Joseph Elliott Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 So my tank has been invaded by green water, i believe. So far i've been changing the water 80% every 3rd day but it still seems to come back. Whats the best way of getting rid of it without killing my plants or fish? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomdweller_fan Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 Check out this site for some good information. Green water occurs due to too much light and too many nutrients in the water. How long are your lights on during the day? Although plants probably wouldn't mind more, fish usually don't like and don't need more than 10 hours of light a day. Do a good vaccuum of your substrate and make sure that your tank is not overstocked or that you are not feeding your fish too much. If your plants have dead leaves, make sure to remove them from the tank. I hope this helps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Elliott Posted January 24, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 The lights are on for 10 hours per day and the fish get fed every second or third day. It is a 25 gallon tank with a 20W fluorescent strip bulb. Until now I have changed the water 25% once a week and added a proportionate amount of fertilizer to replace any removed. As for fish I have 2 zebra danios, 1 Pictus catfish - which I'm sure is the reason for a danio going missing every couple weeks, 4 mollies, 2 red rainbow fish (Glossolepis incisus), and 1 blue ram. As for plants I have a couple Java ferns, some anubias nana, and a bunch of Carolina fanwort. I will give it a good vacuum and hope it helps. Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomdweller_fan Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 The lights are on for 10 hours per day and the fish get fed every second or third day. It is a 25 gallon tank with a 20W fluorescent strip bulb. Until now I have changed the water 25% once a week and added a proportionate amount of fertilizer to replace any removed. As for fish I have 2 zebra danios, 1 Pictus catfish - which I'm sure is the reason for a danio going missing every couple weeks, 4 mollies, 2 red rainbow fish (Glossolepis incisus), and 1 blue ram.As for plants I have a couple Java ferns, some anubias nana, and a bunch of Carolina fanwort. I will give it a good vacuum and hope it helps. Joseph Sounds like you are doing everything right. Until you get rid of the green water I would suggest not adding any fertilizer. Java ferns and anubias nana are slow growers and won't take up the fertilizer too quickly - this could be part of the problem. What fertilizer do you use? They suggest turning the lights off for about 3 days but that won't work with plants in the tank. Try reducing the time the light is on over the next few days - 10 hours, then next day 9 hours, etc. until you are down to about 6 hours a day. Leave it like that for a couple of days and see if it makes a difference. Good luck and let me know how it goes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 The cheapest and easiest way to get rid of green water is a total blackout (cover the tank completely) for several days- don't worry, this won't hurt the plants. Doing water changes is usually ineffective and disturbing the substrate can contribute to the problem. Great info on causes/treatments for green water and other algae here. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 What kind of fertilizer are you using. Green water LOVES ammonia, and will exploit it fast when it's got enough light. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted January 24, 2008 Report Share Posted January 24, 2008 See if you can get daphnia it loves green water and will clear it up in a hurry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Elliott Posted January 25, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 I use "Tropica Aquacare Plant Nutrition liquid" that i bought from Henry's and use 10ml per 25 gallons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parachromis1 Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 easiest solution is ADD CARBON! it will clean it up real quick, then just remove it when your tank is cleaned up. blacking it out will also help. Quinn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JORG Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 Just get a cheap U V sterilizer (80.00) and you will never have green water again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 CO2 would help too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bottomdweller_fan Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 I use "Tropica Aquacare Plant Nutrition liquid" that i bought from Henry's and use 10ml per 25 gallons. The reason I asked about fertilizer is that it is feeding both your plants and the algae. For the next few water changes, don't add any fertilizer. The plants can handle not having the ferts - the fish will give them some of the nutrients they need. This should at least help "starve" the algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted January 25, 2008 Report Share Posted January 25, 2008 That's not necessarily true.... Plants will always win when food is plentifull. However, all food must be plentiful - if you're only feeding micronutrients, or not enough N, P, or K, then algae wins. My guess is that the ferts don't give all of what the plants need. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joseph Elliott Posted January 27, 2008 Author Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I'm going to try adding a carbon insert while I'm out of town for the next 4 days and if that doesn't work I'll try a complete blackout. Does the carbon simply remove all chemicals from the water including the ferts? How do i determine what my tank is lacking? Joseph Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted January 27, 2008 Report Share Posted January 27, 2008 I am not a user of test kits as a rule, but you can get a test kit for praticaly anything. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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