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XiserMan
08-12-2014, 10:09 AM
So my problem is that my aquarium water is green. It doesn't seem to affect the fish or stress them in any way. I have tried doing water changes, I did two in this past week, but it doesn't seem to help. the aquarium is a 135 gallon planted tank that has been running since the middle of march. I have three finnex LED lights running from 7 am til 11 am and then they turn on again from 2 pm til 8 pm. I have a Fluval Fx6 canister filter running the tank and 2 cobalt 200 watt heaters. The temperature of the aquarium is a constant 84 degrees Fahrenheit. I went on vacation for one week and when i get back the entire aquarium is green. I checked the glass and there isn't a single bit of algae on it and when I did a water change the water was green. I concluded that it was the commonly known green water but sadly I don't know how to treat for it. I have been using plant & fish safe liquid algae destroyer but no effect so yesterday I bought a Seachem product called Clarity to see if that will help. Does anyone have any idea or suggestions on how I should go about this problem?

pcsb23
08-12-2014, 10:24 AM
Too much light and possibly not enough CO2.

Why do you have a split photo period? it is pointless. I have no idea of the effective PAR from the finnex LEDs but 10 hours light is where the issue is starting from. First thing to do is to have one photoperiod, I'd suggest start at 8 hours. You may find switching one of the LEDs off will be needed or stagger when they come on and go off.

Rudustin
08-12-2014, 01:06 PM
I agree too much light. My lights don't come on until early evening off at eleven. Three big tanks don't get automatic timing. Manual on and off at my discretion. I have virtually no algae and my water is clear as a bell. Try using less light. The light is for your benefit not the discus. Hope the Green Water disappears. Rufus

Freshisbetter
08-12-2014, 02:18 PM
I agree with the suggestions above. I have also had trouble getting the water clear with no lights and tarping off the aquarium to keep out the light in one on my past residences. Running a UV unit cleared it up very quickly though. Probably didn't address the root cause of the green water but my water was crystal clear within a few days and it never came back (I continued with the UV).

nvladik
08-12-2014, 02:36 PM
Totally agree with above posts, light period is too long. I am going to guess these are Finnex Ray 2s, as normal rays don't produce too much light for a 135g tank. But down the light period to 8 hours as Paul suggested, or even lower to 6 hours, it should be enough. Will also help to know which plants you have, how much CO2, What are you supplementing for nutrients.

Water change will help if you do as close to a full WC as possible; do 95% for example and water should be almost clear. UV will also help.

I wouldn't any chemicals, as it a temporary solution and won't fix the underlying problem. Green water is a form of algae and it will come back.

XiserMan
08-12-2014, 03:26 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone, the aquarium was running fine until a few weeks ago when I went on vacation. I accidentally left the blinds up so the aquarium got tons of direct natural sunlight for a full 7 days. But before vacation the aquarium was algae free except for a few spots here and there on the glass but after I got back I couldn't even see 4 inches into the aquarium that how bad it was. So to me it seems as though the lighting hours are fine since there wasn't any algae before I left. As for supplements I haven't used them at all since I set up the aquarium back in march, but i do keep supplements on hand for my other aquariums. As for CO2 I have the flourish excel but I haven't dosed at all since i set up the tank. The lights are a finnex planted+, finnex ray 2 daylight, and a finnex fugeray w/ lunar lights. Hope this information can help.

DiscusLoverJeff
08-12-2014, 03:38 PM
Do about 75% water change. Only use 2 of your 3 lights for a straight 8 hour period and dose your Excel just 2 times a week until you regain the balance of your tank. The actual daylight from leaving your blinds open did not help. But it should clear up with a couple good water changes.

What wattage are your individual LED's? .5 watt, 1 watt, 3 watts?

nvladik
08-12-2014, 04:25 PM
Do about 75% water change. Only use 2 of your 3 lights for a straight 8 hour period and dose your Excel just 2 times a week until you regain the balance of your tank. The actual daylight from leaving your blinds open did not help. But it should clear up with a couple good water changes.

What wattage are your individual LED's? .5 watt, 1 watt, 3 watts?

Ray 2, 36" is putting out at 24" depth 44 par right under the light, 40 par at 9" spread.

Fuge Ray, 36" is putting out at 24" depth 31 par right under the light, 26 par at 9" spread.

Planted + is less bright then Ray 2, but brighter than FugeRay. I don't think official par data is posted.

nvladik
08-12-2014, 04:29 PM
Thanks for the advice everyone, the aquarium was running fine until a few weeks ago when I went on vacation. I accidentally left the blinds up so the aquarium got tons of direct natural sunlight for a full 7 days. But before vacation the aquarium was algae free except for a few spots here and there on the glass but after I got back I couldn't even see 4 inches into the aquarium that how bad it was. So to me it seems as though the lighting hours are fine since there wasn't any algae before I left. As for supplements I haven't used them at all since I set up the aquarium back in march, but i do keep supplements on hand for my other aquariums. As for CO2 I have the flourish excel but I haven't dosed at all since i set up the tank. The lights are a finnex planted+, finnex ray 2 daylight, and a finnex fugeray w/ lunar lights. Hope this information can help.

You have a very interesting combination of lights over the tank. :) Your tank is 6ft long, right? Are you getting even light distribution across the whole tank?

As far as supplements go, natural way to not have algae is for plants to outcompete algae for nutrients and Co2 and literally starve algae. Also, if you have demanding plants, Flourigh Excel is not enough.

MSD
08-12-2014, 09:25 PM
The only way to solve this problem is witha UV sterilizer. You can try all the other suggestions but UV is the way to stop it, in fact water changes can actually make things worse.

OC Discus
08-12-2014, 10:21 PM
Aren't excess nutrients and excess light both culprits? I think cleaner water (better filtration/water changes) and less light both play a part. I eliminated black algae by cutting light to 8 hours on a timer- 11:30 AM to 7:30 PM and by improving filtration and larger water changes.

MSD
08-13-2014, 01:02 PM
My statements relate to my experiences, plus some research on published data provided by google. If you read up on the cloudy and green water problems you will find a Worsening of the problem with water changes until uou break the cycle with UV. I have gone through it a few times and tried all the suggestions and products until I went with UV out of desperation and in about five days the problem was solved. This was in a 75 gallon tank and I used a 9 watt in tank UV from Clarity. Watch some vids of the subject and see for yourself.

XiserMan
08-13-2014, 01:22 PM
Thanks for the help everyone I really appreciate it. I will most likely go with the UV idea some of you suggested for my aquarium. And no the aquarium is not 6 feet long the outside dimensions are (LxWxH) 4 ft x 2 ft x 31 in. Does anyone have any suggestions on which UV light I should look into?

Freshisbetter
08-13-2014, 01:32 PM
I have had two of the model below work vey well on a 90g and my 110g (plus a 40g sump).

You can now use the Deep Blue replacement bulb for these which are cheaper than the OEM bulb.

You may hear or read different guidance on UV units, my recommendation is only based on the ability to clear up green water, not on the ability to kill bad microorganisms or other potential uses of the unit.


http://www.kensfish.com/aquarium-supplies/uv-sterilizers/coralife-3x-turbo-twist-uv-sterilizer.html

pcsb23
08-14-2014, 05:22 AM
Basically the algae will be feeding off phosphates and then nitrates. Usually occurs after some disturbance to the tank such as disturbing the substrate, but like all algae it is opportunistic. The usual cause is too much light - just about true for all algae but with green algae usually there also has to be other factors present. Usually these other factors are low or fluctuating CO2, low O2, too much PO4/NO3 and ammonia present (usually too little to see on a test kit) sometimes it is an ammonia spike ...

In ponds in summer green algae can be a nightmare because the sun is "on" for 12, 14 or even 16 hours ... put this with high temps (and 84 is high) and low water movement and the O2 levels drop, another cue for algae. Then throw in some phosphates and nitrates as well as perhaps some decaying matter and we have the perfect conditions for these horrid little unicellular plant forms.

Water changes alone will rarely fix it, because the incoming water will often contain nitrates and phosphates (so we are actually feeding them). A UV can be useful to break the cycle, but if it happened once it may happen again. Long term use of UVs on planted tanks isn't a great idea as they affect the trace elements etc ...

A 3 or 4 day blackout can work, but it absolutely must be a blackout. You run the risk of dead and decaying algae so water changes before and after will be required. Getting the nutrient balance right can resolve too. Use of a UV to break the cycle is ok as is a diatom filter.

Without remedying the underlying cause you run the risk of it returning.

Demosthenes
08-17-2014, 12:40 PM
I disagree about the lights being on for too long. You get algae when your plant growth isn't able to keep up with the amount of light on your tank, so in some ways yes cutting back on light will help, but so would increasing your plant growth. There are so many variables: co2, ferts, light spectrum, plant type etc etc. Just saying "there's too much light" is a pretty simplistic way of thinking about a planted tank. I run my lights for 12hrs/day about 2.5 watts/gallon and have no algae issues.

For OP, there were no issues before you went on vacation. While you were on vacation the blinds were up and the tank received huge amounts of direct sunlight that caused a spike in algae (green water). I wouldn't change a thing about your setup. Just keep the blinds shut. See if you can find a source for live daphnia. Daphnia actually feed off of this type of algae, so all you have to do is float them in a mesh bag in your tank for a week or two and your water will clear right up. Once the water is clear, you have some nice live food for your fishes.

jds1990
08-26-2014, 08:07 PM
I agree about the uv sterilizer I placed one in my 100 gallon tank and I barely ever have to scrape it off the walls. I had problems with algae before. I placed it in the sump along with the tank heaters and I'm ordering another one and some bulb replacements. They also prevent bacteria and disease however I am not too sure if it will harm the good bacteria. It also creates a current to prevent the water in the sump from being stagnant and has a small filter sponge filter built in which assists filtering any other particles that get past the filter padding bio balls and foam filters in the overflow box. I use the green killing machine.

mwood3
10-05-2014, 11:02 AM
I'd also examine your feeding routine. Overfeeding will cause the phosphate level to go way up and cause an algae bloom. All my planted tanks are on timers and have a lights out "siesta" during mid afternoon. I think this helps and it lets me run the lights longer into the night so I can enjoy my fish after work. I don't have a uV system but I run a diatom filter weekly, it does remove algae spores (yep, the good 'ol Vortex diatom filter...I love/hate that thing!).

Quintin
10-05-2014, 11:52 AM
i tink direct sunlight was the problem if lights did not cause it before.large water changes are the only way.i had the same headache not too long ago

jds1990
10-05-2014, 03:34 PM
I agree with the comments about the uv sterilizer they help quite a bit. I have two green killing machines in my 30g sump.