Algae bloom help?

[Venturer4life]

Hey everyone, so here is the deal, I am having an algae bloom (green water and a light green coating on the sides of the tank) in my 10 gal. It is not horrible (I can still clearly see everything in the tank), but it is definitely a bit green and cloudy. A few days ago I accidentally poured too much of my plant fertilizer in my tank (was trying to measure it out over the top of my tank and I guess the ferts just wanted to be free! oops! lol!). I was just wondering, should I just leave it alone? I wouldn't think it would really be dangerous to my fish, inverts, or plants, right? My plants will probably win the nutrient war, right? I don't really want to do a water change cause I have to use spring water cause my tap is so horrible (I would use RO water, but I do not have anywhere near me that sells it). So, any ideas? Thanks!! You guys are the greatest! I really appreciate all of the advice you have given me allowing me to keep my tanks happy and healthy!

 

[rmiller]

From my understanding too much fertilizer (depending on what all is I'm it) can harm some fish. You really should do a water change to remove as much of the ferts as possible.

I understand having horrible water, been there, done that. What is it about your water that's so bad?

 

[jtez]

How long are you running your lights, and what kind are they? I've had issues with green water too and based on something Rivercats told me, I think it could be because i have the ring spectrum, as well as running them too long

 

[Venturer4life]

rmiller- My tap water is realllllllly hard and i think it has fungus in it because I have had my tank established for about a year now and have never had any issues (other than getting ich once, but it was because I did not quarantine my new fish, not the water) and when I brought it to school (I did not fully break it down and I was super careful to keep my bacteria alive) I had a major fungus break out that killed all but three of my fish (including my pair of german blue rams =( ). It would get better as I treated it with meds, but every time I did a water change at the end of the treatment cycle, it would come right back! I finally decided to try to use spring water to make sure that it was the water, and as soon as I stared using spring water, the fungus went away and everything went back to normal. Also, I looked online and it seems my fert (API leaf zone) is fine if overdosed, but can cause things like this to happen.

•jtez- I use full spectrum lights because my tank is fully planted. I know they did not cause the issue because I have been using them for a year now and other than some random bit of algae that my otto takes care of, I have never had this happen. I am nearly 100% sure that it is because of my fert overdose. Also, I don't run them very long because I like to sleep in and my roommate goes to bed early, lol!

 

[rmiller]

I would be a extremely concerned about using that water for your own use if it's making your fish sick! You might contact your water provider and let them know about your concern. They can provide you with a water quality report that should show what additives they put in vs what is naturally occurring in the source they use. Fresh water shouldn't give you fish a fungus. Do you have any colleges or universities near you that might be able to run some tests to see if there really is something in the water?

Maybe something like a uv sterilizer would help. It's a one time investment instead of the constant gallon after gallon of water.

 

[Venturer4life]

I am actually at college, lol! I always filter it if I use it. I use it for cleaning, but that is about it. I honestly just decided not to fight the battle and just switch to spring water. Nothing ever seems to get done at my school with out a huge fight, and I don't really want to deal with it at the moment. lol! And I buy gallons of water from sam's club and it ends up being like 65-75 cents a gallon.

 

[rmiller]

I used to have to do the same thing when I was on well water. It really limited the size of tanks I could have. Hopefully you'll be done with school soon and don't have to worry about it.

 

[Venturer4life]

ehh... I still have a year or two to go then hope to go to vet school, so I will be in school quite a bit longer! lol! Thanks though!!!