Water Trouble

[#1 Fish Fan]

Hi guys!

My friend has asked me to post this.

She changes her water and it looked clean but the next day it looks green again. Why is this?

I am happy to give more info, just ask for it!

Thanks guys\!

 

[leighton_87]

Let's start with some basic info:
What size is the tank?
What fish are in the tank?
Are any chemicals added to the tank?
How often is the water changed?
What filter is beig used?
What substrate is used and are there any plants/bogwood/other decorations

I know it's a lot of questions but the more information the more likely someone is to be able to assist.

 

[zain611]

Does she clean the walls from dirt?

 

[fluttermoth]

The main causes of green water are;

sunlight hitting the tank; remedy, moving or screening the tank

lights being on too long; planted tanks need a maximum of 8 hours with the lights on; six is normally plenty

an excess of nutrients; best remedy, adding more live plants

 

[splaty]

Thanks guys! It's my tank.
It's roughly 35 gallons and I only run a Aqua Clear 50 at this time, I am planning on getting a Fluval if my sick Pleco doesn't die
I treat my tank with tap water purifier when I do any changes, and also treat for ph levels and Nitrites/Nitrates. I tested my water the other day and my Nitrates are high, did a 50% water change as directed. Going to check water again today, everything else is normal as far as levels go except my water is pretty hard here.
I have two fairly large Plecos in my tank, 7 tetras and a gourami. I know i am overstocked, I also know I need to rehome at least one of my plecos because they are both just way too much for the tank But, like I said, one of my Plecos is sick, so before I try to rehome any of them, I need to figure out whats wrong with him.
Whenever I do water changes my water stays clear for a day or two then right back to green ish, it's not murky though. I try to keep up with the cleanings as often as possible without doing it too often. I'm wondering if turning off my light at night may help? Or is it just that I need better filtration??

 

[fluttermoth]

What are the actual numbers from your tests? what is it you're using to 'treat the water for pH levels and nitrites/nitrates'?

You definitely shouldn't have the lights on all the time. A maximum of eight hours, but six is probably enough.

 

[splaty]

Just tested water:
General Hardness: 180
Carbonate Hardness: 80
PH: 7.5
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 80
I usually use Aqueon Water Conditioner to level out my water as our water here has a lot of Chlorine. I use EasyBalance Plus to regulate PH and reduce Nitrates. I also used Prime to Blast my tank as directed for the Pet Store.
I need advice on what I should be using, I have never had water issues Aside from the color, and evryone has been fine up until now...

 

[fluttermoth]

Ah, so you're using test strips? As you don't have a result for ammonia?

They're not very accurate, but your results would indicate that your water changes aren't big or often enough.

You need to use only one dechlorinator; either the Prime or the Aqueon, and you don't need to 'blast' your tank with anything. You don't need the Easy Balance at all.

How often and how much water do you change? and do start switching your light off at night!

 

[splaty]

I turned my light off! And I have ammonia strips as well, I will test that too. Althought the last time I checked it It was in normal range. I will stick to Prime! As I guess it pretty much covers everything?!
I change my water every month or so, I only take 40-50% though. My big guys poop a lot so I suck the rocks out as well. I have done a complete change out in a while though.
I will start cleaning out my filetr more often and sucking out some water a bit more often. I am nervous about my sick Pleco, that's why I did a 50% change yesterday..

I just checked my Ammonia and it's "Safe"

 

[KCB]

You should be doing water changes every week, that's probably why you have high nitrAtes. And don't touch your filter unless it's clogged as you might wipe out all the good bacteria! And when you say the ammonia is 'safe', what is the actual figure? Any amount of ammonia can be detrimental.

 

[CezzaXV]

Agreed, you need to be doing water changes every week. Once a month is far too apart.

Also, there is no safe "range" for ammonia. It's either zero, or it's bad.

If you do clean out your filter, make sure you wash it out in old tank water, as the chlorine in tap water would kill off your bacteria. This is just for information though, as cleaning out your filter is not the priority.

 

[#1 Fish Fan]

Just had a little look to see how splaty and me were getting on! This has so many posts already!

And AGREED with CezzaXV!

 

[splaty]

There's not an actual # on the strips, but as far as I can tell I do not have harmful ammonia in the tank!

 

[KCB]

There's not an actual # on the strips, but as far as I can tell I do not have harmful ammonia in the tank!

That's good to hear but your reading might not be right; test strips are known to be very inaccurate. If you can afford it I'd invest in a liquid test kit, like the master test kit made by API .

Is the tank water still looking green?

 

[splaty]

So here's an update. 
 
I no longer have the small tank, a guy from work brought over his fish and larger filter and we started up the 55Gal tank.  I have a Rena XP1 Filter running now.
 
It's been since before Christmas, water has been excellent, all my levels are great: (Zero ammonia, Nitrate beween 8 and 10, Zero Nitrites, PH beween 7.2 and 7.8 steady) and now my water has gone green again

 
I have been doing weekly water changes, at least 25% at a time.  Treating with only Prime when I add new water.  (on previous advice from here!)
Before the water started to take the green tinge again, it started getting cloudy, so I used the Aqueon Water Clarifier and it would clear up for a day or so, then turn cloudy again...  Could this be a bacteria flare?  I believe I read that about 3 months after a tank is set up this could happen?  I also had to clean a bunch of green and brown spots off the inside walls of the tank, this started to develope when the tank was "cloudy".
 
I have two commons in this tank - I am in the process of re-homing them (I didn't want them but didn't want to see them flushed so I agreed to bring them over and re-home them myself) learned my lesson on common plecos already 

11 Tetras
1 Bala Shark
2 Large Goldies (they fair well in my tank even though it's heated to between 24 and 26 degrees)
1 really large silver dollar (so big everyone thinks he's a piranha!!)
1 Kissing Gourami
1 Platy
1 Molly (I think)
Some silk plants...
And a small pink frog (I don't know what kind as he came with the others)
 
So, I'm once again wondering what I'm doing wrong!  The tank was crystal clear for a long time and now this.... And I know I can't just keep dumping water clarifier to the tank!  My fish seem happy, we only lost 1 fish when we joined tanks. 
 
Also I should mention that when I clean my filter I have been using tank water, and only changing out 1 component at a time (only 1 so far).
 
Any help would be appreciated

  I love my fish and I know they're not easy to keep, I just feel like I'm failing at this hobby!!!!