# Planted Tanks > Fertilisation and Algae >  green water problem

## weileong

I've big problem now. My tank water will turn green and it gets greener and greener until like those pond water in the open.

At first I change 50% of the water but the problem does not go away and keeps coming back so I was forced to change 100% of the water, the water stay clear for 4 days then start to turn green again.

I was forced to change 100% water, wash the filter but that doesn't help the water has started to turn green again.

I did not add anything to the water except the Aquamedi kH up powder.

I'm going crazy over this, feeding is very minimum and I feed once a day only and the fish will finish all the food in less than 10 sec.

Can someone offer some suggestions? I don't want to change 100% water again.

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## LiquidFX

Where did you put your tank, is it in the path of direct sunlight?

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/3/2002 11:25:11 PM 
> 
> Where did you put your tank, is it in the path of direct sunlight?
> ----------------


Further data, tank is out of the way of direct sunlight.
it's a 4ft tank with 6 FLs. You suspect too much light?

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## Simon

try UV.. heard it gets rid of greenwater

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/3/2002 11:42:05 PM 
> 
> try UV.. heard it gets rid of greenwater
> ----------------


I will try for sure. Hmm... have to spend $$$ again. Any idea how much one cost?

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## David

hi weileong

I dont think it is the aquamedic KH up powder as I am using the product without such problems...i dont think it is the lighting problem..as i am running 6 fl tubes in my 4ft tank....could it be cause of your UV shield that you installed onto your lights that may be giving you the problem?

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## AirStern

before you try to get UV .... try to use this liquid by oceanfree call the geo liquid, if it doesnt work, i dun think it is too late to get UV filter

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## sherchoo

isn't the geo liquid thing treats cloudy water only?

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## DEA

geo liquid _claims_ to treat everything from algae to fish death
who knows, maybe if you drink it on a regular basis it might even cure cancer  :Smile:  

try some dapnia first
buy a bag, dump them inside, and see how it goes

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## David

hey yimin

would the daphnia become a problem itself.....?

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## sherchoo

David,

Why would it be a problem...... I think the only problem would be the daphnia get eaten by the fishes b4 they get into action to clear the green water

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/3/2002 11:49:55 PM 
> 
> I dont think it is the aquamedic KH up powder as I am using the product without such problems...i dont think it is the lighting problem..as i am running 6 fl tubes in my 4ft tank....could it be cause of your UV shield that you installed onto your lights that may be giving you the problem?
> ----------------


David,

The problem already happen before I install the UV shield, remember when I talk to you from my office I have not install the UV shield yet and I've already done 100% water change because of the problem and run out of kH powder.

Hmm... really bothering me, I'll try not use use UV if possible at all.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/3/2002 11:59:17 PM 
> 
> before you try to get UV .... try to use this liquid by oceanfree call the geo liquid, if it doesnt work, i dun think it is too late to get UV filter
> ----------------


I've tried this Geo liquid but doesn't seems to help. After reading your message I read the instructions again and found that I put in too little so now dose at 1ml to 3 litres, let's wait and see.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/4/2002 12:24:07 AM 
> 
> try some dapnia first
> buy a bag, dump them inside, and see how it goes
> ----------------


The Daphnia will be gone in less than 10 mins I think, my fishes will finish them. Heheh lots of suggestion and I'll try them.

I got cloudy water before but they are white, this time it's green. sucks.  :Sad:

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## jacian

I would add some filter floss in the filter. Half the amount of light for the moment. Change 50% of water every other day till the water clear up. Check the filter floss, rinse it if it turns green.

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## Allen_1971

> ----------------
> 
> The Daphnia will be gone in less than 10 mins I think, my fishes will finish them. Heheh lots of suggestion and I'll try them.
> 
> I got cloudy water before but they are white, this time it's green. sucks.  
> ----------------



Eh not really weileong, if its in the bag, the daphnia should be quite safe... 

Also the other alternative which has been suggested is to introduce duckweed. This help by blocking off some light, and more importantly sucking up excess nutrients.

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## vinz

Read this Green Water. Its about puting the daphnia in a cloth cage in the tank and placing it near the filter output. Idea is that the algae water gets into the cage but the daphnia are too big to get out, so they don't become the special of the day for yor fishes. Lots of other solutions too.

Is it a new setup? I had this problem when I started my 3.5 foot. I cut the light to 4 hours, closed all the curtains in the room. Did 50% water change every 2 days. Eventually it went away.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> Eh not really weileong, if its in the bag, the daphnia should be quite safe... 
> 
> Also the other alternative which has been suggested is to introduce duckweed. This help by blocking off some light, and more importantly sucking up excess nutrients.
> ----------------


I've introduce the fog bit and they are growing like mad right now. I'll give the daphnia a try, good suggestion 
[: :Smile: ] 

Meanwhile have added the correct dosage of Geo liquid so it'll take a while to see the results.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/4/2002 10:43:11 AM 
> 
> Is it a new setup? I had this problem when I started my 3.5 foot. I cut the light to 4 hours, closed all the curtains in the room. Did 50% water change every 2 days. Eventually it went away.
> 
> ----------------


My tank is almost 2 yrs old I think, if not also 1.5 yrs old, everything very stable until his green water thing strikes, so far no other algae except a bit of green spots here and there but not so much and clean once in a month would be sufficient.

There are many suggestions from the brothers here and I'll give them all a try. *sign*

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## weileong

Update:

Situation is very very bad, yesterday just change 100% water and now water greenish again, a lot of difference from this morning.

I got some daphnia and made a "breeding tank" for them, I feed part of the output from the filter into this tank. The outlet is filtered with the very fine mesh so they won't get suck out. Will have to wait to see the results.

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## vinz

weileong,

cut the light period or intensity and darken the room or cover the tank. this will help greatly.

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## DEA

another thing i forgot weileong
did you clean your filter?

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## Vican

Actually not much need to create a special tank. Just get one of them net breeding traps and dump the daphnia inside. The net is fine enough to prevent the daphnia from getting out and killed

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## David

weileong

adding to yimin's last comment, when was the last time you change your filter media? have you done a NO3 test.....if the frogbits are growing like mad, that's not a good sign and it may suggest that your NO3 may be on the high side.

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## koon

You need to find the root cause of your problem. There are many solutions offered to you. If you do not know your root cause, no point. And you mention it is a 2 year old tank. So, in Statistically Process Control term, this is call a process drift.

Normally I get green water if I put in too much liquid fertilizer. A 50% water change and good filtration will solve my problem.

So, from the discussion above, maybe I can help to summarize:

Green water is a function of:
a. direct sunlight
b. too much fertilizer
c. not efficient filter which cause nitrate build-up
(please add in the rest if u have)

You rule out (a) so only left (b) and (c).

You can do a cause and effect analysis on (b) and (c).

eg. What can cause too much fertilizer in your tank which give the green algae effect ?

Possible causes: - too frequent adding of liquid fertilizer
- leach from base substrate into water
- etc etc.

It will be tough for you to work on the solutions without even knowing the root cause.

rgds





 :Wink:   :Wink:   :Wink:   :Wink:

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## DEA

hi, personally i feel the problem should be in the filter
as mentioned, the tank is 2 years old
i doubt it's due to a change in his fertiliser regime
the last time i had green water was due to decaying material being accumulated in the filter
this produces organic waste which apparently encourages green water

cleaning the filter and adding compacted filter floss should work
avoid flocculants as it only increases the organic waste in the filters

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## tawauboy

Had a similar problem a while back.
Green water was due to direct sunlight and no water change for 2 months.
It is just a tank with some fishes.
It was so green that I couldn't see the fishes and the fish pooh was green as well[ :Grin: ] [ :Grin: ] [ :Grin: ] 
It took me 2 95% water changes, cleaned the internal filter and filter floss changes to get rid of green water.
Now 2 months down the road, the water is still clear.
And changing water ever 2 weeks.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/4/2002 6:26:10 PM 
> adding to yimin's last comment, when was the last time you change your filter media? have you done a NO3 test.....if the frogbits are growing like mad, that's not a good sign and it may suggest that your NO3 may be on the high side.
> ----------------


I've not changed the filter media since day one, do you think I should have it changed?

The frogbits are not really that mad. But you know after I do a complete water change + complete wash of filter/media do you think if excess NO3 is still a problem? Hmm... I really feed the fishes very little and most likely I don't get that much NO3 but I'll check it out.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/4/2002 9:27:57 PM 
> 
> Green water is a function of:
> a. direct sunlight
> b. too much fertilizer
> c. not efficient filter which cause nitrate build-up
> (please add in the rest if u have)
> ----------------


You can rule out all the above because I do not add any liquid fertilizer and I've done two 95%-100% water change and at the same time fully wash the filter. After the washing the water is clear for 1-2 days then the 3rd day starts to get cloudy and finally become dark green. It is like that hopeless then I come here asking for help.

Could it be possible of leach of base substrate into water?? I've no under gravel heater installed and have not disturb the gravel for quite sometime.

Wow sounds like really no idea. I've used the daphnia method and hopefully it will help to clean up the water. I just check the Daphnia and they are all fat like going to explode, seems like they have a good meal of algae  :Smile:  Hopefully it will help to get the water clean.

Hmm.. I read also that it could be due to lack of K or N that is causing the algae problem? Maybe you think I should add in K and N ?

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## DEA

ehh
since you've already washed ur filter
go add some compacted filter floss into your filter
use interpet filter aid
this will clump the green water causing organisms together and your filter will remove them
clean the filter once it's gone
rinse and repeat

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## David

weileong

filter media do expire.......and needs to be changed every year minimum...the last time I got lazy ....KABOOM!!! my nitrate level shot up to 80 range .......did 40% water change every two days and still the nitrate stayed at 80....till a kind person named yimin told me to change my filter media....

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/5/2002 1:34:16 AM 
> 
> weileong
> 
> filter media do expire.......and needs to be changed every year minimum
> 
> ----------------


David, which media should I change? You meant to say change everything or just the white soft filter at the top? If change everything then very expensive.


DEA,

I will give it a try for sure but now I've added the Daphnia and I will wait a week to see if there's improvment. If not then I go get the filter media.

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## Vican

Which kind of filter media are you guys talking about?
The blue sponge in Eheim filters? bio balls? Ceramic rings?

I thought a rinse would get rid of most of the slime etc?

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## weileong

I checked the NO3 and it is only about 12.5ppm I guess not too much so I added in 2ml of KCL. Will have to wait and see. Today the water is greener than yesterday, sucks.

If still cannot then I will have to reduce light level or use UV already

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## David

the bio media...the rock stuff in your filter.....they have an expiry date......you are suppose to only change about 2/3 and keep 1/3 of the old..but if your NO3 is only 15 ppm well dont think its the case.......

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## weileong

Got a UV sterilizer on Sunday, got it installed and running. This morning water is still quite green but this evening return home and water is as clear as it can get, cannot be anymore clear.

I turn off the UV sterilizer and now I will let the daphnia deal with the green algae if there is any.

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## David

thing may be good just to reduce the running hours rather than turn it off?

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/8/2002 12:20:23 AM 
> 
> thing may be good just to reduce the running hours rather than turn it off?
> ----------------


David,

I'll give it a try to just turn it off totally. I still have the daphnia inside the tank and would like to try to test if they will be able to prevent and outbreak again. If I get another outbreak then I will let the UV run for say 4 hrs/day.

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## Allen_1971

Weileong,

good to hear that your problem has cleared up  :Smile:  So how much did you pay for your UV lamp, and what are the specs?

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/8/2002 2:26:15 PM 
> 
> Weileong,
> 
> good to hear that your problem has cleared up  So how much did you pay for your UV lamp, and what are the specs?
> ----------------


I paid $140 at petmart, for 11w, read the spec it's for 2000l/hr flow rate. Overkill for my 2228  :Smile:

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## weileong

I thought the water cannot get anymore clearer last night. Tonight the water is even more clear, don't know how to describe. The plants are bubbling like mad that I've not seen before.

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## DEA

the plants are bubbling cos of the light which was blocked out by the green water
think you should start fertilising soon

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## Vican

Weileong,
What brand is your UV? I thought I had gotten a good price for my 9W UV (made in Finland) @$130.

Seems like Petmart is cheaper, more worth it to get 11W UV @$140

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/8/2002 10:37:04 PM 
> 
> the plants are bubbling cos of the light which was blocked out by the green water
> think you should start fertilising soon
> ----------------


DEA,

I guess you are right. Could another reason be that the green water was absorbing nutrients faster than the plants could and now with the green water gone the plants have no more competition from the green water hence they are bubbling.

I will start adding the tropical mastergrow somewhere this week, got to go and buy. Meanwhile NO3 tested to be 12.5ppm, don't need to add anymore right? I've added the Horti tablets too.

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## weileong

> ----------------
> On 1/9/2002 2:12:18 AM 
> 
> Weileong,
> What brand is your UV? I thought I had gotten a good price for my 9W UV (made in Finland) @$130.
> 
> Seems like Petmart is cheaper, more worth it to get 11W UV @$140
> ----------------


Mine is made in Holland, model is UVC-2.000 Petmart was sort of having sales for the UVC. The 9w and 11w selling at same price. I think the difference is just in the PL only, not too sure about it maybe it is longer so you can just swap in a higher rating one. You are running 3 ft right and your filter is 400L/hr? so 9w is still overkill?

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## Vican

Weileong,
You must have gotten the model wrong. Mine is UVC 7.000, for 7000l pond, 9W, 3000l/hr. If your UV is 11W, it should be UVC 10,000, for 10000l pond.

Anyhow, the UV is not for my tank, but my 200l betta barracks

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## AirStern

weileaong, good to hear that your tank has clear up so fast ... really quite a wonder that UV can be so powerful

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## weileong

Vican.

Confirm correct UVC2.000 it is written on the box.

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