green water

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PeteJ

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Feb 19, 2006
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Cheshire, UK
hi, i've been moving out recently so my old tnak is with my mum and dad. it gets regular weekly water changes is lightly fed once a day and the lights at the moment are on at most fo 2 hours a day.
the tanks been running for about 2-3 years now and all of a sudden its gone green.. very odd! not much light getting to it same regime as ever. so while im away moving house i thought the best plan is leave the lights off (its in a spare room so its light in the daytime if the curtains are open but gets very dark around the evenings)

so i've been running it basically with no light bar what comes through the window (not much) and its really really green, what could be causing this? if the lights are virtually off all the time and not much light is hitting the tank what could it be?! its not been moved.. the lights used to be on from 9am till about 11pm and i've never had anything liek this before!!!
help!
 
You don't say what type of fish you got, or if your tanks have plants or not. There may still be too much nutrients inside your tank water, and even if you only left light on for two hours, still plenty of light for algae which is very adaptable to diff. water conditions as well as light intensities. I hope the algae that is in your water is not slimy because that means you have cyano bacteria which is not really algae, but a form of really primitive aquatic bacteria, and can make your water smell funny.

Try putting some water plants like water sprite, villsenerias, or even annubias and see if the water clears up, or up your filter power, water circulation, along with more carbon.

Good Luck.
 
a uv steralizer always works, but cost money. normally green water is caused by really high levels of nitrates and phosphates. are you using tap water? if so they generally add phosphate to prevent corrosion in your copper pipes. after the tank matures for a while the levels just keep building until this!! just what ive been told, so maybe do a 50% or so water change and test the nitrates again. if still high wait a day with no feeding and do another water change.
 
oscars and gt's are in the tank.
no plants as they only last about a week. :(

i do always use tap water and its never been a problem, but previously i did have some plants (at least tried) so perhaps its just too much phosphate/nitrate thats built up over a time. the algae isnt slimy its just like normal water just very very green.

shall have to pick up some plants/phos pad and keep up a few small water changes till it gets better
thanks guys i thought it probably would be a nitrate/phosphate problem just didnt expect it to build up from the tap water, spend so many hours a week telling customers that this is the problem i overlooked it myself!

*also i do like plants but my oscar digs them up or chews them to bits, whats a good way of stopping him doing that? anubias tied to rocks/logs?*
 
Just stop the direct sun hitting your tank and your problem will stop.
Black plastic backing on the tank side might work if you cant move the tank.
 
I thought you probably have big fish; as the other members said, try doing consistent water changes and try to cover the back of your tank, as your water probably have a lot of nitrates since oscars are pretty messy.
Plant wise, villesenrias probably are not going to work for your tank. In my tank besides the villesenerias, i have the philodedons that you see for sale in garden centers the vine like plants with the big leaves; just take a long stem, and put it in the water, and pretty soon, roots will grow out from the stems, and if your fish leave it alone, the roots will get larger and larger, which will help to take up excess nutrients. Just make sure most of the leaves and stems are out of the water. I also have annubias that are planted in small flower pots with the clay substrate for aquatic plants, and they have really taken off there.

Hope it helps.
 
my 180 had the worst green water i have seen in anyone's tank back in february. tried every fix under the sun for weeks, and nothing worked. added a 36 watt coralife uv sterilizer and the water was crystal clear in 5 days or less.
 
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