Re: Green Water and CO2

[Shawn]

I'm not a chemist. Can someone tell me what KNO3 is and where I can buy it
? I've been battling green water algae for a couple weeks now with no
success. I'm 2-day past a 5-day black out. I wrapped my 55gal in a heavy
blanket and duct-taped it shut. 5 days later I took it off and had crystal
clear water ! I was so happy. However, it's not been almost 3 days since I
took off the blanket, and the green water is reappearing. I was just
looking up UV sterilizers online but then I saw this post below, and I'm
wondering if that might be a fix without having to buy UV equipment. I'd
like to solve this problem as inexpensively as I can !

Thanks - Shawn


> > Thanks Marvin,
> > I have read up on UV sterilizers and was
> > wondering if they would be a solution. I will check it out and see what
> > happens.
>
> Before investing on an equipement. kepp Light and CO2 on, dose KNO3
> 1/4 tsp every other day.
>
> Just try
> Dominic

[Graham Broadbridge]

"Shawn" > wrote in message
...
> I'm not a chemist. Can someone tell me what KNO3 is and where I can buy
it
> ? I've been battling green water algae for a couple weeks now with no
> success. I'm 2-day past a 5-day black out. I wrapped my 55gal in a heavy
> blanket and duct-taped it shut. 5 days later I took it off and had
crystal
> clear water ! I was so happy. However, it's not been almost 3 days since
I
> took off the blanket, and the green water is reappearing. I was just
> looking up UV sterilizers online but then I saw this post below, and I'm
> wondering if that might be a fix without having to buy UV equipment. I'd
> like to solve this problem as inexpensively as I can !

KNO3 is Potassium Nitrate. It's used primarily to add Nitrates if your tank
is short of Nitrate.

Most tanks are not short of nitrate. Tanks that are short of nitrate
normally have lots of light ( more than 2-3 watts per gallon of flourescent
light) and injected CO2 at around 15-30 ppm CO2, and lots of fertilizers.

Green water is unliely to be solved by addition of KNO3. Best bet is to
use UV sterilization of the water column to kill the algae spores.

Regards
Graham.



>
> Thanks - Shawn
>
>
> > > Thanks Marvin,
> > > I have read up on UV sterilizers and was
> > > wondering if they would be a solution. I will check it out and see
what
> > > happens.
> >
> > Before investing on an equipement. kepp Light and CO2 on, dose KNO3
> > 1/4 tsp every other day.
> >
> > Just try
> > Dominic
>
>

[Nick D]

"Shawn" > wrote in message >...
> I'm not a chemist. Can someone tell me what KNO3 is and where I can buy it
> ? I've been battling green water algae for a couple weeks now with no
> success. I'm 2-day past a 5-day black out. I wrapped my 55gal in a heavy
> blanket and duct-taped it shut. 5 days later I took it off and had crystal
> clear water ! I was so happy. However, it's not been almost 3 days since I
> took off the blanket, and the green water is reappearing. I was just
> looking up UV sterilizers online but then I saw this post below, and I'm
> wondering if that might be a fix without having to buy UV equipment. I'd
> like to solve this problem as inexpensively as I can !
>
> Thanks - Shawn
>

Hey, I'm having the same problem with my 30 gal. After the blackout my
water was clear as a bell, but now its starting to fog up a bit again.
This time I'm just gonna let it run its course. My plants took a
severe beating because of the blackout, so I'm not about the do
another one. I'm not sure what the cause of green water is?? I think
someone said it may be an ammonia spike or biofilter tampering.
Whatever the case, waiting it out seems to be a common solution..

If it gets any worse you can go to the flocculant (water clarifier) as
a last resort. I know a lot of people are against adding the chemicals
but after looking at a green tank for 2 weeks it might be the only
answer.

Nick












>
> > > Thanks Marvin,
> > > I have read up on UV sterilizers and was
> > > wondering if they would be a solution. I will check it out and see what
> > > happens.
> >
> > Before investing on an equipement. kepp Light and CO2 on, dose KNO3
> > 1/4 tsp every other day.
> >
> > Just try
> > Dominic

[Dave Millman]

Graham Broadbridge wrote:

> Most tanks are not short of nitrate. Tanks that are short of nitrate
> normally have lots of light ( more than 2-3 watts per gallon of flourescent
> light) and injected CO2 at around 15-30 ppm CO2, and lots of fertilizers.

Graham, your statement is generally true of tanks with fish, but because Shawn
has the green water, he is more likely in the low-nitrate category than in the
"most tanks" category you describe.

> Green water is unliely to be solved by addition of KNO3.

Experience argues against this statement. Many cases of green water have been
solved by increasing NO3. The cure is not quick, however, and there must be a
substantial mass of healthy plants in the tank. If the green water has lasted
too long, the plants may not be able to recover fast enough to prevent another
greenwater explosion. The best route in this case is:

* 50% water change, dose Nitrate to 5-10 ppm (I believe Shawn is low)
* Three day blackout
* 50% water change, dose all ferts.


> Best bet is to
> use UV sterilization of the water column to kill the algae spores.

On this point we agree, if by "best" you mean the easiest and most foolproof.
But also the most costly.

[Graham Broadbridge]

"Dave Millman" > wrote in message
...
> Graham Broadbridge wrote:
>
> > Most tanks are not short of nitrate. Tanks that are short of nitrate
> > normally have lots of light ( more than 2-3 watts per gallon of
flourescent
> > light) and injected CO2 at around 15-30 ppm CO2, and lots of
fertilizers.
>
> Graham, your statement is generally true of tanks with fish, but because
Shawn
> has the green water, he is more likely in the low-nitrate category than in
the
> "most tanks" category you describe.

I'm not sure that follows :-) I've seen green water in tanks with 10-50ppm
nitrate.
Probably Shawn should test the nitrate level before deciding on a course of
action.


Graham.