Persistant green water

[nailartjess]

I have a 6foot aqua one tank which is home to 3 oscars, 1 redhead and a few bristlenoses. It has a 2000l/ph power head and up until 10 days ago it also had an Otto p1200 internal filter which filtered 1200l/ph. It seems that since that filter died due to a power outage I am continously getting green murly water and the pH keeps dropping to 6. I am having to do water changes atleast every 2-3 days to clear the water which it doesn't even really help. Until the everything was fine, the water was clear and the pH was healthy.

would it be because of the death of that second filter? I am looking at getting an undegravel filter to replace the one that died. Does anyone have an undergravel filter and can tell me if they are worth getting? I will connect it up with a second power head.

Thanx for any help

Jess

 

[Hernandezj11]

Is it in direct sun light? Is your lights on 24/7? If so cut down on that. I always thought that the green water came from the alge in it. When I had a problem with green water in my 30g I got a hot magnum and inserted the carbon filter and it cleaned it right up. I also know lfs have products that clear that up but I have no exp. with it. Good Luck!

 

[nailartjess]

It doesnt't sit in direct sunlight and the lights are on approx 8-10hours a day. I have got no algae in the tank at all.It is driving me crazy, I have 10 tanks all up and this is the first time such a problem has hit me.

 

[velanarris]

Green water is algae. You need to give the tank some quality time with no lights, preferably covered, and a big water change before and after.

Typically green water is due to high nitrates, and that could be due to your tap water. As for the other filter dying, if your circulation was very high before, reducing the circulation can allow green water to take hold due to less mechanical filtration.

 

[nailartjess]

Thanx Vel for ur advice. Will be leaving the lights off for a few days and might cover it also. Heading out tomorrow to get a replacement filter also. Whether it be a new internal Otto or another powerhead that I will hook up into my filter boxes I am unsure as yet. Suggestions? The power head I would think would be the smarter choice?

 

[Mr. Grumpy Gills]

undergravel filters are nice if they are filtered right. id use a canaster filter with alot of mechanical filtration. a lot of stuff settles to the bottom and the mechanial filtration will help significantly. the undergravel filter will keep your good bacteria in the substrate healthy too.

 

[Bee0912]

I got the $30 UV from petsmart and it is very week water movement and i have low expectations but with in 3 days my 180 was crystal clear after being green for about a month!

 

[velanarris]

The petsmart cheapie works well, however, if you want really nice results you can go with a sponge filter, or rather, a powerhead with a foam prefilter.

Since you're looking into powerheads anyway, see if you see one with a pre-filter attached. You'll never get cleaner water. Even purigen doesn't do much better than a well maintained sponge filter.

 

[ScoobyRacing03]

I got the $30 UV from petsmart and it is very week water movement and i have low expectations but with in 3 days my 180 was crystal clear after being green for about a month!

I picked one of them up too for my 75 gallon, I was shocked as to how little the water movement is with it, you can hardly tell there is water flowing through it, but it does seem to be helping clear up my tank.