green water

[blur34]

I thoroughly cleaned my tank last week and after I refilled the tank I woke up the next morning and found that the water was green and I couldn't even see to the back of the tank. What is going on and how can I resolve this problem?

 

[frshwaterfinatc]

Need a little more info! What kind of tank- freshwater/brackish, what fish, plants, substrate? Did you clean your filter, too? You might try using some aqua clear...

 

[blur34]

It is a freshwater tank, gouramis, tetras, and a couple of angelfish. No live plants and I did clean the filter and replace the filter cartridge.

 

[Endgame319]

Its likely an algae bloom. They're cause by excess nutrients or light in the tank, due to over-feeding, or going extended periods with the lights on. Unfortunatly its very difficult to fix green-water. The easy way is to buy a diatom filter and it should clean up in a few hours. If you dont want to buy one then you'll have to starve the algae by putting the tank in complete darkness for a few weeks.

 

[madasafish]

Please restrain yourself from buying aquaclear or any other chemical. It's best to try and avoid using any chemicals, as these tend to reduce the immune system of your fish.

It *is* an algae bloom, and I agree with EndGame that it is treated best with a diatom filter. I find a diatom filter's a pretty essential tool for any serious aquarist with multiple tanks, esp. if any or all of them are planted. If you're not willing to spring for one ($69 on bigalsonline), then try starving the algae with light deprivation.

It's important you understand what's going on, though. Diatomaceous algae are colonizing the water column because there are a lot of nutrients in your tank. Water changes will not help if an algae bloom has already occurred, but after using the diatom filter, or after starving the tank, try to do your water changes more often. Also, consider getting some fast-growing (low-light) plants such as Hygros, Hornwort, Anacharis. These will be able to compete with the algae for nutrients, and won't require any additional light in the tank (assuming you already have ~1-2 watts per gallon).

 

[poikilotherm]

One part of your initial post concerned me. You said that you cleaned your tank and replaced the filter. This procedure is quite extreme, and can cause your tank to start it's cycle over. This can lead to "new tank syndrome" which can include algae blooms and high nitrites and ammonia levels, which can kill your fish. A full teardown of a tank is only really necessary (IMHO) if you have had a particularly nasty outbreak of disease. Your beneficial bacteria need a place to live, and if you clean your tank and your filter, you're killing them.

In future, I'd recommend just doing partial water changes and just rinsing the filter cartridge in tank water to de-gunk it. Excuse me if I have misinterpreted your post, but I thought I should call into question the procedure that precipitated this algae bloom.

Oh, and another thing that can help starve the algae is to feed your fish less food.

Hope this helps, and if you have any questions about cycling or anything else, just ask!

 

[krap101]

wouldnt you just have a minicycle? because the ornaments and the substrate would still be in there

 

[poikilotherm]

I don't know, Krap. Blur's statement was "I thoroughly cleaned my tank." That could include ornaments and gravel. The degree to which everything was cleaned would affect the severity of the cycle. A minicycle can cause an algae bloom too. It's a continuum from mini to full cycle.