Ok, I Need Help.

[Picoreefer4966]

I have seen smaller ones for about $70 US currency. Don't know what that is for you...

There's a wacky rule here:

If it sells in America for $70 - you can bet we pay £70 here for it - which equates to about $140.

We get ripped on everything

Oh My!!!! Unbelievable!
How does one afford to live in the UK with prices like that? I hope you all get paid for your jobs accordingly!

 

[SamUK]

Yeah I know it's embarrasing. But it doesn't make you a bad fishkeeper. Just makes you a fishkeeper with a problem that needs to be addressed. I imagine the original issue was a bacteria bloom. Possibly mum changed all the filter material at the same time? Or it could have been overfeeding that caused a bacteria bloom. Too much amonia and the bacteria had to work overtime to produce more nitrifying bacteria to catch up with demand.
The 100% water change you did possibly turned it into a double problem. Green water algae blooms a good portion of the time happen in a new tank. Though yours is not a new tank....you did do a 100% water change. But, as I said....seeing what it loks like would be the easiest way to determine what the problem is. Of course seeing in person would be much easier.
You might ask your lfs if they have a diatom filter they would rent to you. Or maybe they know of an aquarium maintenance service that would be willing to help you. I don't know how much that would run...but it's worth asking to find out if it would be a less expensive solution than purchasing your own diatom filter. In any case.....let's see that pic.

thanx for all the help! your a star. ill get the pics when my lazy GF wakes up and i can turn the light on lol.

i think she must of just overfed or something but thats strange. she does like to give them alot of veg tho so maybe she went overboard with that.

ill shoot off to the LFS about lunch time and i think theres a guy there who really knos his filter medias and stuff so ill see if he can come up with anything.

if green water is algae, whats the white cloudyness cos i think its a mix of both.

 

[idlefingers]

Have you considered a UV sterilizer? It won't solve the problem of why the green water is appearing, but it'll clear it: http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=169325

 

[newtotropical]

You could also try cutting down on the amount of time your lighting is on. I understand that 4 on 1 off 4 on is a good combination. thats what i do and dont have any problems.

Hope this helps

 

[SamUK]

sorry about the long delay!


the nets been up and down for me the last few days and my test kit only jus got delivered.

got a pic too and god it looks awful!

cant see my fish

annoying thing is my readings arent off i dont think.

0 ammonia
0 nitrites
30 nitrates

i could do with getting the nitrates down but there not THAT bad are they? has been 6 days since there last water change too so its the highest it would get cos im gonna do another one 2morro.


and lastly, the hideous picture (with crystal clear community tank on show to prove i dont suck entirely lol).

EDIT - my tap water is about 7.8ph and in the community tank that hasnt changed but in the big green tank it has dropped to about 6.6 i think.

dunno if that will help with the diagnosis.

 

[Miss Wiggle]

that's very odd mate, test results look ok although it's a little hard to see the colour in those pics.

perhaps changing all the filter media would help? maybe try taking some filter media from the other tanks and put this in the filter on the big tank along with some brand new media to stop it cycling again.

a uv sterilisers could well help but it won't fix the root cause of the problem which is what you really need to address. I think you can get relativley cheap uv's from pets at home and there's a trade lighting place in pudsey we can show you that you can get the replacement bulbs a fraction of the price of lfs bulbs

 

[Fatty]

I say, stick a UV on, and continue with some water changes and it will be gone, the UV nukes everything that passes thru it, so green water will definately clearup, and hopefully normal water changes will help with the increase in nitrate from the dead algae.

I got a UV for £26, (Jebo), but it works well and is the cheapest for it's wattage.

If you do put a UV on take a picture every few days I reckon you'll be amazed by the difference. (hopefully).

Let me know if u need the shop name etc.., I'll try to look it out for you.

Be patient, you'll get there.

 

[SamUK]

looks like ill have to try find one of them then.


the ones on ebay are only suitable for tanks up to 90g tho.

would 2 of those work?


if i did a 100% water change and got all new filter media (hav to call on some donors from here), that should solve the problem too shouldnt it?

 

[Fatty]

The trouble is stuff like this is in the water, and it only needs a tiny part of the water to be transferred to the new stuff and it will grow. If you completely sterilize your tank and buy new fish then yes 100% water change will work. I reckon aim to do it slowly get a uv unit rated for your tank, I have I think a 13 watt on 180L, sit back and watch it clear.

Got mine from here >> UV uk online

Think it's the Wattage that's important, better off getting one unit to do the job, less cost and plumbing.

 

[SamUK]

ill pick one up when i get paid at the end of the month.

hopefully the one i need will be back in stock by then too.


thanx!



is it worth trying the total darkness for 6 days thing in the meantime?

 

[Miss Wiggle]

is it worth trying the total darkness for 6 days thing in the meantime?

you've no live plants so nothing to loose! won't do your fish any harm so give it a shot

 

[Snake42490]

i will say the uv lights work wonders. last summer had a pond that looked like your tank.. mostly due to the heat and amount of sun. i talked to some people from the local stores and asked what they thought. they suggested adding another filter just to get the water moving a bit so it cant grow then to add a uv light onto it. with the 9 watt uv light in one week our pond was crystal clear. hopefully it will do the same in your case! how is your water movement between the two tanks? just curious! hope your tank clears up. i also have a 9 watt in my aquarium i just got a canister filter that has one built in. the aqual unimax pro.. its been a great filter.

 

[SamUK]

well ill make sure they get a good clean out today (or what i can see atleast).


then into darkness they go!


gonna be hard not to look for the next 6 days lol.


then when i get paid ill pick up a UV sterilizer even if the darkness thing works.

 

[SamUK]

good news! well atleast for now anyway.


this is my tank as of now.

i bought some tetra pond algo rem for green water in ponds and its doing the trick quite nicely.


still got the white cloudyness tho so i think the UV will still be needed but i dont get whats causing all this.


so nice to be able to see my fish again!!

 

[Miss Wiggle]

Glad it's clearing up, but you need to try and get to the bottom of what's caused this or you'll be adding algae stuff and running the uv for ever.

do i remember right that there's a window right behind the tank? is it blocked off so not too much light gets to the tank, maybe when you were away and your mum looked after the tank she decided to let some light into the room (don't know what your mum's like but it's the sort of thing mine would do!)