algie?

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mrphuck

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Oct 15, 2009
42
0
6
alaska
I have a 55 gallon cichlid dominant. I recently put an 90 gallon rated aqueon bio filter onto it. I do weekly water changes, I dont over feed and I have multiple bottom feeders. I cannot keep my aquarium from clouding up and turning bright green. I use this stuff called crystal clear. its a coagulant, but nothing seems to help. im wondering if my lighting is the problem. I have 35 watt cfls at 3,500 lumens each. is that too much?
 
Did you fully replace the previous filter? If so did you "season" this filter with some sort of media from an older filter? If not then you may have gone through a "mini cycle" meaning at the end you may have some extra algae.

Also is there any sunlight hitting the tank and how long are the lights running for?
 
never heard of seasoning. and yes i used to have two, one rated for a 20 gal and one rated for a 30 gal. no sunlight gets anywhere near the tank and the light exposure varies any where from 8 to 12 hours a day
 
mrphuck;3584063; said:
never heard of seasoning. and yes i used to have two, one rated for a 20 gal and one rated for a 30 gal. no sunlight gets anywhere near the tank and the light exposure varies any where from 8 to 12 hours a day

Did you happen to monitor Nitrite or Ammonia levels for a few days afters you swapped filters?

If you swap filters without seasoning (having beneficial bacteria built in it) you can trigger a "mini cycle". In the end cycling can lead to algae growth especially brown algae.

Check out this link to ID your algae

http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_freshwater_algae.php
 
mrphuck;3583759; said:
I have a 55 gallon cichlid dominant. I recently put an 90 gallon rated aqueon bio filter onto it. I do weekly water changes, I dont over feed and I have multiple bottom feeders. I cannot keep my aquarium from clouding up and turning bright green. I use this stuff called crystal clear. its a coagulant, but nothing seems to help. im wondering if my lighting is the problem. I have 35 watt cfls at 3,500 lumens each. is that too much?

have u tested ur water lately?

what fish u got in this 55 gallon?

how long has tank been set up for?

purigen solved my green water problems.... but u may have bigger problems..
 
well look at my signature for a stock description. ive had it setup for about 6 months. it may be larger than 55 gallons. ive never really tested my water for stuff ive always just winged it and it worked for me. the only thing that ever kills my fish is my fish. i have green water algie from that site and im going to black out. and today im buying a test kit thing. thanks for the link x2p
 
If that ain't the culprit you might be cleaning your tank too much and disturbing the little bit of bacteria you have in there.
Mine got really cloudy after the last few water changes and it was due to me cleaning the gravel too much.
 
yeah it could be but i think i dont clean it enough
sometimes i procrastinate and the last time i cleaned it it was cloudy green before and cloudy green immediately afterward
 
mrphuck;3585194; said:
well look at my signature for a stock description. ive had it setup for about 6 months. it may be larger than 55 gallons. ive never really tested my water for stuff ive always just winged it and it worked for me. the only thing that ever kills my fish is my fish. i have green water algie from that site and im going to black out. and today im buying a test kit thing. thanks for the link x2p


oh... '' 55 gallon-1 Tiger Oscar-1 Firemouth cichlid-1 common African-1 unknown cichlid(baby blue with black stripes resembles ram)-1 cobalt blue lobster-1 baby jack Dempsey-2 tinfoil barbs-2 common plecos-7 mature convict cichlids-??? baby convict cichlids ''

^that's too much for a 55.... IMO.... plus u said u have 1 filter rated for a 90 gallon? that's defiantly not enough for that bio load!


however, the green algae in the water could be resolved, by reducing the amount of light the tank gets. u could also try purigen, that's what i did for my 56 gallon. it worked great for me.. last resort would be to buy a UV sterilizer.

FYI, i have 2 filters, BOTH rated for 110 gallons and BOTH on my 56 gallon. i only have 2 6'' fish in it.. that get fed once a week.

a full grown Oscar needs at least a 75 gallon, and that's only if its kept by itself.. IMO... i would upgrade to at least 120 gallon and maybe think about getting a large canister filter...
 
Deaths Sting;3585671; said:
FYI, i have 2 filters, BOTH rated for 110 gallons and BOTH on my 56 gallon. i only have 2 6'' fish in it.. that get fed once a week.

that seems ridiculously excessive.
 
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