Algae Bloom problem?

[MichelleM]

Hello, I am so glad to have found this website!
I recently was given my dad's 180l juwel aquarium, complete with bioflow 8.0 jumbo filter and heater, live plants, gravel, ornaments/driftwood and a couple of live plants, and ofcourse, the fish.
He has had this tank for about 15 years, I used to help him with it when I lived with him. It is a beautiful tank.
It is freshwater tropical, temp is kept between 26-29Celsius.
My problem is, that after moving the tank to my house and getting it set up (fish were moved into a smaller tank with their old tank water, and the big tank itself had only a couple of inches of water left during the move) the water is extremely green and cloudy.
It was relatively clear for the first couple of days, then got alot worse to the point that even the stone ornament at the front is blurry, and you can only see fish clearly if they swim close to the glass.
PH is 7, nitrite 0.3mg. Fish are fed 6 days out of 7, some flake and some sinking pellets.
I have tried changing about 25% of the water, and I have tried adding some tetra crystal water, and have replaced the white cotton filter a couple of times; both times it has been thick, green and slimy.
It has been just over 2 weeks and if anything it seems worse!
I have been speaking to the guy in the shop that my dad has been going to for years and he gave me another bottle of stuff to try clearing the water but after trying a little last night, it hasn't made a difference at all.
The fish all seem healthy, I have been worried about them getting stressed, but no bad signs.
I am eager to learn and do the best I can to have a happy aquarium, especially for my little girl who was so excited to see the fishes but now looks disappointed with our big, green, cloudy tank.

Any help or advice is so much appreciated!

EDIT: picture of tank the day after we got it. I will try and include a picture of the tank now.

 

[Caliban07]

How many fish do you have?

How long are the lights on for?

This is green water algae.

Did you clean the filter sponge when you took over the tank?

Edit: That fish is too big for the tank I'm afraid? it will probably need rehoming.

I have the same tank as you



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[MichelleM]

Picture

Picture of the tank now, apologies for terrible quality, taken with tablet.

 

[MichelleM]

The fish came with the tank, and my dad has had them for a loong time; pleco (he's big and old) 2 Corydoras, 11 Cardinal tetras, silver shark, 2 dwarf Gouramis.
The lights were on a timer for 12 hours a day. I reduced it to 8 hours in the hopes it may help.
When we got the tank the only filter sponge that was replaced was the top White one.

EDIT: I know the pleco has outgrown the tank, we have been speaking to guy in the shop about rehoming, for now he is here though. Pleco was the first fish my dad got for this tank, and I don't think he was told how big they could grow sadly.

 

[Exigenn]

I think your best bet is water changes/blackout for 3/4 days

For the blackout put a blanket all around the tank or cut up a black garbage bag. I would also do a big 75% water change before and after.

 

[MichelleM]

I will give that a try tomorrow and then keep the tank dark for a few days and see what happens. The live plants that are in the tank do seem past there best, would it be best to get fresh plants? Or would adding anything to the tank just make the algae problem worse? I am relatively new to this, it's been a long time since I've kept an aquarium, so apologies for all the questions!
I will post updates in the next week or so

 

[Exigenn]

Depending on the plant conditions/what they are i would say wait until you have the water quality and everything under control. Some may be able to power through it depending on what you have. Also idk what your stocking looks like but that pleco is very large for a 180 imo, Not to mention what ever others you have in the tank. Might be worth looking into re-homing them, Fixing the water quality issues and basically starting from scratch with new plants new fish ect.

Also, when is the last time the tank light was replaces. Could be a bad spectrum if its to old, is the tank getting direct sunlight?

 

[Caliban07]

Live plants will certainly help but you will need a lot of them or fast growing stem plants. To keep the cost down you could just float so stem plants. These should help out compete the algae for nutrients but you will have to help the plants out too by removing algae via water changes as soon as they appear.

That pleco is producing a lot of nutrients that is feeding the algae and without enough plant mass to compete the algae is thriving. If your tap water is very hard Changing water will not achieve much either as you will be supplying nutrients again with each water change.

The blackout is a good call but it may not be a permanent fix. UV sterilisers are great for green water algae but not the most cost effective treatment. Flocculent chemicals that clump algae together for easy removal have been shown to work but there are some concerns with regards to fish safety. Also if the rate of algae growth is too fast you may not see any effect.

If it was me personally I would increase plant mass and manually remove algae.


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[MichelleM]

So my tank is still extremely green. I have tried leaving the lights off and have been doing 25% changes almost daily, and yesterday done my first 50% change. Also added 3 fresh plants. There is no algae growing on the glass and no kind of 'skin' to the surface of the water. Just green water. I purchased a UV light water cleanser and installed it a few hours ago, here's hoping this helps!
Temperature is 27.3C, 7.0pH, nitrite <0.3mg and ammonia 0.25
Is my ammonia reading anything to be concerned about?
Using API liquid tests for everything.
Fish still all seem happy!

 

[anachrotech]

So my tank is still extremely green. I have tried leaving the lights off and have been doing 25% changes almost daily, and yesterday done my first 50% change. Also added 3 fresh plants. There is no algae growing on the glass and no kind of 'skin' to the surface of the water. Just green water. I purchased a UV light water cleanser and installed it a few hours ago, here's hoping this helps!
Temperature is 27.3C, 7.0pH, nitrite <0.3mg and ammonia 0.25
Is my ammonia reading anything to be concerned about?
Using API liquid tests for everything.
Fish still all seem happy!

The UV sterilizer was the only thing that took care of my algae bloom. It'll take a while. You'll see noticeable improvement daily though. And I had to, unfortunately, rehome my pleco in order to keep it that way without running the UV.
Holy cow, that pleco is big.

 

[MichelleM]

Pleco is about 15 years old, was one of the first fish my dad got after setting up this tank. At my dads house the water was crystal clear, this has all came about after moving the tank to my house. Initially I thought it was just a bacteria bloom as the tank had to cycle after being almost completely emptied of water. But it just got worse and with everything I've tried so far it hasn't improved. I don't think we will have the pleco much longer. He is a poop machine.

How long did you leave th UV running for, initially?

 

[ScotJudd]

Hi Michelle.
Green algae needs light and food to reproduce in this way. So hit it from both sides. Keep water changing until ammonia and nitrites are zero and nitrates at 10 or below. This is no mean feat if the tank is not cycled and you have a large fish, such as the Plec. Reducing the food for the algae will help. Secondly, reduce your lighting. In the short term try a 3-4 day black out but in the longer term keep lighting periods shorter and shield the tank from natural sunlight if the tank is near a window. It doesn't need the sun actually hitting the tank to cause a problem.
The tank will settle down, I'm sure, so don't get despondent. But don't expect overnight success either.
As for UV, it is a large investment to cure what could be a short term problem. Having said that, I run a UV 24/7 in the main tank as a precaution against algae but also to reduce free floating bacteria and pathogens in the water column. Water flow rate must be correct through the UV, too fast and it is less effective on bacteria and pathogens but could still be effective on algae.
Try the cheaper option first and only buy a UV if you have to OR if like me you want the added protection a UV filter can give.



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[anachrotech]

How long did you leave th UV running for, initially?

It ran 24 hours a day but I'm not entirely sure for how many days. I believe it was all cleared by about a week and I left it running for another week. I rehomed the pleco in the interim. I have a 36g (136L)

 

[MichelleM]

Noticed a difference today, have been keeping the lights off, UV seems to be helping, and done another water change last night. Moved the stone ornament back a bit so it is closer to the centre of the tank, but I am still able to see it!
I know it still looks awful but it is a lot better than it was. Thanks for all the advice guys

The photo really doesn't do it justice, I don't have a very good quality camera.

 

[ScotJudd]

That's great, it's looking much better. At least you're on the right track. ?


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