# Algea and green water driving me nuts



## countrylovin4evr (Jun 1, 2010)

Hi . Well I 've had tanks before but never fought stuff like this. I've got a 30 gal. with filter and heater. One extremely large goldfish (really don't want him but husband won't let me find new home) and one real algea eater and a flying fox . 
My issue... green water. Every other day I end up cleaning the tank because it's so green that I can't see in it. It's terrible. I don't have the algae on the sides of glass anymore and only get smudges on plants. But filter is getting clogged with it and I just don't know what to do. It's so bad I'm ready to give up having fish.

Filter is a bio-wheel and I have a medium bubbler in one corner. I feel water isn't aggitated enough. I have a background on it that blocks out light on back of course. Not sure what the strip lighting is because I was given the tank from neighbor as is with lighting. Bought filter and heater myself. May have hard water here so I'm just battling lots of stuff.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Have you tried a blackout? Covering the tank for 3 days straight and no light whatsoever and no feeding.*


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

I'd try the blackout thing and see if the problem will go away. Don't give up on fish keeping yet though. Once everything get settled down it is easy cheesy keeping the tank going.


What part of Washington are you in?


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## countrylovin4evr (Jun 1, 2010)

No feeding?? That's kind of cruel isn't it? I've been considering now putting something to on side to block sunlight on that side, may be getting too much that I can't control. Still wondering about lighting since I know nothing about it. 
Once I do get rid of this nasty slim how often should I feed algea wafers to algae eaters? I don't want to over feed them and stupid goldfish likes to steal them anyway.

I'm in Spokane actually.


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*Yea no feeding. If you do decide to do a black out, I suggest do a big water change before to reduce nitrates and overfeed if you are afraid your fish will starve. After the blackout do another big water change to remove all the dead algae and nitrates. *


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## countrylovin4evr (Jun 1, 2010)

lol. my goldfish will love that. I am still suprised that my algae eaters have not been eaten by him. He 's at least... 7 inches long.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

NursePlaty said:


> I suggest do a big water change before to reduce nitrates and overfeed if you are afraid your fish will starve. After the blackout do another big water change to remove all the dead algae and nitrates. [/COLOR][/B]


Yeppers...50% wc...turn off lights...cover tank...let stand 3 days...uncover...50% water change.

Your fishies will be fine during this time.


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## bikerider (Mar 12, 2009)

also how long do you leave your lights on? maybe after the blackout you should reduce the lighting to about 8 hours if haven't already to reduce/eliminate regrowth.


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## squirrelcrusher (Sep 23, 2009)

Have you ever been to Aquarium Solutions? It is up there in Spokane and the lady that runs it is very helpful. I bought some awesome catfish from here a few months ago. Can't wait to go up to Spoko again to see what else I can get.


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

Blackout is one of 2-3 solutions to green water but you also have to address what caused it/is causing it. Green Water is usually a combination of high nitrates, phosphates, and mixed in some ammonia/ammonium. Substrate disturbance is usually the culprit. 

- Is your tank fully cycled? If not you will have higher than normal ammonia levels
- How often do you do water changes and how much?...do you vacuum the gravel?
- Do you add a conditioner to the water before you add it? If not you could be feeding the algae more ammonia and phosphates as well as chlorine.
- You need to find out what kind of bulb you have on your tank. Is it high output, wattage, and how long do you keep it on during the day.
- How much do you feed the fish. Goldfish produce more waste than most fish its size (nitrates/ammonia) so don't overfeed it. Left over food also leads to the above 2 nutrients.
- What is the temp of the water? During the summer the water can get warmer leading to algae blooms. Keep the water cool and away from sunlight if possible. Watch the heat coming off the bulb as well.

Ok...now on to blackout. You need to change your filter, do a large water change, black out your tank for 4-5 days. No light at all. This means covering your biowheel also....or better yet get a better filter. Biowheels clog up too fast IMO and cause more problems. Use black trashbags or blankets. Monitor the ammonia levels. After blackout do another large vacuum, then follow the steps above to prevent more problems.

If you have diatom filter like a Magnuum this can get rid of green water as well. This can make your tank crystal clear but the filter needs to be changed more often. The last thing I could suggest to get rid of green water is a UV sterilizer. This will kill any floating algae in the water column.

BTW...what is your "real algae eater"? A pleco? SAE? Chinese?


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## Ford101 (Jun 11, 2010)

hey i am having the exact same problem. my tank is 30 gallons with 18 various fish. i have about 7 live plants, and about 8 baby fry fish. i was wondering if the black out method is still okay for me considering this. i am about desperate at this point.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Ford101 said:


> hey i am having the exact same problem. my tank is 30 gallons with 18 various fish. i have about 7 live plants, and about 8 baby fry fish. i was wondering if the black out method is still okay for me considering this. i am about desperate at this point.


Yes, it will be ok to perform. What kind of fry and how old? You may have to drop some feed in the tank depending on their age but won't be an issue.


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## Ford101 (Jun 11, 2010)

they are balloon mollies and dolmation mollies. their ages range between 1 week and 6. however i just read something about diatom filters and how great they work. any thoughts? will it effect the bacteria levels and uncycle my tank?


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## Dmaaaaax (Nov 20, 2008)

Ford101 said:


> they are balloon mollies and dolmation mollies. their ages range between 1 week and 6. however i just read something about diatom filters and how great they work. any thoughts? will it effect the bacteria levels and uncycle my tank?



If your green water is bad this may take several cleanings of the filter, but this method does work as I posted above. It will not affect the bacteria levels as long as you don't remove your other filter. The majority of the beneficial bacteria in your tank is in your filter and your gravel/plants. 

A UV filter would also work and add more circulation. Keep in mind that these are fixes for the problem, they do not address the actual problem as to why you have green water. It could be a due to nutrient or lighting issue.


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## jeffro0050 (Apr 4, 2010)

countrylovin4evr said:


> Hi . Well I 've had tanks before but never fought stuff like this. I've got a 30 gal. with filter and heater. One extremely large goldfish (really don't want him but husband won't let me find new home) and one real algea eater and a flying fox .
> My issue... green water. Every other day I end up cleaning the tank because it's so green that I can't see in it. It's terrible. I don't have the algae on the sides of glass anymore and only get smudges on plants. But filter is getting clogged with it and I just don't know what to do. It's so bad I'm ready to give up having fish.
> 
> Filter is a bio-wheel and I have a medium bubbler in one corner. I feel water isn't aggitated enough. I have a background on it that blocks out light on back of course. Not sure what the strip lighting is because I was given the tank from neighbor as is with lighting. Bought filter and heater myself. May have hard water here so I'm just battling lots of stuff.


As far as I know, the only "permanent" cure for Green water is a 3 day blackout. Wrap your tank in opaque material so no light can get in and let it be for that time(feed the fish of course). Green water can not exist without light for very long, and this is the only sure fire way to effectively treat it without risking harm to your fish.


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## MediaHound (Jul 19, 2006)

A UV sterilizer is also a permanent solution.


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