Kinda frustrated and ready to give up...

[Scottishscales]

I have had a recurring problem with my fishtank for the duration that ive had it running. At first i had no problems, then a big algae bloom kicked up and i took my tank down for a while, and months ago i put it back up with clean water filters rocks everything.

Since then ive had another algae bloom, lost my favorite fish, and dispite dosing with copious amounts of prime, changing from gravel to sand, and buying a new filter system completely, i cannt get this darn fishtank to settle in. Even after a month or two with the new filter.

I dont know whats wrong with the tank or what im doing, but i would love some help. I still have my pleco and maybe two fish at this point and i would like to salvage the ones i have left [whom sadly look sick at the moment and i feel bad :/ ]

If i push the reset button on my tank, clean the sand, the filter media, the tank itself with bleach and all the decorations in it, will it help or is it useless?

 

[brennae]

When you restart and put new substrate and filters in the tank I think what has happened is that the cycle restarted. I wouldn't change anything.
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/fish-in-cycling-step-over-into-the-dark-side-176446.html

Read this thread if you haven't already. You may have to change water very often so be sure to have a good liquid test kit such as API Master Text Kit for freshwater. I got mine off of Amazon.com for much cheaper than they are sold in the lfs. Hang in there!!

 

[Coursair]

I have had a recurring problem with my fishtank for the duration that ive had it running. At first i had no problems, then a big algae bloom kicked up and i took my tank down for a while, and months ago i put it back up with clean water filters rocks everything.

Since then ive had another algae bloom, lost my favorite fish, and dispite dosing with copious amounts of prime, changing from gravel to sand, and buying a new filter system completely, i cannt get this darn fishtank to settle in. Even after a month or two with the new filter.

I dont know whats wrong with the tank or what im doing, but i would love some help. I still have my pleco and maybe two fish at this point and i would like to salvage the ones i have left [whom sadly look sick at the moment and i feel bad :/ ]

If i push the reset button on my tank, clean the sand, the filter media, the tank itself with bleach and all the decorations in it, will it help or is it useless?

That is frustrating. As was said, don't strip down the tank.

Algae Bloom ? Like Green Water ?

Often from overfeeding or poor water quality.

First, what do your water tests show ?

I do 50% PWCs weekly. Then I dose my ferts for my plants as I'm using liquid ferts.

What fish do you have left ?
How large is the tank ?
What species of Pleco? Plecos are poop machines, so larger filters are needed. Don't get rid of yours.

Many people over stock new tanks or stock too fast.

Also do not OVERCLEAN your tank.
When you do your maintenance, do not swap out filter cartridges. Rinse them out in Used tank water or dechlorinated tap water. Put them back in. You only replace pads when they are falling apart.

Don't over vacuum. With sand just hover and gently circle above the sand to remove detritus.

Are your lights on a timer ? Reduce lighting to 6 hours a day. If green water persists you may need to do a 3 day blackout. Your plants should be fine.

BUT first you need to find and address the cause of the Algae. It is a sign something is out of balance.

Make sure no sun is hitting the tank.

I have my lights on about 6-8 hrs daily.

Algae is from too much light, too much fish food or poop, not enough plants or not enough water changes.

Be patient with your tank.

Please post a pic as well.

If your fish are ailing I would suggest a 50% PWC just in case. Match temp, use Prime in the bucket, and see if the new water helps.

Hang in there.




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[Scottishscales]

Yes i have green water. Ive been battling with it for months and the water changes dont seem to be helping [water evaporates rapidly so i have to keep filling it]. I changed from gravel to sand to eliminate the excess fish detritus because it was really bad before i changed it.

I have a canister filter that i dont change the filters or media and havent touched for more than a month. I have i think two fish left, both tiger barbs. I cant tell because the water is green. I keep the temp at 77, and havent had more than 5 fish including the pleco in the 30 gallon tank since i set it up.

My tap water is from a well and has been tested and it doesnt have anything in it besides a little high ph of 8. The tank is in a basement where there is little sunlight, and the tank is where it cant get any light that does come in. I do leave the hood light on but ive always left it on and never had this recurring problem.

Ill try the blackout because i havent cleaned my tank yet waiting for it to settle in before i messed with it. I am kinda irked because i already lost one of my favorite and i dont want to lose my pleco too.

"There's always a bigger fish." - Qui-Gon Jinn

 

[Luma21]

I had the same thing happen to me with green water twice. I had switched to two 54 watt t5 HO bulbs and I figured out that my lights had been on for too long (about 10 hours). So what I do now is my lights are on a timer for 3 hours on, 5 hours off, and then 5 hours on again. I haven't had a problem with green water for a couple months now.


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[Luma21]

Definitely try the blackout. That's what I did, I covered it with towels for three days with the lights off. It'll kill the bad algae and than do a huge water change to clear it up. I also bought a UV sterilizer, not sure if it helped or not, but I haven't had a problem since I got it!


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[Scottishscales]

I think my next big purchase will be a sterilizer. But my only concern was will my pleco not get anything to eat? And i figured out my light problem...i was using a daylight bulb so the algae i never had a problem with before spiked up because the bulb wasnt the same as the ones ive used before.

And i guess i havent lost any fish yet because i saw the 4 of them today. So theyre hanging on

"There's always a bigger fish." - Qui-Gon Jinn

 

[Coursair]

Yep, stop leaving the light on !!!
That feeds the Algae.

Big PWC after the blackout.

Then lights on a timer.

As long as your Pleco is in decent shape he should be fine. The green water can create low oxygen, suffocating fish AFAIK.

The actual bulb is probably not the issue. Though for my plants I use 6,500K full spectrum lights.

My tanks are usually full of plants and crystal clear. Sorry for cheesy music
http://youtu.be/aptmdICahvM


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[Coursair]

If the blackout worries you, reduce lighting to 6 hours and do PWCs. See if that helps. I don't recommend Algaecides.


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[Scottishscales]

Yeah im gonna get some green trash bags taped up tomorrow and go blackout for a few days and then change the water. I justed rinsed my filter pads today and they were loaded with algae. But i didnt touch the bacteria media in my canister. I just moved it to get to the coarse sponge at the bottom.

And i have a timer for my bearded dragon viv so ill just hook it up to that so it has 12 on 12 off

"There's always a bigger fish." - Qui-Gon Jinn

 

[ppo8820]

Your tank is not cycled. Cleaning it out and using bleach is NOT the best plan of action at all. You are just restarting everything you have done. I suggest daily water changes of at least half, testing your water daily, and doing this untill tests show 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, and 5-10 Nitrates. Then you are cycled and its smooth sailing. It takes a bit of work, dedication, and most of all patience at the start. I hated it.

 

[treemanone2003]

I think the 12 on 12 off will be a bad idea while trying to cure this problem and going forward. I would follow Coursair in the 6 hour light suggestion and WC's. Algae requires light and nutrients to grow. Reducing one, the other, or both, will greatly reduce your issues.


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[n2nn2n]

After cycling I had a green algae bloom in the water column with brown and green algae of the glass as well as hair algae.

I didn't do the black out, I cleaned the algae off the glass and what ever else and I did large partial water changes each day and added lots of fast growing stem plants and other plants. I also reduced the intensity of my full spectrum LED's to 48% (fixture is about 2 inches off the water surface) for 12 hours. Also added a Co2 system.

getting to the 48% was trial and error. After the bloom cleanup, I started the LED's at 35% and increased each week by 5% to see what happens. Same thing with the 12 hours. I started with 8 hours and kept increasing each week by an hour. At 48% for 12 hours, I can go for 2 weeks before having a slight ( i mean really slight) algae growth on the glass

no issues with algae since and the fish/shrimps and plants have been good. So good that I have to trim the stem plants about every 2 weeks. The fast growing plants will out compete the algae for nutrients.

 

[Scottishscales]

I just completed the blackout two days ago and the attached picture was the result. I covered the tank completely for three days and tried to avoid using any lights in the room.
Today, I did a 2/3 water change and rinsed out the filter pads in my canister [i plan on another change tomorrow] , and with some of the water I removed, I rinsed the bio media for the first time as well.

Also attached is a picture of my latest test results for my water. Im happy the nitrates are finally in readable range [they were above 160ppm] but the high ammonia and no nitrites is slightly concerning as is the still green water.

Thoughts?

Ps. My canister filter is an eheim 2100 for those interested. In the trickle filter seen is a nitrazorb pouch from api.

"There's always a bigger fish." - Qui-Gon Jinn