Green Water and Undergravel Filter, what is the cure?

[fish_4_all]

I have a very well established tank but it has recently turned very green. I believe this is green water, diatoms in the water and I need to get rid of them.

My worry is the tank is well planted. Will my plants suffer? Also, will an AquaView remove the green water or do I need to get an aquaclear or some other filter if the light trick doesn't work?

Please help, the light is bright but the tank is very dim and I need to get it taken care of before my fish suffer.

 

[Guest]

Best cure would be to get rid of the undergravel filter.

 

[Blucat]

undergravel flter? I doubt that will help.

Check out my thread on greenwater.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=46017&start=50

Discusses various ways to remove it and how i am removing my green water.

 

[oldshell4481]

i had a UGF and it held green water. removed it and no problems since.

 

[Guest]

undergravel flter? I doubt that will help.

Check out my thread on greenwater.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=46017&start=50

Discusses various ways to remove it and how i am removing my green water.

I wasn't suggesting he get one, I was suggesting he get rid of his!

 

[TankGirl]

fish_4_all - your fish are not going to suffer one bit with green water. It is not a problem at all for them. I have done a lot of reading about green water and basically it will go away on its own, but you have to be very patient (not easy!) and wait several months sometimes. There is a relationship between phosphate and nitrate, and often with heavy green water you will measure zero nitrate because the algae is using it all up, and some will actually dose nitrate to get rid of green water if there are plants that need the nitrate.

You can do the blackout method, but this means a 50% water change and 5 solid days of not one smidgen of light, no peeking, no feeding, no nothing (fish and plants will be fine). Then another 50% water change to remove dead algae. This works very well for many very expert aquarists.

UV sterilizer will almost definitely do the trick, but if you don't want to spend the money on that, you can definitely wait and it will resolve. It is not pretty but it will go away by itself.

Often a heavy water change schedule in an effort to get rid of the green water will only feed it, so usually keep the water changes minimal and keep lighting and feeding minimal as well.

Daphnia will eat all your green water up completely, but first you have to find someone who is culturing them and then you have to keep your fish from eating them, lol!

 

[malkore]

UGF's aren't recommended for planted tanks. Can cause problems with plant roots. They really aren't the best filtration either, and those lift tubes hog tank space IMO.

 

[Guest]

undergravel filters are the devil!

lol, seriously though, i had one when i first started mine and had nothing but problems, when i finally took it out, my tank finally stabilized. I never had green water though, but i have a feeling if you get rid of that UGF you will have less problems, someone needs to make a sticky on filter's... or at least to not use UGF's.

 

[Zezmo]

I had an UGF along with my HOB. Though I had no issues with the UGF I removed it 2 weeks ago, because I was adding CO2. They may or may not be related, but a couple days later my Green Water bloom started. I was blaming it on the lack of UGF, or really what I did was change my tanks ability to break down nitrates and such. I am not convinced that is really what led to my Algae bloom. I suspect the bloom was already waiting to happen and stirring up all that muck from removing the UGF is what kicked it off.
After a bit of reading, I have added a couple pack of "ALGONE" to absorb excess nitrate until things get a bit more under control in there. I did this last night. I was considering the Blackout thing too, but I was concerned over two things... will all that dead algae cause problems before i get a change to do a PWC. In the dark, will the algae and my plants consume all the oxygen and suffocate my fish?

 

[Guest]

will the algae and my plants consume all the oxygen and suffocate my fish?

You will still leave your air pump running and your filter running. Also, plants and algae don't consume oxygen, they consume CO2 and release oxygen into the water... therefore the plants actually help to better oxygenate the water.

 

[FMJnaX]

will the algae and my plants consume all the oxygen and suffocate my fish?

You will still leave your air pump running and your filter running. Also, plants and algae don't consume oxygen, they consume CO2 and release oxygen into the water... therefore the plants actually help to better oxygenate the water.

Although, in a total blackout, photosynthesis may not occur in all plants, stunting the growth and production of O2, so you would still need your air/filter anyway.

 

[Zezmo]

In the light, via photosynthesis... plants of course make O2. But in the dark, plants consume O2 and give off CO2, hence the question.

That aside, I am sure your right, if I add an airstone or something it shouldn't be a problem.

What about the "ALGONE" product...has anyone used this??

 

[Blucat]

I am using tetra water balance. IT is working......gradually

 

[Guest]

plants of course make O2. But in the dark, plants consume O2 and give off CO2, hence the question.

I hate to tell you but that is not how photosynthesis works... plants need 3 things to make food... light, CO2, and water. those are the 3 basic components of photosynthesis, that's tought in elementary school science! Plants never consume oxygen, even if light isn't present, they just use what co2 and light they can to survive! If you can prove to me with a scientifici article that plants consume Oxygen and release CO2 then i would be more than happy to admit that i am wrong, but in all of the classess i have taken i have never once been taught that plants use Oxygen in the dark.

http://biology.clc.uc.edu/courses/bio104/photosyn.htm

 

[fish_4_all]

Ok then, all I need to know now is how long do I need to let a HOB filter run in order for it to be ready to handle the bioload and process all the amonia before I remove my undergravel filters? Something else that I have also noticed. I did about a 40% water change today in my green water tank and I found a ton of tiny snails that have just appeared out of nowhere. They will soon be lunch as I have botia loaches and will soon be getting clown loaches to eat all those snails. I know they are hiding under the undergravel filter so they won't be able to hide once it is gone. About the loaches, how big of a snail will they eat?

I am going to get an AquaClear 20 for all my 10 gallon tanks as soon as I can but again, how long will they need to be left running before I can remove the undergravel filter and not kill all of my fish? I will also run bubble wands in all my tanks and maybe a sponge filter to help the tank transition to the HOB filter.

Looks like a very good discussion here and I agree, maybe there needs to be a sticky on filters, airation, plants, and what you should and shouldn't use with each.

 

[fish_4_all]

One more major change. I am also going to switch from epoxy coated gravel to natural pea gravel. How long will it take combined with the the undergravel removal to get the tank from one point to the other. Either that or should I simply start a new tank and when it is cycled, move the fish into it?

 

[Guest]

i would suggest keeping some of the old gravel, becuase that's where the bacteria is, and using it to seed the tank once you remove it. when i moved, they told me my filter material would have enough bacteria in it, but i changed my gravel, and i used old panty hose and put the gravel in that and dropped it in the water for a couple of days. Of course, i tested my water and the ammonia and nitrites stayed at zero. But that's what i would do, keep some of the gravel in there in something for a while and test your water regularly until your tank balances out, im not sure how long it would take to colonize your new gravel and new filter, but it should only be a couple of weeks since you will already have some from your old gravel.

 

[oldshell4481]

i had a bad green water epidemic once, i just went away for the weekend, the lights were left off and the shades cloese, and i turned my light on and to my surprise the water was CRYSTAL clear.

 

[fish_4_all]

Ok, one clarification here. The water is turning a blue-green color. I think it is more green but my wife says it looks blue-green. Anyway, there is no algae visible like you would see in green water that is used to feed daphnia. There is nothing floating in the tank. I have seen the green algae bloom before and this is nothing like it. The best way to explain it is like looking into a deep whole in ocean water, that kind of green or blue-green.

 

[Guest]

will the algae and my plants consume all the oxygen and suffocate my fish?


You will still leave your air pump running and your filter running. Also, plants and algae don't consume oxygen, they consume CO2 and release oxygen into the water... therefore the plants actually help to better oxygenate the water.


Although, in a total blackout, photosynthesis may not occur in all plants, stunting the growth and production of O2, so you would still need your air/filter anyway.

yes, i agree with that, photosynthesis may not occur in the dark therefore the O2 production will be down, but the plants aren't producing CO2 instead, they just aren't producing any O2.
As for the blue/green water, does it smell funny? I had a bluegreen algea break out (Cyanobacteria) but i saw it growing on the hood where the light shines through and it had a very distinct smell. Maybe still try the blackout and see what happens, but do a 50% water change first. If it is Cyano, the blackout should kill it. Good Luck.