Green water problem

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
MrHarris said:
my lighting is strong for what kind of plants i got in there. but if i buy an UV light, the algae will go away completely? even though my lighting is super strong and i got no co2 injection?
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from my understanding... yes it will take the algae out of your tank with the right wattage and right flow of water. :) i think even if you don't have co2 your plants will still be fine since you have strong lights it will do it's photosythesis process in producing o2 and since your fish excrete co2 it will just be a cycle what benefits both your fish and plants.:) and best of all you can turn your lights on for 8hours or 12hours with no problem and enjoying what you have put into it.:)


here's a website...

http://www.aquaultraviolet.com/uv.php?id=0&category=Classic
 
UV is a sterilizer. When the water passes through this light, it kills all the bacteria without discrimination, even good bacteria that is beneficial to the system. The problem you have is that you have the bacteria that creates the algae bloom. Is the placement of the tank near a window? Anubias and Java fern require very little light.. What kind of filtration are you using? What kind of fish do you keep? Do you have any algae eaters? 30% water change every 3 days might help, but I would do a 50% water change, once a week, just until the green goes away. But before you do, I need to know what kind of fish you keep, and do you have a heater? Last question, do you know what kind of algae you have growing?
 
I had this problem, and got some salvinia to float up top. It reproduces fast enough to cover the whole top of a large tank in two weeks or so, and it sucks up nitrates and starves algae, plus dimming the light in the tank to a level where algae may not be so much of a problem.
 
MrHarris said:
my green water problem won't go away. [...] If I keep doing 30% water changes every 3 days, will this help get rid of the problem?
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Howdy,

What are your water parameters (especially nitrate, phosphate)? And what's the nitrate level of your tap water?

HarleyK
 
I use the Coralife turbotwist 3x on my tank, some would say it is not enough for a 130 gallon tank but I run it 24/7 and I have VERY clear water now; my fish are happy & my plants are thriving. cost is about $75 (<>)
 
i got a 120 gallon tank. 2 emperor 400's with my clown knife and my florida gars (see sig). my nitrates are really high, i'm going to do 30% water change every 3 days. i just did a 30% water change and it helped clear the water a bit. i don't have a phosphate tester. uv sterlizer is safe for my tank and won't mess up the good bacteria colonization will it?
 
BAH UV lighting is just a waste of money, yes it will work my friend but it does a LOT of harm as well. You can go and pick up some barley straw and put it into a mesh bag, place in your filter. As the straw breaks down it will distroy the algae blooms naturally. Save some money and pick up the straw.
 
MrHarris said:
i got a 120 gallon tank. 2 emperor 400's with my clown knife and my florida gars (see sig). my nitrates are really high, i'm going to do 30% water change every 3 days. i just did a 30% water change and it helped clear the water a bit. i don't have a phosphate tester. uv sterlizer is safe for my tank and won't mess up the good bacteria colonization will it?
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UV Sterilizer is called "sterilizer" for a reason. It sterilizes. Definition of "sterilize" is to make free of bacteria or micro-organism. So you wont have any bacteria or organism. The UV sterilzer "kills" all types of bacteria, that creates algae, and the bacteria that breaksdown ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate. Some say the placement of the UV light after the filtration works, or only turn it on, a couple of days.

Here is the link about the barley straw remedy on algae bloom.

http://ohioline.osu.edu/a-fact/0012.html
 
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