Cloudy green water

[avcc]

Hi i need help. My water in my tank has turned a cloudy green. Ive tested the water and its fine which is strange ph-7, nitites-0, ammonia-0, nitrates-0. Ive got 4 swordtails, 4 platies, 6 neon tetras, 1 pleco and 8 corys in a 200 litre tank which were all added at different times.
Green water means algae yeah, too much light mixed with lots of fish waste so can someone tell me if im going to be doing the rite thing by keeping my curtains closed while its sunny, keeping the tank lights off apart for feeding times, dont feed the fish as much and do 20% water changes everyday. Is this correct?
Thank u in advanced for your help

 

[hdultra]

Direct sunlight is not good. Keeping those curtains closed will help allot.

Sounds like a algae bloom. IMO You may want to rinse filter. Clean decor.

As soon as everyone wakes up more people will chime in to help with additional suggestions.Check this link:
http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/plants/algae.php


Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria) Blooms

 

[avcc]

Thank you for your reply i forgot to say i cleaned my filter yesterday in the hope that would help and ill do my decorations 2day, but they arnt green at all cos my pleco is keeping them clean but ill give them a clean anyway. Also in the summer the sun is high so it dosnt touch my tank which is on the other side of my room away from the window but winter time when the sun is out (very rare accasions lol) it touches the tank for a couple of hours. Oh yeah i forgot most people are asleep where as its nearly 1pm here
Thank you for that, the curtains are closed any ideas how long the water could take?

 

[ejaramillo01]

Questions

Some times cloudy water could means a bacteria bloom also, but I have some questions for you:
How long have you been running your tank?, is it cycled?

I agree with the advice from Hdultra, but your 0 reading of Nitrates is not normal for a established tank. Also I don't know why are you doing daily water changes, unless you are cycling the tank with the fish.

How did you clean your filter? And how often do you clean it?

Just trying to help here ok?

 

[avcc]

Hi thanks for replying. Sorry i did a typing error, nitrates is 10, missed the 1. Yes the tank is cycled, i upgraded at xmas to a bigger tank and i put everything from my old tank in my new tank and topped the water up bit at a time. So this tank has been running since xmas.
I dont do daily water changes i do weekly water changes of 20% but i thought with the cloudy water shall i do daily ones, that was my question.
I clean the filter the normal way in the tank water i take out and ive only cleaned the filter 3 times since upgrading and 1 was yesterday cos of my cloudy water. Looking in the tank it looks green but taking some out in a white bucket it just looks normal.
Hope ive provided u with enough info and thanks again.

 

[ejaramillo01]

Ok thanks for the clarification, I don't think that daily water changes will help, I will keep it weekly.
If the tank is cycled I don't know what could be, let's see what others suggest.

Thanks and good luck

 

[tyspot1000]

Algae is a plague upon us all. It’s everywhere. Chances are, there were already wind-blown algae spores in your tank when you bought it. Algae spores can sometimes even survive the treatment process by your local water purification system. You will never be able to get rid of it if you stop giving what it needs.

Over feeding fish is a factor in this too. You will not also be overfeeding them, you will be overfeeding the algae too (Uneaten food equals extra nutrients in the water for the algae. Not only that, but if your fish are eating more, they are also creating more bodily waste which is a perfect fertilizer for algae.)

Make sure to be doing a water change once a week (If not, the rise in waste levels will lead to excessive algae.)

Sun-light is also a contributing factor. Since algae rely on light, limit to how much you give each day (some people even consider black-outs).

 

[avcc]

Thank you for that. I think ive put it down to too much light and maybe slight overfeeding. I havent had the lights on all day and ive kept my curtains shut so ill try that and see how it goes, i hope it clears up tho

 

[avcc]

Well after 24 hours of not having any lights on my water isnt as cloudy but here is a pic of it so if anyone has any other ideas this picture might be more helpfull.
Fish all seem happy swimming around water tests still fine.

 

[fort384]

The key with fixing green water will be the lights. You are on the right path. Keep as much natural sunlight off the tank as possible. To fully cure the issue you could try a black out. Cover the sides and top of the tank with black garbage bags for 3-4 days. It sounds like it may be coming under control though without this drastic measure. It is an option should your current course of action not work.

 

[avcc]

Thank you for your reply i hope i am on the right path now. Curtains in my room is still shut even tho there hasnt been any sun 2day. If i blacked the tank out for 3 or 4 days, what about feeding the fish? Would they be ok? Thank u

 

[fort384]

You could still feed once or so. Skipping a couple of feedings won't hurt anything.

 

[avcc]

Ok thats fine im hoping it dosnt come to that. Just another quick question, whats the best way to clean off the decorations? Is it best boiling them or just give them a scrub with a toothbrush and warm water?
Thank you very much and ill let you know the outcome of my tank.

 

[fort384]

I use a toothbrush. Boiling them is probably overkill.

 

[hdultra]

I use a toothbrush. Boiling them is probably overkill.

Thanks Fort, I knew you would have the right answer. Your to smart lol

 

[Mixer]

Does taking out your decorations and scrubbing them negatively impact your biofilter? Isn't some of your good bacteria going to get scrubbed away?

 

[hdultra]

Does taking out your decorations and scrubbing them negatively impact your biofilter? Isn't some of your good bacteria going to get scrubbed away?

The Majority of it is in your filter media. And Substrate.

 

[fort384]

Some of the good bacteria is there... but you won't hurt anything by scrubbing them clean.