dirty green water

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Fishbert

Gambusia
MFK Member
Jun 10, 2011
197
1
16
New York
hello, i have a problem. i have a few piranhas in a 150 gallon tank, they're still only about 3 inches a piece, and i cannot seem to get clean water. theres a cloudy green tinge to the water so bad sometimes i cant see the back of the tank. i mentioned it to a couple guys i work with and they said it was because of the diet i keep them on.i figured id ask again here and in the general forum because mechanics giving fish advise seemed a little out of place. they eat store bought fish, cut up and frozen, i don't remember what kind exactly, but i'm running low so will have to go out and get some more in a couple days, iirc it was the cheapest stuff they had.

anyway, i haven't tested my water in a few days but at last test everything was fine and im running a fluval fx5. water changes help, but by the next day it looks like i haven't done anything. theres some rocks, new pool filter sand, plants, and a plastic tree looking thing from petsmart. the plastic decoration does have some algae on it from a previous set up and its hollow as well.

Im thinking thats just full of algae and leeching it into the water maybe? theres no real wood, tea leaves, black water anything in the tank and i thought the fx5 would take care of my problem.

any ideas?
 
Howdy,

First of all, the diet is just fine. Make sure to remove leftovers, that's all.

How long has the tank been set up, what are your water change intervals, and most importantly, please measure and post nitrate, phosphate, but also nitrite, ammonia levels and PH.

Looking forward to helping you,
HarleyK

Sent from my ADR6300 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
Please also test your tap water !!!




Sent from my ADR6300 using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
 
right, i ran out of test strips so i've been bumming them off of my brother in law who is now away at school so ill have to go replenish my stock. measurements to come sooner than later!
 
algae bloom, you probably have the tank close to a window no? Not harmful for the fish IIRC, in fact they probably enjoy the extra cover. If you dislike the look, a UV sterilizer ran once a month would decimate that algae.
 
yea my parameters are all out of whack but its definitely an algae bloom, dosing with some chemicals now with the lights off and a nice tank wrap going on. should be clear soon enough, thanks everyone!
 
Howdy,

Sounds like you're treating the symptoms, but you should also look into the cause. We'd be able to give you some pointers if you shared filtration specs, water change, cleaning regimens.
:)
HarleyK

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New pool filter sand? Did you recently add this and what about the fx5, I see you mentioned it as though it might be new aswell?

I had terrible algae when using pool filter sand, not saying that is the cause but IMO it cant help.

Def an algae bloom but why? As Harley stated having more info is needed to determine the source of the problem and not just trying for a quick fix. So what chems have you added? Usually just a blackout is enough to clear things up.

As a precaution I would remove the algae covered orniment and boil it or thooughly clean it and dont put it back until the tank is stable
 
arrow said:
New pool filter sand? Did you recently add this and what about the fx5, I see you mentioned it as though it might be new aswell?

I had terrible algae when using pool filter sand, not saying that is the cause but IMO it cant help.

Def an algae bloom but why? As Harley stated having more info is needed to determine the source of the problem and not just trying for a quick fix. So what chems have you added? Usually just a blackout is enough to clear things up.

As a precaution I would remove the algae covered orniment and boil it or thooughly clean it and dont put it back until the tank is stable
Click to expand...

+1

I think its the pool filter imo, you shouldn't be having that problem the next day after a water change
 
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