# green water



## khpeople (Jun 23, 2008)

I have a 125 gallon frontosa tank, i have recently started having a problem with free floating alge it makes my water green and ugly.
i have cut back on the feeding and light, i only run the lights about 4 hours a day. I've also do a water change every week, 25% to remove nutriance 
Is there anything else i can do to help without putting chemeicals in my tank


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## FLYFISH509 (Dec 11, 2005)

What kind of filtration?
Live plants?
If the tank is by sunlight, cover or block all light. Keep your lights off. If you have plants, they should be OK without light for a few days, no problem. I had Algea spores once and got an Eheim canister filter, it took care of the Spores. Why, I'm realy not sure, maybe the spores being trapped in a dark canister?


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

can you post a pic? if you take a cup of water out, does it turn clear by the next day as the algae settles out?


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## Charles (Feb 25, 2003)

What kind of light fixture? Tank by window with direct sunlight?

If you want to get rid of green water, get a UV. You size of tank, I would do at least a 15 watt or higher.

But just by changing water, you won't be able to get rid of green water. I tried changing 50% of water everyday and no help. Someone told me that you can do a 90% change and cover your tank for a week. I have never tried that. I had a 33 gallon with green water. I had to take the tank completely apart to get rid of it.


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## triscuit (May 6, 2005)

Last time I had a green tank it took me MONTHS to get rid of it. It travels inside live fish, so moving your fish to another tank only spreads it further.

I tried every light/feed/water change regime suggested, and it always came back. Fresh water seemed to intesify the bloom. Then suddenly one day it dissapeared. I never knew why.

Next time I had green water ( a year later) and I needed to move the fish, I starved them for four days. Then I transferred them in to a bucket of non-infested tank water, where they pooped. I transferred them to another bucket with new water, and they pooped some more. I placed them in a quarantine tank and vacuumed twice daily to get any remaining fish poo. On day 7 I started feeding them again, and the water didn't turn green.

Can you keep your fronts in rubbermaid bins for a few days? Don't feed them, then move them to the bins (with HOB filters), and then tear down and bleach your big tank. Don't put anything back in the tank that hasn't been boiled or bleached. You'll need filter media from another tank that isn't infested to cycle the tank again, and it'll be better for the fish to be kept in non-infested seasoned tank water. If you don't have another tank, then ask a friend or someone whom you trust to get clean water and dirty filter media from.

hth...


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## khpeople (Jun 23, 2008)

I stated only running the light in the evening when i get home from work. it has seemed to helped. I was told that adding charcoal to my filtration will help. what do you all think


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Apr 15, 2007)

UV sterilizer will clear it up in a few days.


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## khpeople (Jun 23, 2008)

cool thanks for all the help ill find a sterilizer :thumb:


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## khpeople (Jun 23, 2008)

i started looking a the sterilizers on line, many discriptions say that the will kill bacteiaria will that hurt my bio filter?


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## Darkside (Feb 6, 2008)

It won't really affect your bio-filtration because the majority of your beneficial bacteria require a substrate and aren't found floating in the water column.


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## khpeople (Jun 23, 2008)

ok sounds good, Ill go buy one today


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## fiupntballr (Jul 7, 2004)

let us know the results.


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## tankmates (Feb 19, 2007)

An inexpensive way to get rid of "green water" is by adding duckweed. I have used this method on several occassions with great success. The next problem you will face is getting rid of the duckweed, but your water will be crystal clear!


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## Gordon C. Snelling (Apr 15, 2007)

LOL, duckweed doesnt always work. The tank I had GW in had a healthy cover of DW.


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## reelbigspikey (Dec 12, 2006)

I had a tank that had a terrible green water problem. It was a planted shell dweller tank with pretty high lighting. For the first year, nothing worked. I tried water changes, duckweed, adding Seachem Flourish Excel, turning off the lights for days. Still the water was deep green. I couldn't see fish or plants or anything. Probably the most frustrating tank I've ever had. The kind that just makes you want to tear it down and swear off plants forever.

However, after a few months of just leaving the tank alone with small water changes, something changed in the tank that started favoring the plants. I don't know what it was, maybe some nutrient was limiting the plants growth. But the giant vallisneria took off for the surface of the tank, and the algae cleared almost literally overnight. Now it is one of my favorite tanks.

Pretty amazing to see, really. The lesson I learned is that patience is key to aquariums, especially when dealing with plants. The more changes you make, the longer it takes for your tank to find its own equilibrium.

If you aren't keeping plants in the tank, I would recommend just decreasing the light a ton. If it is a two bulb fixture, unscrew one. There is no need for high lighting in a front tank, as they are adapted to the low light of the deep parts of the lake. Bright lighting can actually make them very reclusive, as well as cause the algae blooms. Remove the lights, and don't succumb to the urge to do huge water changes, as that has never worked in my experience. Small, regular water changes, and the problem will eventually go away.


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