# HELP! Son dumped entire can of flakes in 10G!!!



## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

Literally 3 minutes ago, walking by my tank, I see that EVERYTHING IS PINK. Everything is covered in pink flakes. My son dumped the entire can of fish flakes into our 10G freshwater planted tank. AAAAHHHH!!!!! I have no idea what to do. 

I am doing the "beaslbob build," i.e., no external filter--plants are the filter. This is a heavily planted tank with a substrate of peat moss, sand and gravel. 

I have no prepared water. If i go out an buy aquarium water... what do i do? Drop the fish (platys and fry) shrimp (4 cherry red shrimp) and snails (2 zebra nerites) into the jug of water while I clean the tank????
Then what how do I clean the tank. I don't even own a vacuum. This was a self-sustaining ecosystem (except for the occasional flakes and water top-offs). I let the fish droppings be the fertilizer for the plants. Do I need to vaccuum? or just scoop as much food as possible? Do I empty the tank? What do I do with the plants???? 

My brain is spinning. Can anyone tell me best course of action? And how much time it will take for the chem levels in the water to get dangerous? I am freaking out.

:fish9:


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Find a hose and syphon as much out as possible, move the fish (with tank water) into a tupperware or two while you drain, clean, and refill the tank.


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## Marci99205 (Dec 13, 2011)

Oh my, what a mess... you have to take pics and post it on http://www.****mykidsruined.com/ 
***- replace with sh*t the correct spelling


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> Literally 3 minutes ago, walking by my tank, I see that EVERYTHING IS PINK. Everything is covered in pink flakes. My son dumped the entire can of fish flakes into our 10G freshwater planted tank. AAAAHHHH!!!!! I have no idea what to do.
> 
> I am doing the "beaslbob build," i.e., no external filter--plants are the filter. This is a heavily planted tank with a substrate of peat moss, sand and gravel.
> 
> ...


First stop adding food to the tank. It may just heal itself.

second I would take a plastic tube and a container. Drain the water over a filter sucking out as much food as possible. Then return the water to the tank

You might have to do that a couple of times.

Hopefully things will respond and correct itself rapidily. Which is what plants are supposed to do.

If you fish look active and healthy things may not be a bad as it seems.

Let us know.

My .02

ps glad things are working out so well for ya. *old dude


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

LOL, stop adding food...you think?

I would get the net and get out as much as I could that way. Any piece of hose can act as a syphon. Just start it and suck up all the food you can and drain into a bucket. Absolutely no reason to add the old water back, in fact if ammonia has started to rise, which is what I would anticipate to be the first thing to happen, you'll want fresh water anyway. There is very little that is benficial in water even in an established planted aquarium.

If you don't get the stuff out it will remain on the bottom and start to rot. Leaving it is not a good option unless it was the smallest container that they sell and you were almost done with it. The tank will probably cloud up. Ammonia will come shortly after. Do you have any kind of testing supplies?


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

Thanks so much, guys! I was able to siphon into a bucket w/ a fine tea towel over it. Filtered the water nicely. Might should have gone w/ fresh water while I was at it, (as we are in the midst of an algae bloom), but I did not have any water prepared and can't really go out today. 
The siphon did act as a vacuum, which was really cool. Think i got 95% of the food. If I ever need to vacuum the gravel again, I can just siphon and filter instead! 
I refilled with the old water which stirred up the sand a bit so it's pretty clouded right now. When that settles I will put the rocks back. I am wondering with regard to to the algae bloom if I can/should just leave the lights out for a week and don't feed, esp. considering there's still a bit of food there. I'm just wondering how long is too long w/ the lights out for the plants. Tank is about 14 feet from a window. This may be a topic for another thread....


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Most low light plants can survive quite a while with no light. Others can be less tolerant. If the algae is really bad, a blackout may become necessary. 

What preparation do you do to your water?


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## Summer (Oct 3, 2011)

Glad you were able to get the majority of it out. 

And yea....don't feed for a while...good plan


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## inkmaker (Jun 10, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> Thanks so much, guys! I was able to siphon into a bucket w/ a fine tea towel over it. Filtered the water nicely. Might should have gone w/ fresh water while I was at it, (as we are in the midst of an algae bloom), but I did not have any water prepared and can't really go out today.
> The siphon did act as a vacuum, which was really cool. Think i got 95% of the food. If I ever need to vacuum the gravel again, I can just siphon and filter instead!
> I refilled with the old water which stirred up the sand a bit so it's pretty clouded right now. When that settles I will put the rocks back. I am wondering with regard to to the algae bloom if I can/should just leave the lights out for a week and don't feed, esp. considering there's still a bit of food there. I'm just wondering how long is too long w/ the lights out for the plants. Tank is about 14 feet from a window. This may be a topic for another thread....



10 gallons isn't much. I would be off to a hardware store for a 5 gallon bucket for making a space for change water. If you got most all the dry flakes out - you have about 1/2 the food out of the water. There is lots of nutrition left behind. Fill the bucket with tap water about the same temperature as the tank, treat it for Chlorine and be ready to change 1/2 the water in the tank tomorrow.

Big thing is not to kill the bacteria which live in the gravel, on the glass and all the plants in the tank with excess nutrition and Ammonia. Tomorrow syphon 1/2 the water out of the tank and get as much of the solid flakes, etc. out as possible. Refill the tank with your clean treated temperature correct water. Another couple of days of that will get things stable again.

If you have algae bloom problems, maybe a little more plants and less light.

Changing the water every 5 to 7 days will stop that.

Charles H


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

inkmaker said:


> If you have algae bloom problems, maybe a little more plants and less light.
> 
> Changing the water every 5 to 7 days will stop that.


+1


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Since you seem to perform Bob's methods down to the no filtration, curious if you could test your ph?

I'd be interested in the ph of your:

1 - tap
2 - tank ph when you started your tank
3 - tank ph now


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Most low light plants can survive quite a while with no light. Others can be less tolerant. If the algae is really bad, a blackout may become necessary.
> 
> What preparation do you do to your water?


By prepare I meant letting it sit for 24 hours to dechlorinate. It was Xmas eve so I couldn't really run to the store. 

For the next three days I did 50% water changes (tap water that had sat for 24 hours), but the snails and shrimp all hung out at the top, and the water smelled bad. I then attached the filter (had never used it as was using the "beaslbob build") and w/in minutes/hours (?) the snails went back down into the water. (Wish I had done that sooner!) Sadly, the shrimp did not make it that far. 

I changed the filter w/in a few days because the water had been so foul. The next filter I changed after another week. Now I'm on the third filter which I will keep to the end of the month, but I only run it for a couple hours after chow time. The ammonia was very high. The color wheel was on "toxic" shade. So I put some ammonia rocks in a bag in the filter compartment. The ammonia levels went down immediately, and now are at <0.02.

All the fish and snails seem to be back to business as usual, now.

I had remove all the wisteria as it went "slimy" and seemed to rot. Yes, it was bad in there. I bought a few new plants and rearranged. I have a pretty well planted 10G: (dwarf hair grass, 2 annubias, red lilly, 5 baby clumps of tropical fern, mint charlie, aponogeton ulvaceus, aponogeton proliferous, and something else aponogeton-looking, and java moss) but that darn algae is still persistent. But I am gathering that maybe I should ease up on the filter changing (not more often than once/month); that the bacteria in the filter help keep algae down? Correct? And I did rinse it in tap water once! Oops. 

So, I did a two-day black out after the crisis--no peeking, but the algae did not fully go away and came back in full force. 

I am afraid to black out too much because of all the live plants. About 3 months ago, I had been leaving the lights on about 12-14 hours/day. Then I went out of town for the weekend and left an algae wafer for snails and a weekend feeder for the fish. Biggest mistake. Algae bloom ever since. I only have the lights on 2-4 hours/day now, and it's been that way for the last 3 months, since before the fish flake disaster, in an attempt to combat this algae. But this new red lily does not like the 2-4 hours of light. I need to fix the problem so my tropical fish and my plants can get the 6-9 hours/day light they want.

So should I keep lights out and absolutely no feeding until algae gone? Lights are two 10w CFLs. There is a lamp about 6 feet away and another one about 12 feet away that also have 10w CFLs; and a window facing SSW about 14 feet away. So even with tank off, there is some indirect light. Will killing the lights, but having a lamp on 6 feet away defeat the purpose?

My PH is good. In the 7-8 range. Hard to tell precisely on those color wheels. I don't know what it is in my tap water before adding it to the tank. I wasn't monitoring levels before this disaster as everyone seemed so happy. When I did buy an indicator after the crisis, PH was really high, maxed out on the color wheel, but I had just put in 5 large snail shells with the new plants as hiding places for fry and a calcium source for the snails. So I removed all but one and the readings went down right away and are in the 7-8 range now. 

When the plants flesh out and I get a handle on the algae, I want to try again with the shrimp, but I want to make sure things are good before I add anything else.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Kill the light and stop feeding until the algae dies off.

*Then resume with 1/2 duration lighting and 1/2 feeding and adjust until the plants live but not the algae.*

(justa a reminder. sometimes you have to do 2 or 3 blackouts to "train the stupid tank")


my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Can you take pics of the algae or do you know what type it is? Every tank has algae. Killing the lights until the algae dies off will not work in every case. BBA algae for instance, is affected very little by the light being out and will still be there after a total blackout. If you take a pic and post it, maybe a better rec can be given.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

The water is green. No problems with algae on anything. Had green spot algae on the glass, but my zebra nerites took care of that in a weekend. Do you need a pic of the green water?


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Green water isn't just lights out. You need a total blackout by covering the tank and letting NO light in for 4-5 days.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> Green water isn't just lights out. You need a total blackout by covering the tank and letting NO light in for 4-5 days.


Will this harm my plants, esp. the red lilly?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

green water will clear up very quickly and the plants will survive on their stored up energy then recover.


my .02


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> Healthy plants will survive a several day blackout just fine. Don't peek during the blackout, and run an airstone if you have the option. The dying (and rotting) algae will consume oxygen. Also, green water implies the presence of ammonia.
> 
> Edit: As one more note, letting water sit for 24 hours is just great if your local municipality uses chlorine. If however they use chloramine it isn't going to do anything, and you really do need a dechlor chemical. Given how many areas use chloramine, you really should call your local water company or check their web page for a water quality report. So long as you call the right people they are required to give you the information.


My ammonia levels are at >0.02. 
I have checked with my water company. No chloramine, chlorine only.

I figured the green plants would be A-OK. It's just this red lilly that is not too happy on the 2-4 hours/day she was already getting. I am afraid of what I will find when i remove the cover in 4-5 days. Anywho, I covered it today. So Thurs/Fri I will have an update. It's sad, I've gotten kind of used to the green, but just saw pictures of a while back and it was SO CLEAR! I really hate this greeen!!


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> My ammonia levels are at >0.02.
> I have checked with my water company. No chloramine, chlorine only.
> 
> I figured the green plants would be A-OK. It's just this red lilly that is not too happy on the 2-4 hours/day she was already getting. I am afraid of what I will find when i remove the cover in 4-5 days. Anywho, I covered it today. So Thurs/Fri I will have an update. It's sad, I've gotten kind of used to the green, but just saw pictures of a while back and it was SO CLEAR! I really hate this greeen!!


report back in a few days.

When It's all clear again. *old dude

my .02


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

Ok, tank was blacked out for 6 days inadvertantly. I checked after 4, morning of the 5th, and it was a bit green, so I covered it again. Then I got deathly ill and forgot about it and didn't remove the cover til the night of the 6th day. 

Green is better, but still there. It's not terrible. It's not opaque. But the water is definitely got a green tinge. 

I went to the LFS to pick up some more plants and he said that there could be something in my local water feeding the algae. (Lights are only on 2-3 hours/day. Nearest window is 14 feet away. Only feeding 2 flakes/day or every other day. So am 99% sure this is not a light problem or an overfeeding problem.)

I looked up my local water quality report and noted that our water does contain an average of 0.63 phosphates with a range of 0.22--0.88. Is that enough to feed the algae? I've read that optimal levels are >0.05. I don't have a phosphate tester, so I don't know if that's it, but if the water going in has phosphates at 0.63....? 

What other chemicals in the tap water could contribute to algae growth? Again, my water does NOT have chloramine.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

BTW, found this article on algae prevention really interesting, esp. the myth busting toward the end.

Think Fish - Article: Algae prevention and control


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> Ok, tank was blacked out for 6 days inadvertantly. I checked after 4, morning of the 5th, and it was a bit green, so I covered it again. Then I got deathly ill and forgot about it and didn't remove the cover til the night of the 6th day.
> 
> Green is better, but still there. It's not terrible. It's not opaque. But the water is definitely got a green tinge.
> 
> ...


IMHO phosphates can contribute to algae growith and most definately to cyano when nitrates are low. But most phosphates come from feeding the fish not from the input water.

Tap water can contain ammonia/nitrates/phosphates to feed plants. Chloramine does break down to chlorine gas and ammonia. But again the overwhelming source of nutrients for plants comes from the fish in the tank not anything in potable water. At any rate plant will consume those nutrients keeping the tank stable and balanced.

I'm glad the tank is clearing up. If a tank can recover from an overload of cornflakes then the relatively minor overfeeding would be no problem. Hence my emphasis on the plants adding stability to aquariums.

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> IMHO phosphates can contribute to algae growith and most definately to cyano when nitrates are low. But most phosphates come from feeding the fish not from the input water.
> 
> Tap water can contain ammonia/nitrates/phosphates to feed plants. Chloramine does break down to chlorine gas and ammonia. But again the overwhelming source of nutrients for plants comes from the fish in the tank not anything in potable water. At any rate plant will consume those nutrients keeping the tank stable and balanced.
> 
> ...


I think it is well known fact that phosphates can contribute to algae growth and more importantly, an algae bloom.

As far as the fish providing the "overwhelming source of nutrients for plants", this is only true in a very limited window. For low to low medium light levels this may work. However, if you try to adjust the light up in its strength nutrients from fish cannot keep up with the now increased demand by the plant. Increase the light and the plant's needs also increase. Don't provide that increase and plants will become stunted and unhealthy. This is the whole basis of the threshold that people cross needing CO2. The two main things a plant needs to survive is light and CO2. Add more light and don't provide the higher need for CO2 and the plants will get covered in BBA and potentially end up dying.

Although they most assuredly do this, plants did not stabalize this tank. Nearly all the food was removed with a vacuum and the issues caused by the problem were nil.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Geee

I wonder what would have happened if the kid had dumped in Wheaties instead of corn flakes?


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

jrman83 said:


> I think it is well known fact that phosphates can contribute to algae growth and more importantly, an algae bloom.
> 
> As far as the fish providing the "overwhelming source of nutrients for plants", this is only true in a very limited window. For low to low medium light levels this may work. However, if you try to adjust the light up in its strength nutrients from fish cannot keep up with the now increased demand by the plant. Increase the light and the plant's needs also increase. Don't provide that increase and plants will become stunted and unhealthy. This is the whole basis of the threshold that people cross needing CO2. The two main things a plant needs to survive is light and CO2. Add more light and don't provide the higher need for CO2 and the plants will get covered in BBA and potentially end up dying.
> 
> Although they most assuredly do this, plants did not stabalize this tank. Nearly all the food was removed with a vacuum and the issues caused by the problem were nil.


Agreed.

Aquarium Algae - How to Control Aquarium Algae


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> I think it is well known fact that phosphates can contribute to algae growth and more importantly, an algae bloom.
> 
> As far as the fish providing the "overwhelming source of nutrients for plants", this is only true in a very limited window. For low to low medium light levels this may work. However, if you try to adjust the light up in its strength nutrients from fish cannot keep up with the now increased demand by the plant. Increase the light and the plant's needs also increase. Don't provide that increase and plants will become stunted and unhealthy. This is the whole basis of the threshold that people cross needing CO2. The two main things a plant needs to survive is light and CO2. Add more light and don't provide the higher need for CO2 and the plants will get covered in BBA and potentially end up dying.
> 
> Although they most assuredly do this, plants did not stabalize this tank. Nearly all the food was removed with a vacuum and the issues caused by the problem were nil.





Reefing Madness said:


> Agreed.
> 
> Aquarium Algae - How to Control Aquarium Algae


and another way is to not use co2 and adjust lighting and feeding so the plants thrive but not the algae/cyano.*old dude

my .02


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

ANYWAY, back on topic, is the amout of phosphate in my tap water (ave. 0.63) a contributing factor in this suspended algae bloom? Lights are not on too much and 2 flakes/day or every other isn't overfeeding.

As per the article I read ( Think Fish - Article: Algae prevention and control ) I think the lights were on too little. In the beginning they were on too much, 12-14 hours day, so I cut them way back to 1-4 hours. This IMHO was not giving the plants enough light to be healthy and active competitors for the nutrients the algae were feeding on. Meanwhile the algae was still being fed by ambient light when the tank lights were out... I am switching to 4 hours on, 2 hours blackout (with a blanket) then 4 hours back on. 

In the meantime, I need to know if I should be buying alternative water, if my tap water is contributing to the problem. After 6 days blackout and the problems still there, my LFS guy says I haven't gotten to the root.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> ANYWAY, back on topic, is the amout of phosphate in my tap water (ave. 0.63) a contributing factor in this suspended algae bloom? Lights are not on too much and 2 flakes/day or every other isn't overfeeding.
> 
> As per the article I read ( Think Fish - Article: Algae prevention and control ) I think the lights were on too little. In the beginning they were on too much, 12-14 hours day, so I cut them way back to 1-4 hours. This IMHO was not giving the plants enough light to be healthy and active competitors for the nutrients the algae were feeding on. Meanwhile the algae was still being fed by ambient light when the tank lights were out... I am switching to 4 hours on, 2 hours blackout (with a blanket) then 4 hours back on.
> 
> In the meantime, I need to know if I should be buying alternative water, if my tap water is contributing to the problem. After 6 days blackout and the problems still there, my LFS guy says I haven't gotten to the root.


actually the real news here is that cornflakes come in cans. *old dude

You have gotten to the root as your tank is almost clear again and from what I understand you have not lost fish.

There was a big shock to your system and it takes time to fully recover.

If you keep the lights low and feeding light the tank will clear up.

As long as the plants are still nice and green.

but it will take some time and you're almost there now.

my .02


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## Reefing Madness (Aug 12, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> and another way is to not use co2 and adjust lighting and feeding so the plants thrive but not the algae/cayno.*old dude
> 
> my .02


*old dude*whip**whip*


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

beaslbob said:


> and another way is to not use co2 and adjust lighting and feeding so the plants thrive but not the algae/cayno.*old dude
> 
> my .02


Use of CO2 is a choice. You really think the main reason people use it is to control alage? It is too bad that you have never seen what it will do for a planted tank or will be able to use it on any of your tanks. But of course, I guess you need to take baby steps and at least move up to heaters. You have a serious lack of knowledge in growing nothing but the few basic plants that you deal with. Yours could almost grow by sticking a flashlight on them for a few minutes a day, but some have higher requirements. There are hundreds of plants that you will never be able to grow and that also is "your" choice. But...don't knock something you don't understand or have experienced yourself.

Every time I see you post it I really have to wonder if you even know what cyano is in a "freshwater" tank. I will assume you got it on the sw side, if it also grows there. In my experience, and you can search nearly every thread on this site or on one of the planted sites out there, and very few algae issues are cyano. There are numerous types of algae and they aren't all grouped as cyano. Here is a link for you to read Algae in the Planted Aquarium-- Guitarfish


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

JoannaBanana said:


> ANYWAY, back on topic, is the amout of phosphate in my tap water (ave. 0.63) a contributing factor in this suspended algae bloom? Lights are not on too much and 2 flakes/day or every other isn't overfeeding.
> 
> As per the article I read ( Think Fish - Article: Algae prevention and control ) I think the lights were on too little. In the beginning they were on too much, 12-14 hours day, so I cut them way back to 1-4 hours. This IMHO was not giving the plants enough light to be healthy and active competitors for the nutrients the algae were feeding on. Meanwhile the algae was still being fed by ambient light when the tank lights were out... I am switching to 4 hours on, 2 hours blackout (with a blanket) then 4 hours back on.
> 
> In the meantime, I need to know if I should be buying alternative water, if my tap water is contributing to the problem. After 6 days blackout and the problems still there, my LFS guy says I haven't gotten to the root.


I thought you weren't doing water changes and only topping off? Not sure how the phosphates in your water would be too much of an issue if only topping off....or at least in theory. Not knowing which plants you have. 

A blackout is really the only way to get rid of the green water. When you did the blackout originally was your tank completely covered the full time? When you removed the cover did you do at least a 50% water change? A UV sterilyzer works well also, but would only consider if it was a persistent issue.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

jccaclimber said:


> Putting a two hour blanket wrapped blackout in the middle of two four hour light cycles is useless. Given your total lack of circulation the lights off may be slowing the plants while the dissolved gasses re-balance (proving in my mind that there is insufficient surface exchange).


Hmmm. Maybe I didn't mention that I have been running a filter since about 4 days after the disaster. (It wasn't until then that the snails would come down from the top of the tank back into the water.) So any advice based on a "total lack of circulation" would not apply.



jccaclimber said:


> However, wrapping it in a blanket is useless.


According to the article I read: _Algae need extended periods of light to thrive whilst plants can grow with intermittent light, so a siesta period in the middle of the day is designed to remove long periods of lighting, leaving lights on for no more than four hours followed by an hour of darkness. This will only work if the period of darkness is complete darkness._ 

With a double blanket covering the tank and no peeking, I think I am achieving total or near-total darkness. He also said that: _Healthy, growing plants actually help to prevent algae from growing so should be kept whenever possible. _ AND _It is much better to have bright lighting and healthy growing plants (which will remove nutrients from the water) than excess nutrient waste, dim aquariums, and algae._ I think the siesta period will be so much better for my plants than the 2 hours of light/day they've been getting for the last 3 months.



jccaclimber said:


> If a blackout is not successful or the problem returns one of two things happened. Either it wasn't dark enough for a long enough time, or the root problem has not been fixed.


I totally agree. That's why I'm worried about the phosphate levels. I just need to get a phosphate tester. I've read that anything above 1mg/l is too high. I currently don't know what my level is. 



jccaclimber said:


> You can prevent algae by making sure your plants have a surplus of all nutrients for your given lighting level, but that's not going to happen if fish food is the only input to the tank.


I don't understand this part. I thought a surplus of nutrients is what feeds the algae. 



jrman83 said:


> I thought you weren't doing water changes and only topping off?


Everything I've read seems to indicate one of the best ways to combat/prevent green water is to do at 10-20% water changes/week. So I do want to start that but was waiting on advice as to the 0.63 phosphates in my tap water. If my lighting wasn't too much and I am not feeding too much, then it's gotta be something else, right? (I won't know if it's phosphates, though until i get that tester...)



jrman83 said:


> When you did the blackout originally was your tank completely covered the full time?


Yes. Well, I was told to cover 4-5 days. So at the beginning of the 5th day, I checked it; it was still greenish, so I covered for two more days.



jrman83 said:


> When you removed the cover did you do at least a 50% water change?


No. No one had advised me to do so. 50% seems a bit drastic, too. In fact, according to that article that I keep quoting: _Tap water contains a large amount of many different minerals and nutrients, which are ideal food for algae. This is why, along with fluctuating water conditions, algae blooms are common in new aquariums or *after large water changes*. Using fast growing plants and absorbing filter mediums such as activated carbon in new tanks will help to keep excess minerals and nutrients at low levels. *Water changes are an essential part of maintenance but should always be kept small and never exceed 20% with the exception of emergencies.*_

That link, again, is Think Fish - Article: Algae prevention and control


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Do not believe in just one source when you read things on the internet. They are largely just one person's opinion and not largely related to a community of tank/fish/plant keepers. The writers do not do surveys to find out what people do, but are more focused on just what they do. There are MANY things in that article that are either outdated, flat out wrong, or debatable based on other aspects not mentioned. 

Personally, I believe you have an extreme situation if large water changes affect your tank enough to cause issues with regard to green water. I have been doing 50%+ ever since I got into aquariums 6-7yrs ago and have never seen green water. Never even knew it existed until maybe 2yrs ago. But, my tanks are all filtered well and the water never sits still and is always flowing. Even still, go to any planted website that talks 90% plants (The Planted Tank - Articles, Forums, Pictures, Links or Aquatic Plant Central) and they are nearly all doing 50% or greater, some more than once per week. AND....big thing here....they are pruposely adding in the very same nutrients that are believed to cause green water. Go to their algae section and see how many are having issues with green water - very few that I have seen. I add nitrates and phosphates to my tank 3x weekly. My phosphates run at a contant 10ppm. I get algae here and there from time to time, but no green water.


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## ZachZaf (Jan 26, 2012)

To the best of my memory the green water type of algae is a single celled little beast and a filter wont pick it up, so you have to kill it outright... 

but a filter never hurts to be running if there is anything living in the tank. 

Whats the status as of now?


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

O.K. Here's the status.
When I unshrouded the tank after the 6th day, the green was much better. Faint, but still there. Much improved, though.

However, since I started the siesta method, the green has definitely intensified. So I am certain and willing to concede that the siesta method is bunk. 

So... what? Was 4 days covered (a little peek) + 2 days more not long enough? The blanket I'm using does, indeed, block the light. My scientific methods: I put the blanket over my head and couldn't see anything. Then I put the blanket over the tank with the light on and couldn't see any light. So, I am concluding that the blanket is good.

So I fed the fish a few extra flakes today, which they gobbled all up, and put the blanket on, filter running. So how long this time? Eight days? I think my red lilly will be very sad at the end of that period. But she can die a sacrificial death if it rids us of the dreaded pea soup.... But hopefully her death won't be necessary.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> O.K. Here's the status.
> When I unshrouded the tank after the 6th day, the green was much better. Faint, but still there. Much improved, though.
> 
> However, since I started the siesta method, the green has definitely intensified. So I am certain and willing to concede that the siesta method is bunk.
> ...


If the green is much less now perhaps try adding the light with less feeding. Or even a black out every few days or so. The key is to get the plants thriving now. without completely clouding up the tank again. sometimes it does take a couple of blackouts. But it does finally recover.

my .02


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

beaslbob said:


> If the green is much less now perhaps try adding the light with less feeding.


It was less. Now it is more. I'd say back to where it was before the 6-day black out.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> It was less. Now it is more. I'd say back to where it was before the 6-day black out.


dern

A real balancing act.

Try a day or two with lights then a day of blackout.

Hopefully you will get the plants growing at the expense of the algae. *old dude

my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

The old ideas that plants and algae compete for nutrients has been debunked for some time now. If algae can gorw where there is only moisture from rain, it obviously doesn't require much to thrive. If the tank were near 0 on nutrients then I could see it being a possibility, but most tanks are nowhere near that. Some algaes like BBA, can look like black adges on leaves, requires even less and will grow almost anywhere.

The plants will help get you away from green water, but they cannot prevent and will not reverse it without some form of help.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

JoannaBanana said:


> So... what? Was 4 days covered (a little peek) + 2 days more not long enough? So how long this time? Eight days?


 ???


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

You need to do a large water change right before blackout and then right after blackout. Blackouts usually run 4 to 5 days. And water changes are 50% or more and it should be cleared up completely.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

OK, so the cover came off this morning after five days, and the water is CRYSTAL CLEAR. Ahhh, soo nice. I went ahead and did a 50-ish% water change, and did a little clean up. 

All this trauma has been hard on the dwarf hair grass. I think I may have to replace it, but the red lily looks great. All the fish look happy. I am ecstatic.

So, how long should the lights stay on today? What is the recommended lighting sched. for a planted tank? I have two CFLs; not sure on the output.


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

I believe it was between 5500 and 6500....


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## JoannaBanana (Jun 2, 2011)

They are 10w CFLs. There are two with a reflective metal behind them. The are not spiral, but double "U"s. 

(Not sure if I mentioned before, but the algae problem did not start until I went out of town one weekend and put a gel food cake in there and an algae wafer. Big mistake, I know. After that it began to turn green. The lights definitely may have contributed to that problem, but I don't know if they caused it. Someone else who know more than I would be a better judge of that.)


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

JoannaBanana said:


> OK, so the cover came off this morning after five days, and the water is CRYSTAL CLEAR. Ahhh, soo nice. I went ahead and did a 50-ish% water change, and did a little clean up.
> 
> All this trauma has been hard on the dwarf hair grass. I think I may have to replace it, but the red lily looks great. All the fish look happy. I am ecstatic.
> 
> So, how long should the lights stay on today? What is the recommended lighting sched. for a planted tank? I have two CFLs; not sure on the output.




congrates.

and is sometimes seems to take forever.

hopefully the plants are ready to spring to life with super fast growing.

try 8 hours with 1/2 the feeding you used to do. then see how it goes.

and keep us posted.

still just my .02


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