Green is bad, right?

[angelocarusone]

I have a 6 gallon eclipse and in it, I currently have two plants and two bulbs that are just starting to sprout. One of the plants is a sword plant, the other one, I have no idea what it is, it just have very large leaves.

I finally got over the dropsy that my betta was suffering from and my tank finally cycled. Tonight, I decided to vacuum the gravel using a battery operating Profile Gravel Vac because I noticed what appeared to be this white fuzz like substance all over the gravel and on the plants. I also did a small 10% water change and changed the filter cartridge. But now, my water is a bit cloudy and also has a slight greenish hue to it.

I'm new to tanks, but learning quickly and working hard to get things in order as quickly as possible.

Any ideas on what's going on? How bad is this? What steps can I do to correct what's going on? How do I take precautionary steps to prevent whatever is going on?

Thanks much.

 

[TankGirl]

Green water is algae, but the lighting that is on a 6-gal Eclipse is meager at best, so my guess is the light cycle should be shortened. I have dealt with green water in a smallish tank by doing water changes, and cutting back on the time the lights are on, but sometimes you need to use the blackout method or rent/borrow a diatom filter.

White fuzz usually indicates a fungus, and if it is in the tank then I suspect uneaten food is the culprit. If you think that might be what it is from, then cut back on feeding and increase water changes, with a gravel vac with every water change.

The sword might have difficulty in what I must assume is a low light tank, as well. What is the wattage of the bulb?

 

[angelocarusone]

Thanks for the reply. Do you recommend adding any chemicals to it to help fight the algae?

I will be increasing the frequency of water changes and gavel vac'ing for the next few weeks to see if the problem starts to go away on its own.

The wattage on the light is 8. Is this too low? Can I change the bulb on the eclipse to a brighter bulb? Given my current situation, what is a proper lighthing schedule for my tank?

 

[TankGirl]

I would not put anything in the tank to fight algae. With a low light tank you ought to be able to get it under control with a few minor changes, no problem.

You are pretty much stuck with the wattage that came with it, as more watts means a larger bulb, which won't fit in the fixture. You can certainly grow plants in there (I have done it in a 6, and am doing it in a 12 an a 15 Eclipse with very low light) but first let's get this green water under control.

I would try leaving the light on for just 8 hours during the day for a while until this clears up. How long has it been on normally? My neighbor's tank is very low light so he was leaving the light on 24/7, and had a major problem with green water.

I would do a 25% water change every day until it clears up, which should not take long, maybe not even a week. If you have lots of debris then that is the other element in the algae situation, which is caused by excess light and nutrients. Decaying food in the tank will raise nitrates, which will allow algae to get out of control. Reduce feeding so there is not any left to fall to the bottom, regularly vacuum up the fish waste, shorten the light cycle, and that ought to be all that is necessary.

Hope I made sense!