Green cloudy water?

[Pete Stephenson]

Greetings all,

I posted here a few weeks ago but didn't get any replies, so I thought I
might re-post in an effort to get some sort of information.

I have a 25 gallon Eclipse freshwater tank with several types of fish --
black fin tetras, danios, a 7" pleco, and a few others whose names elude
me at this moment.

Over the last few weeks, the water has become exceptionally green and
cloudy. The glass remains quite clean, but the water itself looks as if
it has some sort of green fog in it.

The lights are on for about 6 hours per day on a timer. The tank is not
exposed to sunlight. There is minimal, if any, food left over from
feeding the fish -- feeding is performed once every other day.

The tank has the standard Eclipse filter/bio-wheel as well as an
undergravel filter and powerhead, so circulation and filtering capacity
is quite good. Additionally, the powerhead draws air through a piece of
tubing and bubbles it into the tank, resulting in good aeration.

Googling and the local store suggest that this is most likely due to an
algae bloom, and reducing lighting and feeding may result in reduction
in the bloom. Additionally, the local shopkeeper recommended a
phosphate-absorbing thing (some sort of packet with chunks of some type
of material in it) that would, in about one week, reduce the algae to
minimal levels and clear the water. So far, it's been unsuccessful.

In addition to being concerned for the well-being of the fish, I'm
concerned for the appearance of the tank. It's impossible to see from
one end of the tank to the other, and it looks quite unpleasant in this
room.

Any suggestions? Several 50% water changes have resulted in no effect
whatsoever.

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Jim Anderson]

In article >,
says...
> Greetings all,
>
> I posted here a few weeks ago but didn't get any replies, so I thought I
> might re-post in an effort to get some sort of information.
>
> I have a 25 gallon Eclipse freshwater tank with several types of fish --
> black fin tetras, danios, a 7" pleco, and a few others whose names elude
> me at this moment.
>
> Over the last few weeks, the water has become exceptionally green and
> cloudy. The glass remains quite clean, but the water itself looks as if
> it has some sort of green fog in it.
>
> The lights are on for about 6 hours per day on a timer. The tank is not
> exposed to sunlight. There is minimal, if any, food left over from
> feeding the fish -- feeding is performed once every other day.
>
> The tank has the standard Eclipse filter/bio-wheel as well as an
> undergravel filter and powerhead, so circulation and filtering capacity
> is quite good. Additionally, the powerhead draws air through a piece of
> tubing and bubbles it into the tank, resulting in good aeration.
>
> Googling and the local store suggest that this is most likely due to an
> algae bloom, and reducing lighting and feeding may result in reduction
> in the bloom. Additionally, the local shopkeeper recommended a
> phosphate-absorbing thing (some sort of packet with chunks of some type
> of material in it) that would, in about one week, reduce the algae to
> minimal levels and clear the water. So far, it's been unsuccessful.
>
> In addition to being concerned for the well-being of the fish, I'm
> concerned for the appearance of the tank. It's impossible to see from
> one end of the tank to the other, and it looks quite unpleasant in this
> room.
>
> Any suggestions? Several 50% water changes have resulted in no effect
> whatsoever.
>
>

Take some of your tap water to your LFS and ask if they would test for
Phosphate.

--
Hope this helps.
Jim Anderson
( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger

[Robert Flory]

"Pete Stephenson" > wrote in message
...
> Greetings all,
>
> I posted here a few weeks ago but didn't get any replies, so I thought I
> might re-post in an effort to get some sort of information.
>
> I have a 25 gallon Eclipse freshwater tank with several types of fish --
> black fin tetras, danios, a 7" pleco, and a few others whose names elude
> me at this moment.
>
SNIP
> Pete Stephenson
> HeyPete.com

How may fish and what size? One 7" pleco goes a longways toward the
maximum load for a 25 gallon tank.
Any plants?
Bob

[Pete Stephenson]

In article >,
"Robert Flory" > wrote:

> How may fish and what size? One 7" pleco goes a longways toward the
> maximum load for a 25 gallon tank.

Four black fin tetras, five danios (all approximately 1"), and two
freshwater "sharks" of some kind that I don't precisely remember. Maybe
2" each.

I believe that this is within the one-inch-per-gallon rule.

> Any plants?

No live plants, no. Several plastic ones.

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Margolis]

you cannot use the 1" per gallon rule unless you are talking about small
fish like guppies or tetras.

anyway, you have an algae outbreak. The only sure cures are a diatom filter
or a uv sterilizer. You need to kill ALL of the algae to make it go away.
Big water changes help, but it will still grow back if 100% of the algae is
not destroyed.

--

Margolis
http://web.archive.org/web/20030215212142/http://www.agqx.org/faqs/AGQ2FAQ.htm
http://www.unrealtower.org/faq

[Pete Stephenson]

In article >,
"Margolis" > wrote:

> you cannot use the 1" per gallon rule unless you are talking about small
> fish like guppies or tetras.

Hmm. I never heard of that caveat. I figured the rule wasn't
hard-and-fast, but I wasn't aware of that particular exception. Thanks.

> anyway, you have an algae outbreak. The only sure cures are a diatom filter
> or a uv sterilizer. You need to kill ALL of the algae to make it go away.
> Big water changes help, but it will still grow back if 100% of the algae is
> not destroyed.

*nods* The 50% water change didn't do any good at all, other than
slightly clearing the algae for about an hour. :/

The local shop purported that this phosphate-absorbing thingy would do
the trick. Alas, it doesn't fit very well into the Eclipse system.
Putting it on top of the Eclipse filter media has resulted in the bag
becoming overloaded with green algae. I've removed the bio-wheel from
its socket, have it floating around the top of the aquarium to keep it
wet, and put the phosphate bag in the bio-wheel socket. THe water that
pours over it is filtered, but whether or not it lacks the algae is a
different story. At least it's getting a lot more waterflow over it.

How much to diatom filters/UV sterilizers run?

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[steve]

Margolis wrote:
> you cannot use the 1" per gallon rule unless you are talking about
small
> fish like guppies or tetras.
>
> anyway, you have an algae outbreak. The only sure cures are a diatom
filter
> or a uv sterilizer. You need to kill ALL of the algae to make it go
away.
> Big water changes help, but it will still grow back if 100% of the
algae is
> not destroyed.


My understanding of this phenomena is it is a common occurance in the
cycle of a fish tank. Not "the cycle" per say, but a stage in the
development of a tanks balance. Other common stages are the brown
diatoms all over everything (Oz?), green algae, blue greem slime
bacteria, and finally, OTS old tank syndrome.

I have had diatoms, GW (green water), BGA (blue green algae), pretty,
bright green furry algae and now just a light coat of green algae. For
the GW, I basically let it run it's course. It used up all the
nutrients it was fond of and dramaticly disapeared one day. My other
tank is showing signs of it now, and I'm apt to let it run it's course
again. It took about two weeks for the complete GW cycle.

steve

[Pete Stephenson]

In article . com>,
"steve" > wrote:

> I have had diatoms, GW (green water), BGA (blue green algae), pretty,
> bright green furry algae and now just a light coat of green algae. For
> the GW, I basically let it run it's course. It used up all the
> nutrients it was fond of and dramaticly disapeared one day. My other
> tank is showing signs of it now, and I'm apt to let it run it's course
> again. It took about two weeks for the complete GW cycle.

Hmm. Mine's had minor green water problems for a few months, but nothing
worth the time or energy to deal with it.

In the last few weeks, it's really gotten out of control, looks nasty,
and probably isn't good for the fish.

I've cut the feeding and lighting way down, but to little effect. The
PHOS-X doesn't seem to be working (I've let it run in the filter for
about a week, but no results at all other than the bag containing the
materials has become encrusted in algae), and now I'm using some liquid
treatment to cut back on the algae.

I'll share what results I get in a week or two once everything
(hopefully) goes back to normal.

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com

[Pete Stephenson]

In article >,
Pete Stephenson > wrote:

> I'll share what results I get in a week or two once everything
> (hopefully) goes back to normal.

Wow, this follow-up comes really rapidly: The solution "AlgaeFix" seems
to have worked wonders: A single application (14 drops per 10 gallons)
resulted in the complete elimination of all water-borne algae. The water
is now complete transparent, and it does not seem to have any negative
effect on the fish (yet -- they've only been exposed to it for a few
hours, but I doubt it's harmful. It does, however, say that it's known
to cause cancer in humans after prolonged exposure. Then again, that's
like every other chemical in the world.).

I'm highly impressed. It's cleared up the algae problem I've been having
in a matter of hours. Hopefully careful feeding and timed lighting will
be able to prevent the algae from recurring in the future, but if it
does, then I'll certainly know what to use.

Cheers!

--
Pete Stephenson
HeyPete.com