it still didnt show much improvement, and a danio died. I dont think the tank is over-populated. It is not in direct sunlight, and the light is only on for 6 hours a day. Is that too long?

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. It has been suggested by someone who knows less about aquariums than myself that I just forget this whole thing, or convert to a saltwater aquarium. Is that even possible?? They get algae too dont they??

~Cori

 

[RogerMcAllen]

Was it one of those block feeders? If so, those are pretty much completely useless at doing everything but mucking up your water. Don't bother next time, and either don't feed at all, or have someone do some small feedings for you.

As far as helping you out, what are your water parameters. If the water is very cloudy, it is possible that some of your levels are out of wack and you are experiencing a bacterial bloom.

SW aquariums also get algae, so switching wouldn't help. SW aquariums also require more maintainance and money, so you should probably mast FW before making the step upward.

Lastly, you should try chaning your water more often. I usually do 20% or so every week.

 

[westward13]

Welcome to AA, Cori! Out of curiousity, what are the details of your tank (i.e. what size, how long has it been up and running, what are the parameters, how many and what kind of fish do you currently have in there, etc)?
Have you tried more frequent and/or larger water changes? What kind of filtration are you using and how long has it been since you've changed the filter(s) media? Do you have driftwood or anything else that could be contributing to the discoloration in your tank? Not sure if I'm on the right track here, but figured I'd throw some questions out to try to get a better understanding of what's going on.

 

[TankGirl]

Do not give up!

Welcome to AA, and you have come to the right place. 25% monthly water changes might not be enough for this tank. Basically, algae feeds off light and nutrients in the water. If you have light on for 6 hours a day, which is really minimal, it is not light that is the culprit, so nutrients in the water are the likely cause. A vacation feeder is trouble in a box, IMO, and the fish are much better off going without food for a week or 10 days. Your water is fouled with excess nutrients, most likely, so doing 10% water change every other day until it clears up might be the ticket. After that, maybe 25% every 2 weeks (I do them every week or twice a week, but I am a little extreme that way ) will keep your excess nutrients in check. Do you have any test kits? You should check your ammonia, nitrite and nitrate, and I would guess the nitrAte is going to be rather high.

 

[lyquidphyre]

If you are having a problem like that then you should do more frequent water changes of 25%. Someone correct me if im wrong, but 25% every 3 days or so until the water clears up would be my suggestion.

What kind of filter are you using? When was the last time you changed out the filter bags? If there is algea on the glass then you might consider getting an algea eater.

What are your water parameters?
I would think keeping the lights on for 6 hours isn't enough.. I have mine on for about 12 hours.

If you are having problems keeping a FW I would suggest not trying a salt water just yet... I hear it is a lot more complicated.

 

[lyquidphyre]

haha i like how there were no replys when I started my reply and 4 people posted within a 5min time span =o)

 

[westward13]

BTW, nice car! I'm not a car buff and wouldn't know the first thing about restoring one but I used to drive a '92 RS. Miss that car...

 

[CORIROC]

Its a 29 gallon. Its been up and running for 6 months now. It contains fancy guppies, corys, neon tetras and a few lemon tetras in it. I did have one of those plecto things in there, but it recently died as well. As far as filtration, I have one of those that hang on the back.

I just ran and tested the water (again) and TankGirl, you were right and the nitrAtes are rather high. The ph is 6.2 which the local pet store lady said was fine as long as it is stable. I'm not yet sure if I trust her.... but anyway, according to the label on the test strip bottle... everything else seems to be normal.

Thanks for your advice. I will keep you posted on how its going.

~Cori

 

[CORIROC]

BTW, nice car! I'm not a car buff and wouldn't know the first thing about restoring one but I used to drive a '92 RS. Miss that car...

TYVM That car is my other hobby

 

[CORIROC]

Thanks for the warm welcome guys.
So now I have another question (imagine that)
Please keep in mind that I'm a newb.
OK, lets say I found this old aquarium out in the barn.... What would it take to get it cleaned up? I know Im not spose to use soap prouduct, but this thing has over 10 years buildup crap on it. I know it doesnt leak cuz I filled it up but is there some sort og cleaning agent that would be safe??

~Cori

 

[TankGirl]

Vinegar and a razor blade if you are looking at white hard water deposits. Otherwise a weak bleach solution. You lucky devil.... I guess I better start rooting around in barns now.

 

[Slannesh]

Vinegar or salt would work.

Just make sure you rinse well afterward.

 

[Slannesh]

Whoops TankGirl beat me to it

 

[Matthi]

Hi
Green water sounds a lot like algae growth in the tank. How long do you leave the lights on?
If you have the lights on for more than about 8-12 hours, the algae will start growing a lot. For some reason, the algae doesn't seem to respond as much to light in lower amounts.
You might want to cover your tank with a towel and keep the lights completely off for 5 days and see if that clears the water up.
Just my 2c - make sure water isn't green for a different reason before following above