Darkish green water?? Idk what to do!

[Oscar98]

In my 55g i have 1 female 6-7in red devil and the water is pure green! I tested the water and the ammonia is at 0 the nitrite is 0 and the nitrates are at .15-.20.
I dont know what to do! I just bought a bottle of cycle and put some in. I think it may be an algea bloom.
I did a 50% water change and it was fine for like 30min.
Did another one the next day and same thing.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Is the tank newly setup?

 

[Oscar98]

Cycled it with a seeded filter and gravel for two weeks. Then put the red devil in. About a month ago i started the cycle and put the RD in two weeks ago

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Maybe it's just some new tank syndrome. I wouldn't worry to much. Just do your regular maintanence for a few weeks and see how it goes. Try keeping your lights off and feeding very very light.

 

[Oscar98]

Ok. I wouldnt know about the new tank syndrome lol it didnt happen to my first tank.

 

[NYgiantsRP]

It doesn't happen every time, but it is possible.

 

[Sharpchick]

Is the tank in front of a window where it's getting natural sunlight?

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Cloudy water, and green water are common with new tank syndrome.

 

[Oscar98]

Its by a window cuz its the only open spot i had haha. But the window has brown curtains where no light can get threw

 

[NYgiantsRP]

Well then there ya go! No light coming through. So it's not that.

 

[Oscar98]

And i live on a hill so my window is next to a bank and there is a bunch of trees there. So even without the curtains no a lot of light gets threw

 

[Cloudhp8]

How long do you leave the tank light on?

I have read to help fix this. turn the light off, cover the tank with a blanket or something to keep any and all light out....for a couple of days even up to a week....and also turn the heater down just a bit as a blanket will keep in heat and will heat the tank up.

Or just turn the lights on for say 5 hours at a time till it clears up then usually no more than about 8 hours at a time.....while changing water out daily or every other day.

any sunlight even small amounts can still cause algae blooms even the smallest amount even if it is filtering through a curtain it can still cause algae.

Try leaving the tank lights on for shorter times do water changes clean of any decorations and see how it goes.

 

[Rivercats]

If you put water in a white cup and it's green it is indeed an algae bloom. WC's won't help as the algae will just keep multiplying and you'll be back to square one in no time. Black outs work sometimes but if you do that you have to totally block all light from the tank for 3 days and no peeking. Peeking allows light in which will give the algae an opportunity to multiply. Also it's not totally uncommon for algae blooms to come back even after a black out. The best, quickest, and most efficient way to kill the algae is by using a UV sterilizer. The bloom is usually killed off within about 24 hours. This UV has gotten alot of good reviews from people on the forum... Green Killing Machine Internal UV Sterilizer with Power Head at PETCO.

If you put water in a white cup and it's not green then your having a bacterial bloom. They also return after WC's. Again a UV sterilizer is the fastest way to kill the bacteria in the water allowing the water to be clear again.

 

[Glow light tetra]

It's algae, usually cause be sun and lack of WC's

 

[Oscar98]

It's algae, usually cause be sun and lack of WC's

A little sun may be getting through but i do 50% wc on my 55gallons every week with 10g wc between the 50% changes.

 

[Rivercats]

Sun doesn't automatically mean algae problems. My 220g get direct sunlight in about 1/3 of the tank daily and I don't have algae issues.

 

[Oscar98]

Just pit it in a white cup and its clear. Is there any way to get rid of it other than uv lights or sterilizers
Its in two of my tanks now. Bit they are both on the floor may it have something to do with that?? The one is no where near a window

 

[Rivercats]

Water changes and lower light can keep it from getting extremely green but it will still be in your tank. Didn't you state earlier that you completely changed out the water in the one tank? If so that removed alot of the suspended algae which would be why you water went from a green tint to a not visable color. Problem is as the algae cells multiply the green tint will come back. There is a method I've heard of but never used to rid green algae bloom. You have to find a few 1/4" or so branches of willow that is growing. Trim off some of the thin branches and place them in the tank. Supposedly as the branch uses the water (like cut flowers in a vase) the absorb all the nutrients in the tank which will kill off the algae as it has no nutrients left to use. But once the algae is gone you have remove the branches as they will starve the other plants if left in the tank. You can research this method online. This is the only other option besides a UV or blackout that claims to work.