Help! I have green water

[discusgirl]

I have my fish on a timer, no plants, and have an algae bloom. I am doing 25% water changes daily, but it seems to be getting worse. Any and all suggestions are appreciated..

Thanks :alien:

[Howie_W]

Hi discusgirl,

Did you upgrade to a larger size tank yet? You'll find that a larger size tank is easier to maintain clean water conditions.

Things that will help solve your problem; Reduce natural and artifical light sources. Wipe down tank walls, bottom, and keep all equipment clean. Make sure any uneaten food is siphoned out.



Howie

[Don_Lee]

Hello Discusgirl,

To analyze your situation better, it would be helpful to know more about your tank conditons, particularly lighting and fertilization, as well as filtration, tank size, etc.... Have you done anything to combat the algae to this point? What do you mean by an algae bloom? Do you have green water?
Reducing the lighting intensity and time may do the trick, but it depends on your situation. Please let us know the details and perhaps we can help more. The advice offered by Howie should help as well.

Don

[lldewe]

Ok, having JUST gone through this horror myself, I tried changing the lights, leaving them off entirely, adding erythromycin, adding Algae Destroyer. All this plus I had taken the fish out so I could kill the stuff. Like everyone was saying, no plants, no additives, barebottom tank, using RO water. The works!

No help at all...pea soup green water!

I finally added 30% Peroxide!! 1 L of it in my 55 gallon tank! The stuff is now dead. Complete water change, back to square one. It's gone though...whew!!

Best of luck to you. My next move is a UV sterilizer. No doubt...

Lorie

[Don_Lee]

Hydrogen Peroxide can help, but must be administered with an experienced hand, particularly if you have fish in the tank. IMO, a UV is a sure bet to rid a tank of green water, but on other types of algae is much less effective.

Don

[korbi_doc]

:D Here is a situation that could be helped a great deal with the Vortex diatom filter or a HOT magnum with the micron filter. These filters will help clear & polish the water esp. along with the obvious clean-ups in previous posts. They will help to prevent this condition when used regularly, at least in my own experience, JMO, Dottie :rolleyes:

[discusgirl]

Thanks all for the feedback.
Howie, I would love a larger tank, but don't have the room. I guess I was lucky these guys lived in a 5gal for months without any issues or problems.

What about the light? The light that came with a hood is a flouresent. Will changing it make a difference?

I have cleaned and scrubbed the floor and walls of the tank during the water changes.

Also, the sick one from a few weeks ago is doing much better :angel: ! I never saw any worms, but he seems to be picking up some weight.

I am off to the fish store to see about the UV sterilizer and those above mentioned filters. I am leary of chemicals. I'm too much a novice.

Thanks much!
;)

[Carol_Roberts]

Turn off the lights - except for when you are home in the evening and want to watch the tank. Make sure the tank does not get light from a window or room light.

[korbi_doc]

:confused: a "5" gal???? You are lucky.. where are you? I have a couple of 20g's that you could have to help out a little bit.. Dottie

[Larry Grenier]

I have a room with lots of windows and every time I set-up a tank in there I have green water. The UV sterilizer was my only means of getting rid of it.

[discusgirl]

I have taken ya'lls advice and purchased a UV sterilizer. I want to see my pretty fish, not green water. Now the challenge of trying to figure out how to hook this thing up.

Any of you in the VA area????? :D

Thanks again!

DG

[Larry Grenier]

yep, they're a pain and all different. First problem is the bulb in a sleve in a water tight chamber. Powerhead or in-line to a canister filter and the output into the tank. What model did you get?

[discusgirl]

Larry,

I got a turbo-twist 3x with a Rio 400 power head. It seemed pretty painless to put together and already this morning I can see the back of the tank. :)

It's only 10 gals, so it shouldn't be that long before it's all clear. I understand that this could take away some good bacteria also. I probably won't run it long after the water's clear. One suggestion was to use it as necessary, hold the life of the UV light.

DG

[Larry Grenier]

Yep DG... only when needed.

Hey, we need to start a local VA discus group.

[discusgirl]

Count me in....

[Don_Lee]

Let us know how it is going, it should be clear quickly if only a 10 gallon tank....

Don

[discusgirl]

Happy to report, All Clear!!!

It only took 3 days, I've dis-assembled the UV for later. The fish seem happier too :angel:

Thanks for all your suggestions, This is a great forum and I'm glad to be a part of it.
DG