# Help! Green Water!



## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

Not to long ago the water in my tank started turning really green after for about a year it was fine. So I did a full cleaning of the tank - let it sit for a few days - and then put my fish in it. Now its been like a week and a half and its turning green again!!! I've tried adding some of those potion type thing that are supposed to help but they don't. How do I keep my water clear?!


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Test the water for nitrate. Green water is just algae in the water, it needs food and light. So water changes and lights off (cover the sides facing the sun, too) should help. Really fine filters (micron or diatomaceous earth filters) can filter it out and UV sterilizers can kill it in the water. If do you manage to kill the algae in the water (with salt, meds, dark, etcs)., remember it will decay like uneaten food and cause an ammonia spike, so change water for that too.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

What do I do to keep it from coming back?


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Thats the hard part. Once water is seeded with algae (can start from algae in food), it will keep coming back as long as conditions are right. You can starve it by doing a lot of water changes (no nitrate), you can keep on filtering it or killing with a UV sterilizer or you can keep live plants that would hopefully out compete it for nutrients.
http://www.seachem.com/support/Articles/AlgaeWarmWeatherFoe.html


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Not quite. GW is 95% of the time triggered by NH3, not NO3. Stirring up the gravel ususally does the trick. Also heat activated (happens more in the summer than other seasons). Once initiated, a 3-5 day blackout followed by a large water change is the cheapest method. A U.V. filter will also do the trick.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Damon said:


> Stirring up the gravel ususally does the trick.


To cause it or cure it?


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## Danh (Feb 19, 2007)

I had bad brown algae start on me.... I had over 40 watts of uv and it kept spreading. I got a s tanierus to eat the algae and then a 9w uv has held it at bay for a while.. Green algae is easier, since it is more free floating. Get a uv sterilizer, run it as a sterilizer, not a clarifier, but not too slow to burn it out. Also do a check on your tap water for phosphates and nitrates. If they are both VERY low or 0, do water changes more often.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

emc7 said:


> To cause it or cure it?


Cause it.  Stirring up gravel releases trapped NH3 in the gravel being broken down by anerobic bacteria.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Ah, thank you.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

Alright, well I guess I'm going to go with the UV sterilizer, since that sounds pretty simple. Do you think Petco/Petsmart should have them for sale?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Its possible. I dont know because I dont shop at chain stores.


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

no they won't... they only play to the beginning aquarist and its quite sick really. Hate the chain stores... check out foster and smith.


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## eastkygal (Apr 13, 2007)

I've had green water for a while and just cleared it up. I had tried water changes... dark periods... less feeding. Nothing had worked. My water tests great - except ph is a little higher than it needs to be. I got something called Acurel F and it was clear within hours. I've never seen it at a chain store... none of their products for clearing water have ever worked for me. It's all organic matter ingredients and my water is crystal clear. It was $5 a bottle that will last a long time. I think you will need to use it everytime you do a water change to maintain the clear water if it is a chronic problem.


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## Danh (Feb 19, 2007)

Get a UV off of ebay. I have gotten two that way.

Some lfs will have them, but they will certainly be overpriced.


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## Guest (May 4, 2007)

Define overpriced. If you mean they mark things up because they have..rent to pay..employees to pay....and other overhead while still trying to make money...then maybe. And yet so many people go there for advice...but dont buy the products cause they are "overpriced". advice isnt free . Support your local fish stores...IMO


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## StarLab (Jan 14, 2007)

GoodMike said:


> Define overpriced. If you mean they mark things up because they have..rent to pay..employees to pay....and other overhead while still trying to make money...then maybe. And yet so many people go there for advice...but dont buy the products cause they are "overpriced". advice isnt free . Support your local fish stores...IMO


Thanks GoodMike. I see this sort of thing everyday. People want water tests, advice, etc. And although I am more than happy to do this, it bothers me when they walk out the door to buy the things I suggested online/elsewhere. At least buy a can of flake food fer cryin' out loud.

However, we have a pretty loyal customer base. I'm sure some know they can get things cheaper online but prefer to shop local. 

Oh, and as far as overhead... Nevermind rent.. anyone check the price of hydro and water lately? 

I'll end this since it's getting off topic (sorry)


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## Fishfirst (Jan 24, 2005)

My bet would be that your nitrate reading/ phosphate reading will be either very high (beginning of the algae bloom) or very very low... algae eats up these nutrients fast but they can persist for long periods of time. Remember UV is only a quick fix... you really should find the root of the problem. My thoughts are, the full cleaning made things worse as it often does... if you disrupted your bio-filter that algae could be eating up the ammonia your fish are producing instead of the bacteria.


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## Chaos553 (Apr 2, 2007)

yea i dont wanna change the topic either, but my petco is the worst fish retailer i've ever been to. i usually go to my buddy's petland or animal kingdom, which has a MASSIVE amount of fish/fish products.


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## Guest (May 5, 2007)

Local Fish Store aka LFS implies non chain stores. i see no reason to support the chainstores. I see no point in supporting drfostersmith.com either since they are the same company that sells to the local stores...and they sometimes sell cheaper on the website than the store. thats wrong. wholesale prices arent meant for the public. you should either be a wholesaler or a retailer.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

eastkygal said:


> I got something called Acurel F and it was clear within hours.


Well since that seemed cheaper than the UV steralizer, I decided to do what you did and get some of that stuff off Ebay. It should arrive tomorrow and I hope its just as effective as it was for you.


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## eastkygal (Apr 13, 2007)

Let me know if it works for you. It sure did for me.  Do you have a lfs?


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## Anonymous (Jan 15, 2005)

Hello,

If the chemical doesn't kill it, I know this is going to sound a bit unusual, I'd be willing to buy a starter of it. With that said, I'm getting ready to set up my daphnia cultures, and they thrive on the stuff. If all else fails, you could try to find a local hobbyist that can get you a starter, and they should breed to the point to at least get it under control a bit.

BTW, I'm serious about buying a starter culture.

Larry Vires


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

lol, I've killed daphnia for lack of green water too. The advice I got was to take old tank water in a bucket, drop in some algae wafers and put in out on the back porch in the sunlight. Haven't tried it yet, though.


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## Christine (Nov 4, 2005)

Larry, if he can't send you a starter of the green water I can send you one.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

Alright, well the stuff came in the mail today finally. I did a water change and then aded some of the stuff, I'm crossing my fingers it works.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

Ok well its been around 16 hours I guess since I added the stuff and unfortuneatly there isn't too much of a change. :chair: I added like 30 drops of it since it said 2-3 drops per gallon. And I might also want to note that my green water is really really green. I mean you can't barely even see stuff in the tank. I am wondering if maybe your water was less green so the chemical worked better for you possibly. Thanks!


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## Guest (May 12, 2007)

heres the problem with adding chemicals to get rid of green water....you arent fixing the problem, you are treating the results of the problem. until you find the source of the green water, and actually fix that...all you are doing is killing the algae in the water. The problem remains . i suggest you do more waterchanges and use less light. Do a black out period with no light, even cover the sides of the tank. That will kill the algae, then do an immediate waterchange, and continue doing 30%+ waterchanges weekly. Lower the amount of light hours as well. that should fix the problem and the results of the problem.


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## Anonymous (Jan 15, 2005)

Hello,

Since Mike pointed it out, you should also realize that when you are killing so much algae, the nutrients from that algae is returning to the tank as it dies. Those nutrients are going to feed the next generation of algae. Whenever trying to get rid of green water, extra water changes are important for that reason and dilluting the living population as well. Definitely turn off the lights during treatment.

Larry Vires


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## eastkygal (Apr 13, 2007)

I don't know what size tank you have, but I had to put 87 drops in my 29 gallon. That's all I had to do, and my water was very green. It does say on the package that you might need to do it twice. My water is still very clear. I had done the Acruel F as a last resort after trying blackouts and w/c and all. It just didn't work in my situation, but the other did. My water levels are testing out great too... I hope you figure it out soon.


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## Guest (May 13, 2007)

if you follow through with the complete blackout for 3-5 days, and waterchanges, it will work. most people are just impacient and look for the easy quick fix. but you arent fixing the problem. whatever is causing the algae is still there, but the algae cant live cause the chemical.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

Ok well its been almost 3 days that I've had the blackout going and doing waterchanges. Now my filter seems to be malfunctioning for some reason. And on top of that one of my albino cory cat's barbels have are literally gone! I just noticed that because of how green the water is you can barely see a thing! The cory lately has always been sipping for air from the top of a tank a lot. Should I had some melafix or what?:chair:


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## CVV1 (Oct 7, 2005)

I had an extremely dirty tank a while ago, and I MEAN DIRTAY! I put some plants in there and bought stuff that would kill algae, and it WORKED! I also have stuff that clears up the water, but thats not for algae. Maybe just go to your walmart and buy little packets of plant bulbs, the grow fast and look good.


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## piotrkol1 (Jan 12, 2006)

OK well my water is finally clear again! It took almost three weeks? But it looks as though it was worth it. Looks like the blackout+water changes+chemical did the trick. Now I just hope it doesn't come back again!:-x


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## Guest (Jun 5, 2007)

keep up on waterchanges to keep the amount of nutrient in your tank down. i reccommend weekly 30% waterchanges.


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