Algae! UNCLE!

Cycle the tank! It's been in operation for about 3 years now! The gravel
is terribly "dirty".. I'm not sure WHAT exactly all that "sludge" is... My
fish are only fed 2x per week.....but there seems to be no end to the
sludge.. I'll have to pull everything out and reset!

Also, what can I do to get the algea off the plants?? Is there some type of
water/bleach dip?


"Happy'Cam'per" wrote in message
...

If he's getting green water within days of a wc then I would say the tank
has'nt built up enough nitrifying bacteria yet. Free floating ammonia in
the
water column will always give you green water. Do a good gravel vacuum,
clean your filter and start again, this time cycle the tank first!
--
Kind Regards
Cameron

"Elaine T" wrote in message
. ..
Shagster wrote:
I'm running a UV sterilizer... That hasn't done much.. Water is
still
turning green within 3 days of a water change!

"Elaine T" wrote in message
m...

Shagster wrote:

OK.. I give up.. I've been fighting major algae problems for
MONTHS..
I'm about to tear down my tank and get out of the hobby. NOTHING is
working for me....

Are they're ANY chemical solutions that are live plant friendly??

Troy



Algaefix is supposed to be friendly to most plants and kill most algae.
YMMV. Avoid Algae Destroyer and other products containing simazine
because simazine is not friendly to bunch plants and grasses like
valisneria. http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/simazine.html

A UV unit is good for unicellular suspended algae if your water is
green.

If you want other alternatives from a bunch of other algae experts (I
think I've grown and fixed all but staghorn at some time or another),
you
could post more about your tank and what you've tried. i.e. Tank size,
lighting, plants, kinds of algae, fish population, filtration, nitrate
and
phosphate levels, water change schedule... Most algae problems can be
fixed without chemicals.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com



Eek! That IS bad. I see why you're frustrated. BTW, your UV unit may
need a new bulb or slower flow rate. It really should keep the green
water at bay.

The 95% water changes are a good plan and will lower nutrients to
tapwater levels. Sort of a giant tank reset. Then you need to get
nitrate and phosphate test kits and start watching nitrates and
phosphates. Js1 gave you great links that will explain where to go from
there.

Come back and bug us for more info when you need it!

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

The bulb may not be good, replace it and it should take it out asap.

Regards,
Tom Barr

Just one more thing you may try... I had green water when I first set up my
tank, as i'm sure we all did... My LFS recommended fresh water clams...
They filter about 20 litres an hour (sorry, I don't know gallons) and don't
have the same effect as some say UV units do on the water column...

I put 2 in my 200litre tank and the green water was gone in one and a half
days, I now keep one it at all times and he maintains everthing...

Hope this helps...

Justin.
"Elaine T" wrote in message
m...
Shagster wrote:
OK.. I give up.. I've been fighting major algae problems for MONTHS..
I'm about to tear down my tank and get out of the hobby. NOTHING is
working for me....

Are they're ANY chemical solutions that are live plant friendly??

Troy


Algaefix is supposed to be friendly to most plants and kill most algae.
YMMV. Avoid Algae Destroyer and other products containing simazine
because simazine is not friendly to bunch plants and grasses like
valisneria. http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/simazine.html

A UV unit is good for unicellular suspended algae if your water is green.

If you want other alternatives from a bunch of other algae experts (I
think I've grown and fixed all but staghorn at some time or another), you
could post more about your tank and what you've tried. i.e. Tank size,
lighting, plants, kinds of algae, fish population, filtration, nitrate and
phosphate levels, water change schedule... Most algae problems can be
fixed without chemicals.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com

In message , Justin
writes
Just one more thing you may try... I had green water when I first set up my
tank, as i'm sure we all did... My LFS recommended fresh water clams...
They filter about 20 litres an hour (sorry, I don't know gallons) and don't
have the same effect as some say UV units do on the water column...

I put 2 in my 200litre tank and the green water was gone in one and a half
days, I now keep one it at all times and he maintains everthing...

that sounds very interesting.

I managed to get rid of my green water by

a) aggressive water changes (50% daily or every other day when daily
wasn't possible)

and

b) adding a cheap box filter (airpump powered) to the tank.

I think the combination was important, the water changes didn't seem to
be helping on their own, except by diluting the algae. Within a week of
starting the combination the water was absolutely crystal clear and has
stayed that way (so far. This is a few weeks down the line only). I now
leave the box filter on all day, it goes off at night. The green water
outbreak coincided with the green hair algae which had been infesting
EVERYTHING stopping growing. It is now growing again but very slowly. I
don't have problem with green algae on rocks & driftwood, I think it
looks natural and the goldfish eat vast quantities of it; it's been very
good for them. I clean it off the glass with an old credit card if it
starts to grow on there.



Hope this helps...

Justin.
"Elaine T" wrote in message
om...
Shagster wrote:
OK.. I give up.. I've been fighting major algae problems for MONTHS..
I'm about to tear down my tank and get out of the hobby. NOTHING is
working for me....

Are they're ANY chemical solutions that are live plant friendly??

Troy


Algaefix is supposed to be friendly to most plants and kill most algae.
YMMV. Avoid Algae Destroyer and other products containing simazine
because simazine is not friendly to bunch plants and grasses like
valisneria. http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/simazine.html

A UV unit is good for unicellular suspended algae if your water is green.

If you want other alternatives from a bunch of other algae experts (I
think I've grown and fixed all but staghorn at some time or another), you
could post more about your tank and what you've tried. i.e. Tank size,
lighting, plants, kinds of algae, fish population, filtration, nitrate and
phosphate levels, water change schedule... Most algae problems can be
fixed without chemicals.

--
Elaine T __
http://eethomp.com/fish.html '__
rec.aquaria.* FAQ http://faq.thekrib.com



--
sophie

www.freewebs.com/fishstuff
(under construction. ish.)

Just to add to the good advice you've already received.

Check your nitrates and phosphates and work on those. Algae loves both.

I suspect that the sludge in the bottom of the tank is the real culprit -
vacuum out as much out as possible - strip down as much as possble to
acheive this.

Check your tap water for nitrates and phosphates, the source water could
also be contributing. Doing water changes with tap-water that is high in
nitrates etc will not dilute the existing nitrates as much (or at least will
not get them down to the minimum required). Plan on doing lots of water
changes - perhaps 30 to 50% at a time a couple of times a week for a while
until the nitrates are under control. Having done this, you could add a
nitrate pad to your filter to keep it down.

Also, clean your filters regularly (maybe once or twice a week at first) in
tank water. The build up of detritus in the filter will often start feeding
nitrates back into the system.

Don't bother taking the chemical route, you need to fix the problem at
source which is too many algae feeding nutrients - nitrate and phosphate.

One other thought, in addition to the above, if you have planted aquarium,
you could also add some CO2 (if you don't have it already) to get your plant
growth up to it's maximum. Plants growing flat-out will use a lot more of
the excess nutrients and so depriving the algae.

Hope it helps

Mark