green water

[Darylb]

why does water turn green in tanks my.brother in laws tank when from a murky white to a green color in a week

 

[mrvincent]

It's an monocellular algea. It mean your parameters are not balanced.

1. What's your tank size ?
2. What's your water parameters?
3. WHat is the lightning you have?
4. HOw much time/24h you light on?
5. Is there any direct sunlight at any moment of the day that reach your tank ?

 

[Darylb]

i wouldnt have a clue about params but come to think of it he put the tank right in front of the window so its got direct sunlight all day everyday

 

[Rivercats]

Actually my 220g tank gets several hours of direct sunlight daily without it causing any algae problems. Most green water (but not all) is mostly from too much light, left on too long, combined with excess nutrients is the major cause of it.

 

[aqua_chem]

I would definitely attribute it to the extended direct sunlight. A little sunlight is not bad, but if you're getting a full blast all day, it can certainly cause problems, especially in newer tanks with some ammonia present.

 

[mrvincent]

I would definitely attribute it to the extended direct sunlight. A little sunlight is not bad, but if you're getting a full blast all day, it can certainly cause problems, especially in newer tanks with some ammonia present.

Yeah, any bit of ammonia will transform to green if exposed to direct sunlight. An inbalance with nutrients can cause that.



Hey rivercat, you remember my green water ? Finally I bought 80$ 9w UV sterilizer, I used it 1 week, and now the problem seems solved forever... I don't understand. I'm at 9:30hrs/day light and no more green algae

 

[Rivercats]

Yeah, any bit of ammonia will transform to green if exposed to direct sunlight. An inbalance with nutrients can cause that.



Hey rivercat, you remember my green water ? Finally I bought 80$ 9w UV sterilizer, I used it 1 week, and now the problem seems solved forever... I don't understand. I'm at 9:30hrs/day light and no more green algae

Each tank has a certain amount of hours lighting can run without algae and you obviously found your running time.

 

[mrvincent]

Each tank has a certain amount of hours lighting can run without algae and you obviously found your running time.

I keep increase lignthing time slowly once 1-2 week, and I keep blackout 1 days/week, my plants grow fast like hell !

 

[Darylb]

im blacking out his tank for 3 days and i done a 20% waterchange yesterday ill see if that helps

 

[mrvincent]

im blacking out his tank for 3 days and i done a 20% waterchange yesterday ill see if that helps

Make 50%WC after blackout to prevent ammonia spike due to decaying dead algae particules and to help clear the water.