I need some help with my green tank

[jwcarlson]

Good luck, Greg!

[Greg-Florida]

Thanks Jacob. Zero nitrates in my tap water :-)

On another matter I have a Discus that's not eating. I'll make a new post on that soon.

Greg

[pitdogg2]

Good tips so far. Clarify one thing please. Is there any sunlight that strikes the tank during the day, even a sliver of light for 15-20 minutes? No plants absolutely no need for 12hr lighting cycles.

Twice a year I'd have bloom like that. It wasn't until I was home several days sick that I noticed that a sliver of sunlight was striking the tank at a time I was usually at work. That tiny bit of intense light made all the difference. Spring and fall for about a 2+3 week period as the sun was changing positions in the sky.

[Greg-Florida]

Good tips so far. Clarify one thing please. Is there any sunlight that strikes the tank during the day, even a sliver of light for 15-20 minutes? No plants absolutely no need for 12hr lighting cycles.

Twice a year I'd have bloom like that. It wasn't until I was home several days sick that I noticed that a sliver of sunlight was striking the tank at a time I was usually at work. That tiny bit of intense light made all the difference. Spring and fall for about a 2+3 week period as the sun was changing positions in the sky.

Great question pitdogg2. I assumed not but since you framed it that way, I'll watch on the weekend. It's possible.
I had asked if indirect sunlight adds to algae growth.

[Greg-Florida]

Update:
I began changing lots of water, added a hydro sponge, and a coarse sponge in place of the cartridge in the hob,
had the light off for awhile, now on only 8 hours a day, added 3 good-size live plants and it's looking good.
No more green, but it does look hazy. I'm working on that.
After a wc it's nice and clear but in a couple days it's back to hazy.
I'm thinking the sponges need more time to get their bb going to balance things out.
I just rinsed out the hob sponge for the first time with a wc tonight.

All the fish are happy, that's the main thing. :-)

[brewmaster15]

Greg, It soundsike your tank is still stabilizing..it can take a while...

Are you perhaps feeding too much in this tank? What kind of air flow are you using on the hydro sponge?

AL

[Greg-Florida]

Greg, It soundsike your tank is still stabilizing..it can take a while...

Are you perhaps feeding too much in this tank? What kind of air flow are you using on the hydro sponge?

AL

You know Al, I think you might be right on the overfeeding. This tank has a dozen fish around an inch or less
and I've been feeding them the bottom of the container of flake food and crisps and maybe the pieces are too small and they do get
into the gravel before they can grab it, but I see them picking it out. But much of it probably sits until I vacuum that area. I'm going to give it a super
good vacuuming under everything and ditch the small food particles.

A Whisper 40 drives the air sponge. The air tube only rises 3" above the sponge and I'm thinking from a physics
standpoint, if that tube were taller, more water would be drawn through the media. Once the air
leaves the vertical tube, the water draw from them is done. If they traveled twice as far up a tube, I think the
suction created would be greater. Any evidence or experience on that, or engineers to concur, lol?

I've not rinsed the air sponge yet, it's been 4 weeks.
Thanks.

[brewmaster15]

I wouldnt rinse it yet. .that whisper 40 should be enough for it with the lift tubes. Lifts tube height is important but I ditched mine and instead increased the. Flow of air.. In tanks. Not on my linear air pump I use the whisper 60 and 100s. I ditched the tubes because I hate cleaning them... be more efficient with them but still works with out them and instead bumping up the air.

[dagray]

you can get an A/C (Hagen) power head (a small one) and run it on top of a sponge filter aiming the output at the glass to diffuse any current. That will clean the tank quickly.
Hagen A/C (aqua clear) even make a polishing cartridge that fits on the bottom of the power head (works great, is reusable, and I fill it with polyfill/dacron for even more filtration/water polishing).

I only leave it in for an hour or so. I use it if I am going to stir up the substrate to get the solids out of the water.

This won't change your water parameters like using chemicals and buffers.

[jwcarlson]

Interesting that it's clear right after a WC, but builds to a haze. I'd stop feeding for a few days and see if it goes away. I think I mentioned that the other day, but sometimes I get to gish-galloping and it ends up lost in the shuffle.

[Greg-Florida]

Interesting that it's clear right after a WC, but builds to a haze. I'd stop feeding for a few days and see if it goes away. I think I mentioned that the other day, but sometimes I get to gish-galloping and it ends up lost in the shuffle.

You did mention that Jacob and they haven’t had a bite in a day and a half. I do think excess food in the tank is contributing to the issue like I said to Al with the small particles I’m feeding them. I’m tempted to feed them though because I have four little babies about a quarter of an inch but they probably munch on algae.

[Greg-Florida]

you can get an A/C (Hagen) power head (a small one) and run it on top of a sponge filter aiming the output at the glass to diffuse any current. That will clean the tank quickly.
Hagen A/C (aqua clear) even make a polishing cartridge that fits on the bottom of the power head (works great, is reusable, and I fill it with polyfill/dacron for even more filtration/water polishing).

I only leave it in for an hour or so. I use it if I am going to stir up the substrate to get the solids out of the water.

This won't change your water parameters like using chemicals and buffers.

Thank you Dave, that’s helpful. I’ll look into those. I’m a novice and it seems like I have enough filtration going on but I like to know my preferred options.

[Greg-Florida]

I wouldnt rinse it yet. .that whisper 40 should be enough for it with the lift tubes. Lifts tube height is important but I ditched mine and instead increased the. Flow of air.. In tanks. Not on my linear air pump I use the whisper 60 and 100s. I ditched the tubes because I hate cleaning them... be more efficient with them but still works with out them and instead bumping up the air.

I quite enjoy how much I’m learning so fast. It’s like being back in college. Thank you guys!

[Iminit]

Ok here’s what I’m seeing in your tank. 2 goldfish! Ok other fish too but 2 goldfish. These guys are huge waste producers that eat anything. So you’ve got 20 fish and 2 goldfish in a 30g tank. What you need to keep it clean is more filtration. What I’d suggest is an odyssea 250 filter. Around $20 shipped on eBay. It’s a powerhead with 2 caged sponges. Remove one sponge and fill that cage with floss. This will clean up the tank in hours. If the flow is too much add a spray bar to it to lessen the flow. This filter will become for you a water polisher. Once a week remove the cages and rinse the sponge and floss and reinstall. 5BFC4E8A-2699-4A8E-9814-4AEA352F2DBE.jpg. This is the 350 but for you the 250 will be more than enough. This is it in my 30 qt90A3267A-A217-4602-9C86-86FD98718B03.jpg. Not the best pic but you can see I added a spray bar to it. I also filled one of my cages with media.

[Greg-Florida]

Ok here’s what I’m seeing in your tank. 2 goldfish! Ok other fish too but 2 goldfish. These guys are huge waste producers that eat anything. So you’ve got 20 fish and 2 goldfish in a 30g tank. What you need to keep it clean is more filtration. What I’d suggest is an odyssea 250 filter. Around $20 shipped on eBay. It’s a powerhead with 2 caged sponges. Remove one sponge and fill that cage with floss. This will clean up the tank in hours. If the flow is too much add a spray bar to it to lessen the flow. This filter will become for you a water polisher. Once a week remove the cages and rinse the sponge and floss and reinstall. This is the 350 but for you the 250 will be more than enough. This is it in my 30 qt. Not the best pic but you can see I added a spray bar to it. I also filled one of my cages with media.

Yes, two goldfish.
I see the 250 on Amazon for 18 bucks.
I do believe this tank I have is 35-36 gallons.
I have the Penguin 275 which moves 275GPH and is for tanks up to 40 gallons. I added an air driven sponge filter. Do you still think I need more filtration?
I sure would like crystal clear water! I used to achieve that.