GEEN WATER ALGAE

[deepdivn78]

I have been battling an algae bloom for about 4 wks now. Any help that can be offered will be greatly appreciated. Here is the setup: 75 g heavily planted FW tank, Fluorite substrate, 220 watts 6700k/220 watts 10,000k/40 watts actinic 03, actinic runs 11 hrs/main lights 9 hrs, pressurized co2, ph 6.35, kh 1.53, gh 4, temp 80.7F. I have been using a combination of RO water from LFS, DI Water from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals TapWater Filter, and Tap Water for water changes. I have tried decreasing photo period, blackout for five days, diatom filtering, and Doc Wellfish Algae Fix along with weekly 30% water changes. Everything mentioned has worked but within a few days the "Green Water" is back. I have ordered a 9 WATT POWERCOMPACT UV STERILIZER to see if I can kill off the algae that way.

Desperately seeking to see back of the tank again,
Mike

 

[Randall]

Green Water Syndrome

Dear Mike,

Something must be feeding your algal bloom. How are your phosphate levels, and are you adding anything to the water that is phosphate rich?

Good luck!

Randall Kohn

 

[farm41]

Wow, that's a lot of light. 480 watts on a 75.

How did you measure your Kh at 1.53?

I have beat GW before, in my 60g when it was rebuilt. I dosed the ferts at maximum levels after the plants had been in a cooler for a few days, I should have waited for them to get growing again, nasty algae, but the easiest to beat.

Day 1 75% water change in the morning, 75% again in the evening. Day 2,3,4 blackout. Day 5 the same as day 1. GW should be gone and ramp back up on fertilzation for 1 week.

In my case it was the phosphate that I OD'd the tank on, Randall is on the right track.

 

[Ghazanfar Ghori]

The UV will kill green water but that IS a lot of light for a 75.
If I were you I'd keep only 1 220 or at minimum stagger it so
that the other 220 is only on for a few hours in the middle of the
photo period.

 

[Neil]

deepdivn78,

WELCOME TO THE FORUM

You could always put a batch of daphnia in there. Won't be long before you have a clear tank and hundreds of daphnia. Okay, Okay! Maybe not the best advice in the world, but I think the others have taken care of the realistic approaches pretty well.

 

[farm41]

I tried the daphnia once, all I got was some fat and happy fish. :lol:

 

[deepdivn78]

Well, I have been running the diatom filter since sunday night. It wasn't working to well until I added the UV filter on monday night. Woke up this morning to CRYSTAL CLEAR water. I think that I will do a 50% water change tomorrow with some RO water.

Hope it doesn't come back again...
Thanks,
Mike

 

[deepdivn78]

Farm41,
I used a Hanna L1117006 (Ca Hardness) Colorimeter to measure the kh. You can find it at the link below.

http://www.pollardwater.com/EMarket/pages/L1117006colorimeters.asp

Mike

 

[Xanathos]

Green water LOVES new water, so dont make any water change before 1 month..

Of course, using an UV steriliser and a diatom filter is a very good way to get rid of those pests...

Phil

 

[farm41]

I disagree with the no water changes for a month. Won't be good for the fish.

How does 'not changing the water' help the algae problem?

 

[Jason]

You HAVE to make a water change now. Algae blooms occur when water is rich in nutrients. now that you killed all the algae, the decaying process will start and all the phosphate, nitrogen and other elements that were trapped in algal cells will be released back to the water which will trigger an algae bloom... Even the most sufficient filters cannot be a substitute for water changes.

 

[Xanathos]

I just found with experience that green water became "greener" when making large water change, this is why I dont recommand it if you have this problem..

Your rigth about no water change, I'm used to densily planted tank, so nitrate dont build up since my plants are eating it up, so 1 month without water change isnt dramatic.

I think Hagen ( you guys have those products in USA, right ? ) makes a product called P-clear that removes green water in 24 hours. I used it once and it worked really well for me. I've never tried it but I've heard that Crystal clear also gives good results.

At least it's harmless for fishes..

Phil

 

[farm41]

I think everyone would agree that algae is caused from nutrients being out of balance.

With that said, clearly the best way to get things back into balance is with a few large water changes. Unless of course, your water has high nitrates or phosphates. If high nitrates and/or phosphates are the case, then you have a whole other set of problems, and will have to filter these out.

JMO

 

[MyLifeAsAFish]

I had a 35 gallon tank that had an algae bloom a few days after adding a plant food. I used a HOT magnum micron filter to remove it. I had to clean the cartridge a couple times during the process, but it worked well.

Spring

 

[GulfCoastAquarian]

I just got over a bad case of Green Water. I caused it by pruning massive amounts of plants far too quickly and then uprooted and replanting quite a few more. I removed my nutrient eaters and released more nutrients so the green water algae was happy to oblige and show up.

I tried the black out and it did weaken the GW (and my plants) but it didn't kill it. I tried doing massive water changes, but then you're robbing nutrients from the higher order plants, and they're on your side, fighting the green water. You need to maintain nutrients (5ppm NO3, 0.5ppm PO4), but kill the GW another way.

1) Diatom filtration can work, but you need to recharge the powder often since the GW can clog it.

2) A fine filter or micron pad will work, especially in conjunction with a flocculant like Crystal Clear, Brite N Clear, etc. They all basically work the same - binding the small particles into larger clumps which can be filtered out of the water. This is ultimately what cleared my tank up for good.

3) UV is a last resort in most cases, but works just about every time.

Keep things in balance, and most people only see GW once - they'll never make the same mistake twice!