Cloudy Water and Algae Problem! NEED HELP!

[Incogneto21]

So I have a 29 gallon freshwater tank. I have a mother guppy and her 10 1 month old fry. Recently the water has been getting cloudy and is turning green. I do 50% water changes monthly because the guys from Petco said too. I even bought a Candystripe Pleco today to help with the algae. What to do?! PLEASE ANY ADVICE WOULD BE GREAT RIGHT ABOUT NOW!

 

[ZCNY]

Do weekly water changes, do not feed them to much and make sure you only got the lights on for about 10-12 hours a day do you have the lights on a timer??

 

[BBradbury]

Hello In...

There are several things you can do to clear the tank water. Large, frequent water changes. Change half the tank water at least once every two weeks. You're likely feeding the fish too much. Most water keepers do. The uneaten food dissolves in the tank water and the algae takes advantage. Cut back on the amount of food you give the fish. They don't need to eat more than a couple of times a week anyway. The tank will stay a lot cleaner and the fish will forage around looking for food. They'll be healthier.

Get some fast growing stem plants into the tank like Anacharis and Pennywort. These plants will use the nutrients in the water faster than the algae. Here's a bit of trivia: Anacharis gives off a natural toxin that some algae doesn't tolerate. The toxin discourages the growth of some species of algae.

Put a better filter media into the filter. A dense poly fiber will help clear the water. Acurel and HBH have a very good product.

Just a few suggestions to try or not.

B

 

[ElaineSelene]

What are your water readings? Drop test results? I know algae blooms are one result of high nitrate. (Or maybe it's nitrite? I can't remember.) What ever you do don't use algae killing chemicals! They are super bad for fish. Otherwise everything has been said. Limit the amount of light and food, also a lot of water changes! Good luck.

 

[Incogneto21]

Do weekly water changes, do not feed them to much and make sure you only got the lights on for about 10-12 hours a day do you have the lights on a timer??

I used to do weekly water changes and people from Petco said not to and start doing monthly. I only feed once a day and leave the light on for about 6 hours. No I do not have a timer.

 

[aqua_chem]

The people at Petco quite often don't know what they're talking about, or are still using archaic techniques that have since either been replaced or removed altogether. Frequent, large water changes can be very beneficial for a tank, and if done correctly, it shouldn't have any effect on the inhabitants.

A timer would be a good investment. Also, if you have a nearby window, the tank might be getting direct sunlight, which can be causing your green water issues.


How old is this tank?

 

[ZCNY]

Water changes should be part of regular aquarium maintenance. The frequency will vary somewhat, depending on many factors. Smaller heavily stocked tanks will require more frequent water changes than larger sparsely stocked aquariums.

My recommendation is to change ten to fifteen percent of the water each week. If your tank is heavily stocked, you should bump that up to twenty percent each week. A lightly stocked tank can get by for two weeks, but that should be the maximum length of time between water changes. My tank is heavily stocked so I do a 50% WC a week

 

[Incogneto21]

The people at Petco quite often don't know what they're talking about, or are still using archaic techniques that have since either been replaced or removed altogether. Frequent, large water changes can be very beneficial for a tank, and if done correctly, it shouldn't have any effect on the inhabitants.

A timer would be a good investment. Also, if you have a nearby window, the tank might be getting direct sunlight, which can be causing your green water issues.

How old is this tank?

The tank is next to a window, but no sunlight directly contacts the tank. My tank is about 5 months old.

 

[Incogneto21]

These 2 pictures were just taken. As you can see its not heavily decorated and not many fishes are in there. Just the guppies and pleco. It's also greenish and cloudy inside. I would like to have a clear aquarium hahaha... ^_^

 

[CalebZachary]

I'd do 25%-40% WC weekly on the tank. Starting now. Less food as well.

 

[BBradbury]

Your Tank

Hello In...

The tank looks like it hasn't been running long. If there's room on the back, you could get a small HOB, say a Hagen AC 20 and get some good poly fiber like the brand Acurel makes. You can get it at most pet stores. It's a "cut to fit" pad that you could put into the filter and set it up and run it until the tank water clears. The poly fiber will attract and hold those small particles that cause the water to be a bit hazy. I've always had a small HOB handy for times when the tank water gets a bit cloudy.

B

 

[CalebZachary]

In the walmart arts and crafts section they have 100% polyester cotton. Big bag like $4. I use that in my Aquaclear along with a pad. Works great.

 

[Thumper828]

Is that a window behind your aquarium?

 

[Incogneto21]

Is that a window behind your aquarium?

No the window is a few inches away from the tank.

 

[Rivercats]

Put some tank water in a white cup. If it's green tinted then you have an algae bloom also referred to as green water. You have a couple choices... you can first try a 3 day black out which means you have to completely cover the tank, tops, sides, bottom so absolutely no light can get in. And not peaking or you break the black out cycle even if only for a few seconds. Do this for 3 days. Your fish will be fine. Then only run tank lights for a max of 6 hours daily for a while and if your tank doesn't have a background I suggest putting one on to help reduce some of the rooms ambient lighting. And do start doing a 50% WC weekly.

If you don't want to do the black out you can get a UV sterilizer which will clear the bloom and kill the free floating algae in around 24 hours or so. Many on this forum have used this one with very good results... Green Killing Machine Internal UV Sterilizer with Power Head at PETCO.