Green Water

[bones]

Hi, don't know if anyone can help. I have a 5 litre tank with 1 african dwarf frog and 1 Neon in. Have had the tank about 6 months, everything ok until last few weeks the water keeps going green. Don't like to keep doing water changes but have done 2 50% changes recently. The water stays clear(ish) for a day or so and then starts going green again. The tank has an under gravel filter which has the pump and airator all in one attached to the filter. I have given this a good clean and as the airstone looked a bit grubby i have replaced this, but water turning green again. Do get green stuff on sides of tank which i presume is algae this i clean with a magnetic glass cleaner and a toothbrush. I would be grateful if anyone could give me any advice

 

[FBF]

hmmm this ones a little complicated. you say you dont like doing water changes? any reason why? i would advise you to do a 30% water change every single week. you say you have given the filter a good clean? i hope you did this with tank water and not tap water?

from what i can tell you are experiencing an algae bloom in the tank. do you leave the light on for long periods? this could be part of the reason. another could be direct sunlight from a window maybe? most algae feeds on the nitrates produced from the tank cycle so if you have been neglecting your water changes then chances are that you have high nitrates for the algae to feed on, causing the bloom. in fact the algae will be keeping your tank healthy if this IS the case. as too high nitrates will poison the fish and frog

id advise a water change today of 30% and leave the lights off for this week and see what the tank is like next week when you come to do the next water change. make sure ou let us know how it goes?
Dan

 

[bones]

Hi Dan, i meant that i have been given much conflicting advice on water changes how much to do and how often. I have another 5 litre tank with 1 tiger barb and 1 red tail shark at the moment and this tank is crystal clear, i used to do regular water changes in this one but found that the fish kept dying. I don't do as many water changes now and the fish seem much happier. So i try to do the same with my frog tank.
I do have light on throughout the day in both tanks but only the frogs tank seems to build up the algae.
I will do as you have suggested a 30% water change and leave the light off for a week and see what happens.
Thanks for the advice

 

[rEvolution27]

Hi Dan, i meant that i have been given much conflicting advice on water changes how much to do and how often. I have another 5 litre tank with 1 tiger barb and 1 red tail shark at the moment and this tank is crystal clear, i used to do regular water changes in this one but found that the fish kept dying. I don't do as many water changes now and the fish seem much happier. So i try to do the same with my frog tank.
I do have light on throughout the day in both tanks but only the frogs tank seems to build up the algae.
I will do as you have suggested a 30% water change and leave the light off for a week and see what happens.
Thanks for the advice

Yup keep the lights on for shorter periods and don't expose to alot of sunight. If you have a red-tailed black shark then those get WAY to big for a 5 litre tank.... or even a 5 gallon... Barbs need alot of space to swim and are energetic... neons are schooling fish and need to be kept in groups of atleast 3.

The most you can hold in a 5 litre is a betta OR an african dwarf frog.