Persistent disappointment

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Redbellypiranha said:
The drift wood is the cause of the problem. soak the drift wood in a big enough container for atleast a week. and that will slove it!
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Not the case. Driftwood leaches tannins (an acid) and the OP's water is green as in an algae bloom.

AirborneAquatic UV will make all the difference in the world but do not rush out and get one. If your tank is not cycled you absolutly do not want to use a UV. UV will kill off the algae cells that are free floating in your water column (the reason it's green). It will also kill off any free floating bacteria in the water column including the bacteria you need to cycle your tank. Once it's cycled and the bacterial colony has established on surface areas in the filters etc.. you good to go running UV. If you truely have no nitrate readings you are not cycled. Algae blooms are very common when cycling a new tank. You have direct sunlight on your tank so lights off will not help much.
 
The Ammonia level is .25. How long should it take to cycle? The tank is about 4 months old now.
 
AirborneAquatic said:
The Ammonia level is .25. How long should it take to cycle? The tank is about 4 months old now.
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Well it should be done/close to it at 4 weeks but the lower the pH, the longer it can take to fully cycle. What is your nitrite reading? If you are all zeros but ammonia you are at the beginning phase of the cycle. If you can explain your stock, feeding and water change schedule we can help give you a better idea/advice on next steps. I would not worry about the alae bloom at all, it will likely go away on it's own once the tank cycles. If you still have problems after that from the direct sunlight then invest in a UV. I would advise against getting a UV since you will be treating a symptom, not the cause (algae bloom = indicator of another problem, your cycle being the problem itself). Using a UV can mask the problem and cost you fish during the cycling process. The easiest answer for an algae bloom is UV but in most cases there is an underlying reason people need to address more than aglae. Algae never hurts fish but the causes of it often times do.

Sorry for the crappy cell pic but this is my 120 gallon directly in front of a window. It has a window on each side as well (dining room) and I do not have green water at all nor do I use UV.

IMG-20110808-00338.jpg

IMG-20110808-00338.jpg
 
JK47 said:
Well it should be done/close to it at 4 weeks but the lower the pH, the longer it can take to fully cycle. What is your nitrite reading? If you are all zeros but ammonia you are at the beginning phase of the cycle. If you can explain your stock, feeding and water change schedule we can help give you a better idea/advice on next steps. I would not worry about the alae bloom at all, it will likely go away on it's own once the tank cycles. If you still have problems after that from the direct sunlight then invest in a UV. I would advise against getting a UV since you will be treating a symptom, not the cause (algae bloom = indicator of another problem, your cycle being the problem itself). Using a UV can mask the problem and cost you fish during the cycling process. The easiest answer for an algae bloom is UV but in most cases there is an underlying reason people need to address more than aglae. Algae never hurts fish but the causes of it often times do.

Sorry for the crappy cell pic but this is my 120 gallon directly in front of a window. It has a window on each side as well (dining room) and I do not have green water at all nor do I use UV.
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All the water parameters are in the first post. I've got a Rope Fish, a Sailfin Pleco, a Featherfin Synodontis, a Bala Shark, a Senegal Bichir, and a Leopard Ctenopoma. I hope that helps. I'm not trying to get the "quick fix" because that's really not me, but at the same time, I'm having serious OCD problems lol

P.S. Love the tank, where did you get the background?
 
AirborneAquatic said:
All the water parameters are in the first post. I've got a Rope Fish, a Sailfin Pleco, a Featherfin Synodontis, a Bala Shark, a Senegal Bichir, and a Leopard Ctenopoma. I hope that helps. I'm not trying to get the "quick fix" because that's really not me, but at the same time, I'm having serious OCD problems lol

P.S. Love the tank, where did you get the background?
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Your talking to a guy who is severely OCD so I completely understand. I've got to dip out and grab dinner but will post again shortly, the BG's came from www.designsbynature.net
 
So other than a uv sterilizer is there nothing else that can help me? Would putting carbon in the filter help?
 
AirborneAquatic said:
So other than a uv sterilizer is there nothing else that can help me? Would putting carbon in the filter help?
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Water changes and letting you tank cycle are about it. Anything you add that removes the color will only keep coming back until your fully cycled.
 
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