Frustrated Beyond Belief

[Xtremeskibro]

Ok, soo heres my problem. First when i started this tank on 2/10/07 i new it had to be cycled, i used preexisting water and media, allong with the filter media. Well i got a bacteria bloom right away...as to be expected....2 weeks later it looks almost like its algea bloomed now. I am trying everything. I have been using Algea Destroyer for a week now with little to no results. here is the tank info

Ammonia:0-.25 ppm
NO3: 40ppm
NO2:0ppm
Total Hardness: 120
Total Alkalinity/Buffering Capacity:0-80
PH:6.5

I dont know what to do, im freeking going nuts. its all i can think about. HEre are some pictures even

Before Algae Bloom:

after Bloom:

Please Help

BTW i have Magnavore PURA Complete in my extra media slot on my emperor 280.

Tank is a 35G hexagon tank filtered with a Emperor 280, 100w Visatherm HEater, 15W FLourescent TUbe, and a Maxi Jet 400 for water movemen.

 

[modaz]

how long do you have your lights on during the day?

 

[Puffdaddy]

Stop adding the algae destroyer it's not working.

Try this:
increase airation
stop all feeding for 36hrs
turn off the tank lights
wrap tank with blanket for 36hrs

when wrapping the tank no light may enter (total darkness) and no peeking. After 36 hrs take off the blanket. Let us know if that works.

 

[celaeno]

that may work, but the green water will most likely return a week after you resume your regular lighting schedule, so i recommend an internal uv sterilizer.

 

[modaz]

Stop adding the algae destroyer it's not working.

Try this:
increase airation
stop all feeding for 36hrs
turn off the tank lights
wrap tank with blanket for 36hrs

when wrapping the tank no light may enter (total darkness) and no peeking. After 36 hrs take off the blanket. Let us know if that works.

i agree with that, you beat me to my answer

that may work, but the green water will most likely return a week after you resume your regular lighting schedule, so i recommend an internal uv sterilizer.

isnt the green water actually the algae? to me it looks like the water is still couldy and the algae is settled on the bottom, i might be wrong but i just looks like that in the pics, do you know what i mean?

 

[for_my_fish]

your ph is 6.5. What is your ph from your taps?

I'd stop adding chemicals to try to fix the problem if you can. Try the techniques people have suggested above. Do small frequent water changes (unless nitrates from your tap are the same/worse than youre reading). Unless of course your ph is way off compared to your tapwater, in which case larger frequent water changes are good, rememebr to use a declorinator or let the wate rstand over night.

 

[mark.w.jones]

What stock have you got in the tank?
Did you fishless cycle it?
What plants do you have?

If the blackout doesn't work then your best bet is definitely a UV sterilizer. There have been many members had a lot of joy clearing algae blooms with them but it will come back unless we can work out what's wrong.

Your nitrate levels are a little high and you have a slight ammonia reading. Neither of these things is great in a tropical tank although they are not horrendously high levels. Your main problem is that your light levels are quite low as well. You have less than half a watt per gallon in a fairly tall tank. Ideally you need higher levels than that, 1 - 2 watts per gallon along with some really fast growing plants to help out compete algae for nutrients.

 

[Xtremeskibro]

how long do you have your lights on during the day?

it was 11+ hours a day ...i have reduced it to a timer that will be running it 4 on 4 off 4 on 8 off

your ph is 6.5. What is your ph from your taps?

I'd stop adding chemicals to try to fix the problem if you can. Try the techniques people have suggested above. Do small frequent water changes (unless nitrates from your tap are the same/worse than youre reading). Unless of course your ph is way off compared to your tapwater, in which case larger frequent water changes are good, rememebr to use a declorinator or let the wate rstand over night.

6.5 from the tap. slightly acidic. what would u recommend for a declorinator? i used stress coat...but i dunno if thats what you would recommend. Thanks.

 

[gpgscott]

Free floating single cell algae is caused by excess nutrients in the water. It also requires warmth and light, your fish require the warmth so you can't eliminate this and you require the light to be able to enjoy the fish, so you can't eliminate this. The way to control single cell algae is proper water managment. You water as has been pointed out is slightly acid, this is not only bad for fish but it is good for algae. The algae is too small to be filtered except by a diatom filter or a cannister with a cartridge which will filter to 1 micron. You can kill the algae with an algaeacide but unless you removed the dead algae it decomposes and becomes fuel for the next 'bloom. My advice is to study your water chemistry, and your feeding habits before buying sterilizers or micron filters. Scott

 

[celaeno]

You can kill the algae with an algaeacide but unless you removed the dead algae it decomposes and becomes fuel for the next 'bloom. My advice is to study your water chemistry, and your feeding habits before buying sterilizers or micron filters. Scott

how exactly do i go about 'studying my water chemistry'?

 

[gpgscott]

You need to know what your base water is. The fish prefer no nitrites, nitrates, or phosphates. The ordinary biological processes of keeping fish in an enclosed environment foul the water with these substances, the pH also has a tendancy to decrease over time which creates an environment more likely to support an algae 'bloom'. You combat this with fist adjusting the input water to neutral, proper stocking practices, using an appropriately sized and maintained filter, and feeding properly. The most important element in water stability is alkalinity, not to be confused with basicity. Alkalinity is the amount of dissolved mineral in the water you need a minimum of 60 ppm or about 4 degrees on one of the test kits for stability of pH. You really don't want more than 120 ppm or 6 degrees except in certain specific breeds. Scott

 

[smmetz]

I can't offer advice on alkalinity, since I never messed with it. However, I can tell you that I had tanks look like that before, was was able to fix it without UV or some crazy filter. In one case my tank was getting several hours of sunlight on part of the tank every day. That is just asking for algae problems. In all cases I was feeding my fish twice a day. I reduced it to once per day. In all cases my lights were not on a timer, and were on for 12+ hours per day. I now have them on a timer, set up pretty much like you said - 4-5 hours on, off for a few hours, then on again for 4-5 hours.

I did a 50% water change a couple days in a row to get rid of some of the algae in the water as I made the above changes to my tank.

I also tried buying some phosphate removing stuff for my filter, but in my case it didn't seem to get rid of the algae until I took the steps mentioned above. I no longer use the phosphate absorbing stuff, and have not had the green or cloudy water again.

As someone else pointed out - it also helps to keep the fish tanks stocked lightly, and do the regular maintenance. Be sure to vacum out the gravel when doing a water change.

To the person who said that it looked like the water was just cloudy, with the green algae just on the bottom: I noticed that when I had green water the lights made it look just cloudy, not green. I suspect that the water is all green, despite the picture. I found with my tank that when I turned off the tank light and tried to look through the tank. the green color was much more apparent everywhere.

Good luck sorting it out!

If nothing seems to work though - the UV filter idea will solve the problem pretty quickly. They can be expensive though, and the cheaper internal ones look ugly in the tank IMO. I guess its better than a green cloudy tank if nothing else works though.