what is wrong with my tank if the water gets a green cloudy color to it. i thought maybe it was underfiltration so i went out and got an aquaclear 300 and the original whisper power filter 30 is on it. the filtration is filtering 445gph so i should have no water quality problems. inhabitants of the tank are 7 african cichlids and a polypterus senegalus. its a 29 gallon.
green cloudiness
- Thread starter catfish
- Start date
Green means algae, shield the tank from direct sun and add plants like java fern, java moss, or elodea to compete for the nutrients.
Green water is a sign of suspended algae. Is your tank receiving direct sunlight? How many hours are your lights on for? It's only reccomended to have your lights on for 8-10 hours. You may be over feeding. Over feeding combined with excess light can certainly cause an algae bloom. You could always try a phosphate remover. Phosphates are a primary building block of algae, so if you remove the phosphates, theoretically you should be able to improve this. However, this will not address the underlying cause of the initial bloom. being that algae is an unblossoming plant, light and/or excess nutrients are probably the cause.
I agree with all - Algal bloom, easy to fix. In addition to the other treatments offered, just start turning your lights off early by a couple hours for a while. Should clear up soon. And scrub the walls of your tank daily for a few. Have fun! LOL
--EMI
--EMI
Reduce the lighting, you don't need it on for that long (though I know we all enjoy seeing our buddies as long as possible each day). And add a curtain to that window -- that's a lot easier than moving the tank. Just scrub the walls down really good each day, do water changes, and if you want, add some more plants like guppie said, or a UV. It's easy to correct though, so you should be fine.
--EMI
--EMI