# I need a continous algae bloom.



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

I have a 2.5 gallon tank that I would like to use for breeding Daphnia/scuds. "They" say that a green tank is what they need(algae bloom) so how do I start AND 
MAINTAIN one in that tank ? I'm kind of looking for something that I could add on say a weekly basis that would perpetuate the algae bloom. Putting it in the window
is on the list but it only gets PM sunlight at about 3 hrs per day. I'm trying to run an air line to it so it can be aireated but I want to keep that to a minimum.


----------



## rayray74 (Mar 19, 2013)

Try putting tank in sun, and add an activated carbon filter - some have phosphate in them. the phosphate will help trigger it.


----------



## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Raymond S. said:


> I have a 2.5 gallon tank that I would like to use for breeding Daphnia/scuds. "They" say that a green tank is what they need(algae bloom) so how do I start AND
> MAINTAIN one in that tank ? I'm kind of looking for something that I could add on say a weekly basis that would perpetuate the algae bloom. Putting it in the window
> is on the list but it only gets PM sunlight at about 3 hrs per day. I'm trying to run an air line to it so it can be aireated but I want to keep that to a minimum.


Even if you manage to create an aquarium of green water, the daphnia, as they multiply, will clear the water.

Maintaining a green water culture is a separate project from maintaining a daphnia culture. You can make it with spent tank water and a little fresh water and a pinch of miracle grow and put it in the sun or under a grow light. I personally would just buy some, cut it, and then keep the culture going. You dose the daphnia with green water daily. We used to constantly drip our daphnia pools with green water...sort of like drip acclimating fish but on a larger scale. We also put yeast in the pools...not a lot, just enough to make the water a little cloudy and then we'd add more yeast when the water became clear. If you overfeed daphnia, their culture will crash.

As you use the green water, replace it with spent tank water or stale tap water- no chlorine. If the green water becomes dark green, cut it with either of the above. If you don't, the dark green water culture will crash, which is why it's a good idea to have 2 cultures going. Same thing goes with the daphnia culture....I'd keep 2 cultures going if it's a main food source for your fish cuz if the population gets too dense, it will also crash. FYI- daphnia can live on yeast for awhile if they have too. It seems we may have fed them corn starch at times too...don't quote me on that. 

No HOB filters for the daphnia...just a bubbler...they need water movement. The green water culture will benefit from a bubbler too. Temp for the dahnia lower to mid 70's. Partial water changes in the daphnia tank will help them to reproduce...25% every 10 days or so. There is a misconception that daphnia like their water dirty...not so.

I probably forgot some stuff. I've fed a lot of daphnia in my life...too much. 




rayray74 said:


> Try putting tank in sun, and add an activated carbon filter - some have phosphate in them. the phosphate will help trigger it.


That may not be a good idea. Not all carbon has phosphates and a HOB with carbon is going to remove too much good stuff from the water, including the daphnia.


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

Something that I'm very curious about is when the lake comes up in spring(it didn't this year) it over runs the ground at the campsites. There is no
green but you can see thousands of daphnia in the shallow water along the edges where it has gone over the grass. So what are they feeding on ?
I'm not really prepared to go/w 2 tanks. I've been trying to do it in a quart jar which is in the window(3 hrs direct sun) but it's too small. So I got
one of those 2.5 gallon tanks/w the divider slots in it for Betta. Am going to try to use it only as scuds are the main issue and they are easy.
Where I live they can be picky and I mostly don't want to give bullets to the police if you get my drift. One extra tank will pass. They said(yea I
know it sucks but not into moving to solve it right now)"you can have an aquarium up to 10 gallons". I now have 2 ten gallon tanks and the 2.5 is the third.
See what I'm getting at. At any time they could dis-allow any but one if I rub them the wrong way...so...tread lightly...
Thanks for the feedback Goby...it will be useful.


----------



## Goby (Mar 21, 2012)

Raymond S. said:


> Something that I'm very curious about is when the lake comes up in spring(it didn't this year) it over runs the ground at the campsites. There is no
> green but you can see thousands of daphnia in the shallow water along the edges where it has gone over the grass. So what are they feeding on ?
> I'm not really prepared to go/w 2 tanks. I've been trying to do it in a quart jar which is in the window(3 hrs direct sun) but it's too small. So I got
> one of those 2.5 gallon tanks/w the divider slots in it for Betta. Am going to try to use it only as scuds are the main issue and they are easy.
> ...


You're welcome. )

Regarding the lake. The free algae is in the spring lake water...you just can't see it because of all the fresh water the lake takes in each spring. And daphnia eat other things too...not just algae. 

Just grow your green water in a large jar...you don't need a tank. I wouldn't use a tank. I can't imagine that you could culture green water and daphnia in the same container...the daphnia would consume the green water faster than the green water could thrive. 

And I get what you mean by the "police"...don't they know fish people make the best tenants? :fish-in-a-bag:


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

So I'll try to use the 2.5 for their home and perhaps see if I can find one of those wide mouth pickle jars at a local corner store. Have a 1/2 gallon
one(glass) now so it's better than a quart. Just a narrow mouth...jalopeno jar. Will be hard to provide air but will make it somehow.


----------



## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

You can get the phytoplankton for salt water tanks and feed it the same way as greenwater.


----------



## coralbandit (Jul 29, 2012)

Would culturing infusoria achieve the same effect as "green water"?Use any vegatative matter(lettuce,grass clippings,anything that will rot) in a 1/2 g jar as Goby suggested.Maybe not the same thing but with a bubbler and rotting veg. ,a little light you should get green water.I got green(and I mean GREEN ) water when I changed the pH in my discus breeding tank from 6+ to 7+.The tank always runs on RO/DI and I added straight(dechlorinated) tap7.6 ph and had green water for over a week.I DIDN'T WANT IT IT JUST HAPPENED!


----------



## Raymond S. (Jan 11, 2013)

I had a thread recently in which I expressed a concern about getting a virtual explosion in algae growth due to having gone from T8 bulbs to T5.
I at first only thought of it as going from 3WPG to 3.6WPG which seems to not be much. But then I looked at a PAR chart and found it to be a
doubling of the PAR value. Anyway someone suggested it may cause an algae bloom...but that was the 23rd of last month and none so far.
That tank has a few Daphnia in it now, it also has 5 Banded Pigmy sunfish which need live food till you convince them that frozen is good.
Two already eat frozen and I hope the others catch on by seeing those eat. But I haven't seen any of them since the T5's were installed.
Point being that an algae bloom would have helped the Daphnia population. That tank is also the reason for my trying to set up a Daphnia breeding tank.
I'm willing to give the T5's a few months "just to see"...but at this point there is evidence of being better off/w the T8's. Not plant growth wise
but as far as how the fish seemed to like it...give it some time(but don't get rid of the T8 fixtures yet) seem to be on the schedule.


----------



## Auban (Aug 8, 2010)

the easiest way to go is like majerah1 said, just use the liquid live phytoplankton products they sell for marine tanks. the ones that advertise six or seven different kinds of algae always have a few kinds that can grow in fresh water as well. so, you can start green water cultures that way, and even if you cant, you can still feed it to your daphnia.

getting a green water culture started can be a pain in the but. the truth is, you arent going to get green water unless you have the kind of algae that causes it. and even if you have the right kind of algae, it will only make green water if it has the right conditions to bloom ahead of everything else. thats where the live phyto stuff comes in handy.

that said, dont throw your daphnia cultures away if they all crash at once. just drain most of the water, leave the mulm at the bottom, and dry them out. after the junk at the bottom of the tank is dry, fill it back up again. you will likely see tiny black specks floating around, clinging to the tank walls. these are the eggs the daphnia laid when they started to sense bad conditions. 

in this way, you can usually resurrect a crashed culture.


----------

