# Help! chronic green water disease!



## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I have a 75 gallon Mbuna tank with about 18 fish total. It has been established for about a year now, and for the past month or so it has been horribly cloudy. It is green, so I'm fairly sure its algae. This all started when all the sudden I noticed fish dieing and checked my PH, it was well below what it was supposed to be. the test tube was basically yellow, although my tap comes out about 7.8. This somehow also affected the algae, because it is no longer growing on the rocks or glass but simply floats around the water column.

I haven't added any new decorations, filters, media, fish or substrate. I've tried multiple LARGE water changes with only temporary success. I've also resulted to chemicals (algaefix) that has always worked wonders at half dose, but is now having almost no affect. I've even had the lights off all day for the last 2 weeks and there is no direct sunlight on the tank.

Any suggestions or ideas of how this is even happening??


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

It comes down to light and nutrients. But, regarding your pH, in any aquarium there are buffers of pH, also called carbonate hardness or KH, that get 'consumed' and once they drop to 0, so does the pH. As the fish grow and the fish load gets heavier, the usual maintenance and water changes may not be enough to keep these buffers up enough to stabilize pH. You should be monitoring not only pH, but KH as well. Check both your tap and tank. If your tap KH is low, say <5, then you should probably be adding sodium bicarbonate (baking soda) during water changes to boost it up. Then pH will rise a bit also, but more importantly, it'll stabilize.

The green algae probably also indicates an over abundance of organic matter in the system somewhere. Organic matter consumes buffers also. This all kind of fits.

I'd take an approach that tries to resolve this over time, not a quick fix.

--Vacuum out and remove every bit of organics that you can find.

--Also clean the mechanical filter media, but not the biomedia, leave that alone.

--Cut way back on the feeding to once lightly each day.

--Also just cut back on the lighting, you don't have to keep them off completely.

Accept the green water for now, as it won't hurt your fish. Try to get the organics out of the system while boosting your buffers, if needed.

Another note, if pH drops low enough, it inhibits the nitrifying bacteria. Meaning ammonia is no longer converted. It doesn't harm the fish because it get's 'bound' into a non-toxic form. But, as you resolve this and raise pH, it frees the ammonia into a toxic form. But, the good news is that the nitrifying bacteria will start to work again. So, just want you to be aware that there could be lots of chemical changes going on as you resolve this and it may not be a bad idea to test for ammonia and nitrite also.

But anyway, be sure to test your pH and KH of both tap and tank and post back results. Then maybe we can help come up with a plan suited to your situation.


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I think Tim has pinned the problem correctly. The way all this fits together is really simple but totally confusing until one does some study on how they all fit together. My first thought was that there might be a fish stuck somewhere, suddenly messing your tank up with his ammonia. Then I noted that you are in an area that has pretty soft water that doesn't have much natural buffering built in. This is a situation that demonstrates the need for testing. Even after the tank is up and running and looks okay, things can begin to slip just slowly until there is a real problem leaving us wondering how come.

I like test strips for ease and testing once a week as well as keeping a record of the readings so that if things begin to slip slowly the record will show it.

For some good reading on how the water qualities fit together, I like this site: 
http://www.freshwater-aquarium-fish.com/water_chemistry.htm

Like Tim recommends, go slow and ease it back into the proper mode. Sudden changes can be much worse for the fish than things that are off a bit but they are used to them.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Wow thanks so much for the loads of information. This sounds like it could be the problem since the ph still drops slowly after water changes, and it didn't happen until the fish were almost adult size which makes since about the increased bioload. The only thing I don't understand is how the algae managed to strive so abundantly with no direct light for two weeks? Anyways I will by a kh test kit tomorrow and report back. Thanks guys!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> The only thing I don't understand is how the algae managed to strive so abundantly with no direct light for two weeks?


Hardy stuff, isn't it?  I don't fight it, I get nerite snails.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Ok so I got the test kit and it looks like you were right. KH was very low. practically zero. My tap also read 0. PH of my tap was about 7.2 and a little lower in my tank. However ammonia and nitrites are at 0 and nitrates were <20 (probably because I did about a 75% WC about a week ago) so that kinda rules out the over-abundant nutrients theory.

So where should I go from here? on your last post you mentioned adding baking soda with water changes, how much and how do I go about doing that?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> so that kinda rules out the over-abundant nutrients theory.


It doesn't rule that out at all. Your nitrates are down due to the large water change. It might have been 80-100 before the change. Look for organic solids in the system, meaning filter, gravel, etc. and remove them. I'd typically like to see the setup. Can you post a pic? What filters are you using, what type of media, and what's been the cleaning schedule? Details will be helpful.

Then slowly start to raise the KH by adding sodium bicarbonate. Monitor ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH.

I'd take one tablespoon of baking soda and mix it well in a jar or container, then add it to the tank slowly near the filter outflow. Check levels after about 20-30 to see what effect it's had. We can adjust from there.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

You're right the nitrates could of easily been much higher than that before the large water change. I will do some major cleaning soon to remove any waste.

You can see most of the information about my tank on my tank profile but for your specific questions:

1. for filtering I have a fluval 404 and an emperor 280. In the fluval I have two layers of pillow floss followed by pads taken from a HOB filter as biological filtration. The emperor has a basket of filter floss followed by the bio-wheel.

2. As for the cleaning schedule I have been doing 20-30% WC's within 2 weeks of each other since I started the tank. I clean/change the filter media (not the bio media) probably once every 2 months. I also have taken out most of the rockwork to remove holding females a few times in the last several months, and removed most of the solid waste during those times.

I will add some baking soda tomorrow, but how critical is the condition of it? We have an old box that has been sitting in our refrigerator for months, should I buy a new box for this?

Below is a pic I took a few minutes ago. It is a pretty accurate representation of how the tank has looked the last couple weeks.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I also have taken out most of the rockwork to remove holding females a few times in the last several months, and removed most of the solid waste during those times.


That's a good thing, but there is probably a lot of organics buried in the sand. If it were me, first thing I'd do is siphon out all the sand. First remove the rocks, of course. Siphoning out the sand is really a lot easier than it sounds. I do it occasionally on several tanks. Just use a length of hose and a 5 gallon bucket. It vacuums out quickly. Pour off the water, then rinse the sand like you did when you first set up the tank. Dump the sand into a storage container or another 5 gallon bucket and then siphon out another bucket. Should only take 2-3 buckets. Rinse and replace, but only put about 1/2" of sand back in there. Then you know you've gotten all of the organic solids out of the tank.



> I clean/change the filter media (not the bio media) probably once every 2 months.


Rinse mechanical filter pads on all filters. Then you know you've gotten all of the organic solids out of the filters.

Don't feed for the next couple days. Then start feeding lightly once per day.

Limit lighting to about 6 hours per day for now. I wouldn't cut it off completely because we want to see if it'll clear even though we're supplying it light. We want to see that we've starved it of nutrients.



> 20-30% WC's within 2 weeks of each other since I started the tank.


When you get this cleared up and get back on a regular schedule, I'd bump that up to weekly and go for more like 40%. Or at least make sure it's 30%, not 20%.

The age of the baking soda doesn't matter.

And don't forget to test for ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, pH and KH at least once daily.

I'm not sure why the algae bloom occurs in some tanks over others, as I know there are tanks that get a large buildup of nutrients that never see algae blooms. But, it just comes down to all things being ideal for it to bloom in your system. We have to try to take away something that it's really liking.

Keep us posted as I'm real interested in seeing this cleared up and straightened away also.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I did some reading and came up with a couple of other suggestions. Try adding something like the poly filter pads designed to remove, among other things, iron which the algae feeds on.

Also, what type of light bulb are you using? Meaning, what's the K rating, etc? What type of bulb and what's printed on the bulb? If it hasn't been changed out, then it most certainly is no longer giving off light the same as it did new, and it might be a good idea to replace it. It may now be giving off light in a spectrum favorable to the algae.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Just added 1 tbsp about 45 minutes ago and success! KH is back on the chart. About 40 ppm, Which I'm guessing is still a little low. 
I forgot to mention my lights. I have a 48" dual florescent fixture with one 6500k and one actinic. They were both purchased during the summer of last year so I don't think they are too old. The actinic still has a good color to it.

What are your suggestions on continuing to add baking soda? What is the KH ppm I should be shooting for?

Thanks again all your information and suggestions are very helpful!


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> The actinic still has a good color to it.


Remove the actinic for now.



> They were both purchased during the summer of last year so I don't think they are too old.


You can get a 6500K at Lowe's for a few dollars. I'd change it out. Fluorescents should be changed out every 6-12 months.



> What are your suggestions on continuing to add baking soda? What is the KH ppm I should be shooting for?


You need to make changes very slowly and very gradually. Don't add any more right now. What is the pH reading now?

Test for ammonia and nitrite at least every 24 hours. This is incredibly important. All the tests mentioned in above posts are very important. Start a log of all 5 tests. It can be very helpful.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I removed the actinic this morning. Lowe's is where I got the 6500K bulb. Its a standard GE daylight bulb so I wouldn't feel bad about replacing that.

The PH has risen since I added the baking soda. It was at about 7.6 this morning. Everything else looked pretty good:

Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
KH: about 40

I also have a test for GH. Is this important at this time?


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## BoilerFan (Jun 20, 2010)

I know you said the old baking soda helped, but I would have at least minor concerns using baking soda that had been in the refrigerator absorbing fould odors for a year. I'd accept that as a test to see if it works and then buy a brand new box in order to maintain your levels.


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## BillD (May 17, 2005)

Flourescents don't need to be changed every 6 to 12 months unless you are relying on them to grow plants. Even then, although there will be drop off in intensity and possibly a colour shift, you can sometimes still grow plants. I have some Philips Ultra Vision 5000K tubes that were given to after 6 months of use in an newspaper office, and are still growing plants like crazy almost 2 years later. On tanks with no plants you can run them until they die.
As far as this problem goes, fine polishing pads should remove most of it.


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## Cyclesafety (Feb 8, 2010)

Notwithstanding all of the excellent cultural practices mentioned above, if you get impatient to fix the symptom you can use Clarity by Seachem. This, along with mechanical filtration will clear up your tank pronto and not affect your fish. Follow label directions!


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> I would have at least minor concerns using baking soda that had been in the refrigerator absorbing fould odors for a year.


I agree I was a little concerned with this. I will be picking up a new box anyways so I can keep the old one in the fridge.



> As far as this problem goes, fine polishing pads should remove most of it.


If you look on the previous post, I have two layers (about 6 inches) of pillow filler in my fluval and a basket of pillow filler in my emperor. The algae is just too abundant and reproduces too quickly to be removed mechanically.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> Notwithstanding all of the excellent cultural practices mentioned above, if you get impatient to fix the symptom you can use Clarity by Seachem. This, along with mechanical filtration will clear up your tank pronto and not affect your fish. Follow label directions!


I have resulted to clarity aids or algae removers in the past but I would just rather fix the core problems now.


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## Cyclesafety (Feb 8, 2010)

bmweiler09 said:


> > Notwithstanding all of the excellent cultural practices mentioned above, if you get impatient to fix the symptom you can use Clarity by Seachem. This, along with mechanical filtration will clear up your tank pronto and not affect your fish. Follow label directions!
> 
> 
> I have resulted to clarity aids or algae removers in the past but I would just rather fix the core problems now.


Sure. My point is only that you can fix the _symptoms_ now. You should still address the underlying problem. Kind of like taking a decongestant to keep your nose from running.

Clarity is a flocculating agent, not an algacide. It binds the suspended algae into clumps that can be more easily filtered.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> I have resulted to clarity aids or algae removers in the past but I would just rather fix the core problems now.


Absolutely. Don't just put a bandaid on it by adding additives. :thumb: There's no need to mask the symptoms as this is not harmful to fish. It's visually unappealing, but when resolving an issue, you just have to get past that.



> Flourescents don't need to be changed every 6 to 12 months unless you are relying on them to grow plants.


Ok, *need *is strong, maybe, but if you want the tank to display the same as when you added the lights, then you do certainly shoudl change out bulbs every 6-12 months. And yes you can run them until they die, but the light intensity and spectrum may change, algae can change, and then trigger a problem like he's having. That's why for $3.50, I suggested he change them. We're trying to resolve a specific problem with a specifc tank and it's a cheap thing to do.



> fine polishing pads should remove most of it.


Using polishing pads is another bandaid that doesn't deal with the source problem. He could also add a UV sterilizer, but I didn't suggest it because of a) cost, and b) it doesn't deal with the source problem.

Sorry, but just disagree with a lot of these posts. You're only masking symptoms that don't need to be masked. Avoid 'additivitis', which is grabbing a problem of something or other from Seachem or whoever every time there's a problem to be solved. And this is just my way. The OP is certainly free to consider it all, and choose a course of action.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I agree with prov on this issue.

I appreciate everyone's suggestions but I've just dealt with this too long and its time to fix the problem for good, or at least know how to. The reason I don't want to add additives or remove it mechanically is because I want to be sure I won't have this problem again.

Prov356, for whatever reason my light fixture won't run with just one bulb in it. two 6500k's sound good? I believe last time I was at lowes they also had like a 5000k and an "aquarium" bulb which probably has a much higher K rating. They were all similar in price.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Odd, but if that's the case, I'd just put the actinic back in for now rather than increase the daylight lighting. I was kind of second guessing myself on that one anyway and wondering if we shouldn't just leave the lighting alone.

From all the reading I've done, this is the right path, although not necessarily the quickest one. It could take a week or two. The latest bits of info that I offered you I got from Diana Walstad's 'Ecology of the Planted Aquarium'. She is an expert with planted tanks, and algae, etc, so I'd trust her recommendations. It's all about light and nutrients. One thing she recommends that I didn't mention was covering the outside part of the tank where the sand shows through the glass because the light that gets through to the organics in the sand encourages algae growth. I didn't mention it because if you take the sand level down to below the trim, it'll accomplish the same thing.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Update:

I did a lot of major cleaning last night. I replaced all the mechanical filtration pads in my filters and cleaned the filters thoroughly. I also removed all the rocks and vacuumed all the sand. I did not have time to remove all the sand and rinse it as mentioned above, but I feel pretty confident I removed most of the organic mater in the substrate. I also replaced about 70% of the water.

I have been keeping track of my levels yesterday and today, and here's how they look so far.










From the PM test of 1/09/11 until now is after the large cleaning. As you can see Im finding small traces of ammonia, is this due to all the stirring up I did?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Yes, the stirrings or the filter cleanings. It's low, but keep an eye on it. Let things be for now and let's see if we get any changes.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

The ammonia dropped back to 0 tonight. Also, the KH is very low again, probably due to the large water change, should I add more baking soda? the PH is still maintaining 7.2. Nitrites are at 0 and nitrates are at 10.

I also have another question relating to water chemistry. could my low PH and KH be partly responsible for unsuccessful holdings? From about June to about October I had a female dem or estherae holding on probably 10 separate occasions, and none were successful. I tried leaving the female in the main tank, I tried removing her to a spare tank immediately and a few days later, and still ended up 0 for 10.

I understand the first few times have a low success rate, but a couple of the females have held 4 or 5 times and are still empty-mouthed within a week. What do you guys think?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Also, the KH is very low again, probably due to the large water change, should I add more baking soda?


Yes, add baking soday with each water change to keep KH up. Don't worry about the pH value right now. You can add a tablespoon of baking soda again. If ammonia and nitrite stay at 0 and nitrate continues to rise, those are very good signs.

We haven't talked about or looked at GH yet, but why don't you go ahead and measure that as well, both tap and tank. GH is total hardness. I know it's known to inhibit egg hatching in some species if it's too low (softwater fish, not yours), so mabe it can do the same for hardwater fish if it's too low. Just speculating.

Also, hold off on the water changes for now.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

The GH in my tank is about 75. Also, after adding another tbsp of baking soda last night the KH is still around 20 on todays test. Should I add more?


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Also, after adding another tbsp of baking soda last night the KH is still around 20 on todays test. Should I add more?


I would as you don't want your pH to crash. What type of test are you using? To be safe, I'd go for a KH of about 80 or so. But, make changes gradually and keep an eye on ammonia and nitrite.

Test GH of your tap also, but keep those values in the back of your mind for now. KH, pH, ammonia and nitrite are the biggies to deal with first. pH only in that if it gets too low, the bacteria could be inhibited. KH keeps that from happening.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I'm using a 5 in 1 strip test. Probably not the most accurate, but it gives me a good idea where I'm at. So I'll add another tbsp of baking soda tonight and see what effect it has, and maybe add more this weekend if I need to. Also the GH of my tap is also 75.

Ammonia and Nitrites are still at zero, and nitrates remain around 10. with these conditions and only 6 hours of light a day, the algae _has_ to start thinning soon! :wink:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

Sounds good. The good sources that I've read have all said it can take a week or two.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Ok, I'll be sure to keep this thread updated. Thanks again :thumb:


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

bmweiler09 said:


> Ok, I'll be sure to keep this thread updated. Thanks again :thumb:


You're welcome and please do, as it's a good learning experience for all of us and helps when the final outcome and anything you've learned is posted.


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## jason081180 (May 5, 2007)

In my 75Gl tank I have crushed coral as a substrate. If the KH ever drops the crushed coral will dissolve a little so it always keeps it good. My PH is always at 8 because of this. Maybe you could change your substrate to this or something similar and you wouldn't have to worry about your KH or PH. Of course you would still test it. I agree with everything prov356 has said. How are things going after the major cleaning?


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

The baking soda is doing a good job maintaining the kh and ph levels, and it's relatively cheap and easy. It's been a week since I did the major cleaning, and the algae hasn't budged. I've been feeding very lightly so my nitrates have barely risen since the WC. I also went to my lps today to get my tank and tap tested for phosphate, and there was none found. They claimed that sunlight was the problem even when I told them it wasn't getting any directly.

Should I just be waiting it out right now or trying something else? Should I try a clarity agent to remove what's currently in the tank, then see if it still comes back again with the better water conditions?


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## jason081180 (May 5, 2007)

You could try some sort of clarity agent to remove what's currently in the tank but i don't like adding chemicals to deal with problems. but if you do and it comes back then you know you haven't found the real problem yet. If you do I would clean your filters everyday or so because once the algae does die and get trapped in the filter it will start to decay and release the nutrients back into the water for more algae to grow. I think I would just wait for a bit and see what happens. what are your levels at now? KH PH ammonia and others?


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Just tested;

PH - 7.6
KH - >80
ammonia - 0
Nitrites - 0 
Nitrates - 10

Good call on cleaning the filters, I'll start to do that when I notice the algae level reducing. I just don't see what the algae is feeding off of, unless my test kit is a POS.


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## jason081180 (May 5, 2007)

Liquid test kits are the best. The kind where you have test tubes. I use Api Freshwater Master Kit. 
http://www.petsolutions.com/storefr...aster-kit/prodAPIFreshwaterMasterTestKit.html


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Did you remove the actinic?


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Yeah I think I need to pick up a better kit soon. The actinic is still in the fixture, as advised on this thread.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> Should I just be waiting it out right now or trying something else? Should I try a clarity agent to remove what's currently in the tank, then see if it still comes back again with the better water conditions?


It can take up to two weeks. Give it more time. It's not harming the fish. If you add the flocculant and it goes away, then comes back, you'll just be chasing your tail, still not knowing the cause. Removing what's there doesn't improve or change water conditions other than make it more clear.

If it doesn't improve after two weeks, then I'd really suggest vacuuming out that sand, and I mean removing it. I know you feel you got most of the organics, but it could very well still be harboring what's feeding the algae. If it were my tank, I'd have vacuumed all of it out, rinsed it out, then only put a little back. I know with my own tanks that it can make a world of a difference on the organic load in a tank.


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## jason081180 (May 5, 2007)

prov356 said:


> > Should I just be waiting it out right now or trying something else? Should I try a clarity agent to remove what's currently in the tank, then see if it still comes back again with the better water conditions?
> 
> 
> It can take up to two weeks. Give it more time. It's not harming the fish. If you add the flocculant and it goes away, then comes back, you'll just be chasing your tail, still not knowing the cause. Removing what's there doesn't improve or change water conditions other than make it more clear.
> ...


Agreed.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

prov356 said:


> > Should I just be waiting it out right now or trying something else? Should I try a clarity agent to remove what's currently in the tank, then see if it still comes back again with the better water conditions?
> 
> 
> It can take up to two weeks. Give it more time. It's not harming the fish. If you add the flocculant and it goes away, then comes back, you'll just be chasing your tail, still not knowing the cause. Removing what's there doesn't improve or change water conditions other than make it more clear.
> ...


I know that would of been a good idea, but the numbers don't lie. Nitrates have been at 10 for a solid week. I'm starting to wonder if the actinic needs to be changed or removed because I'm just not seeing an excess of nutrients based on my testing.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

I run actinics on most of my tanks and don't have green water. I'd be hesistant to blame that. I think they get over-blamed for algae problems for some reason. You might remove it and then after a day or two the bloom goes away, and then the actinic will be assumed to be the reason. But, it's up to you how you want to proceed. Sounds like you want to go in a different direction than what I'm suggesting, so I'll stop bugging you. Let us know how it goes, but be careful about jumpting to conclusions not fully or fairly tested out.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I'm not trying to jump to conclusions, I'm just running out of ideas. I'm sorry if it seems I want to go a different direction I'm just getting frustrated. Is the nitrates staying low because the algae is consuming it? It just seems like you don't agree that excess nitrates are no longer a problem.


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## prov356 (Sep 20, 2006)

> It just seems like you don't agree that excess nitrates are no longer a problem.


I never said excess nitrates were the cause. There's something specific in your tank, some condition, or nutrient that the algae likes. It may be in the sand or the sand itself That's why I suggested removing it. It may end up to be something we don't typically measure or test for. I mentioned that excess iron could be feeding it and suggested poly filter pads to remove it. You haven't mentioned trying them, so I'l l assume you haven't. I understand your frustration, but just seems we're not on the same page in the attempt to resolve it. This may take a couple of weeks using my approach, but I think it gives you the best chance of resolving it long term. If you want a quick fix to come by daily changing one thing or another, I can't help you with that approach. That's why I feel I need to back away.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> I never said excess nitrates were the cause.


You've said a few times theres an over abundance of organic material. I took this as an over abundance of nitrates.



> If you want a quick fix to come by daily changing one thing or another, I can't help you with that approach.


I never said I wanted to keep trying new things, and its been a week since I did the major cleaning. the only reason I mentioned trying a flocculant is because right now I'm basically waiting to see if the algae will die because I removed something it was liking, and if I remove the algae that's currently in the water and nothing comes back, I have the same results. I didn't say it would cure my tank or fix my water conditions.



> I mentioned that excess iron could be feeding it and suggested poly filter pads to remove it. You haven't mentioned trying them, so I'l l assume you haven't.


I said a few posts above I just took my tank and tap water to get it tested for phosphates, and not a trace was found in either.


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

Put a blanket over the tank for a week 
Betcha it works, whether or not it'll come back, that's another story and won't tell you what the cause was.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

The tank has been covered for almost 96 hours and it had almost no effect. Don't understand how that is even possible. I recovered it, I guess I'll have to check back in a couple days. Also This marks about two weeks since the major cleaning, and after nitrates being below 20 for two weeks and total darkness for four days, it still controls my tank.

You've won the battle, sir algae...

but not the war! :x


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## jason081180 (May 5, 2007)

a micron filter will take it all out. my magnum 250 came with a 5 micro filter and it works wonders. keeping it covered might kill the algae but if your filter doesn't filter out that small of stuff what can you do but get a better filter.

you could try to build one like this. 
http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=357520&l=b1c10f3c39&id=100001285603438


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

We have over a dozen tanks scattered about in a few different rooms. Some are cold water and others heated. We have one tank that goes green. We do not do anything different in that tank that we don't do in any of the others but it will just go green if we let it.

This tank has comets and common goldies innit and they love it to go green, thing is we don't. Solution as was pointed out earlier is UV. When it starts to go green we turn it on. I have a Vortex XL diatom filter and it does the job quicker but is a PITA to set up and clean when compared to the UV.

Why it goes green ... I am not going to lose any sleep over it and leaving a blanket over the tank for a week or three is not something I need to look at, though it will do just as good a job as a UV.

When or if you ever find the cause please share, if you exhaust your patience try a UV :thumb:


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> a micron filter will take it all out. my magnum 250 came with a 5 micro filter and it works wonders. keeping it covered might kill the algae but if your filter doesn't filter out that small of stuff what can you do but get a better filter.
> 
> you could try to build one like this.
> http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=3 ... 1285603438


So are you saying the algae could be dead, but just floating around my tank because my filter is failing to remove it?
[/quote]


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

> We have over a dozen tanks scattered about in a few different rooms. Some are cold water and others heated. We have one tank that goes green. We do not do anything different in that tank that we don't do in any of the others but it will just go green if we let it.
> 
> This tank has comets and common goldies innit and they love it to go green, thing is we don't. Solution as was pointed out earlier is UV. When it starts to go green we turn it on. I have a Vortex XL diatom filter and it does the job quicker but is a PITA to set up and clean when compared to the UV.
> 
> ...


My patience will be exhausted soon lol. What's a good wattage uv for a 75 gal


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## jason081180 (May 5, 2007)

bmweiler09 said:


> So are you saying the algae could be dead, but just floating around my tank because my filter is failing to remove it?


Could be, i have no idea with out seeing your tank. but I know my magnum 250 filter takes mine out. I have a 37gl in the basement that has direct sunlight on it and I get some brown algae that grows on the sides of the tank. So J just use a scrubby pad to take it off and then the filter takes it out of the water. it would do the same for any free floating mater.


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## fox (Jun 11, 2009)

bmweiler09 said:


> My patience will be exhausted soon lol. What's a good wattage uv for a 75 gal


Green water an 8W UV should do, sterilize and mebbe 15W for a 75G tank.

I am no expert on sizing but can tell you flow rate is what you are concerned with when sizing a UV for a certain volume.


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

Thanks fox, will start looking into that. Also noticed my fish did some MAJOR digging during the blackout, what was going on in there lol?


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

I found out this morning that my tank is starting to get about 30-45 minutes of direct sunlight in the morning. I guess that's why I've never noticed it because I'm not here that time of day except the weekends. It wast like that the las couple weekends, but maybe the sun is returning to the same level it was a few weeks ago when this all started.

So is it still possible to keep the bloom down by keeping nutrients down, even in direct sunlight?


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## GTZ (Apr 21, 2010)

I think they can survive pretty well on mimimum nitrates. Apparently algae can survive just fine in a tank on it's own without any fish by creating it's own food.  
http://fcps.edu/islandcreekes/ecology/green_algae.htm


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## bmweiler09 (Nov 17, 2009)

It's starting to clear up. It was still a little green after a few-day blackout, so I don't really think it completely killed it off.

I've done 3 50% water changes in the last 2 weeks, and my levels have stayed good. Here is a couple pics from today:


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