18 replies to this topic

[Noddy65]

Hi all
Heres a photo of my new algae culture.
It went like this after doing a major relandscape (lots of mobilised nutrients I would say) re plant and some new T5 lights. I did a 70%+ water change after the relandscape (the water was black) and also had to clean the filter as it was full of black filth.
Ive cut way back on the ferts and am doing water changes when I can.
Its so thick today that i cant see the back of the 2' deep tank.

I'll just have to wait it out I think.

Mike

[Graeme]

Well done mike
seems to be a problem just lately with green water.Ive been lucky so far touch wood
I hope you get on top of it soon.

Graeme

[duck]

Join the club
To many things at once you unsettled the whole tank,Killed alot of good bacteria,The chance's are that when you clean the filter that was the last straw then bang GW.
If you got another established tank do a WC using that water try to get some good bacteria back in there,It helped it a little.

[Noddy65]

Thats a good suggestion Duck...I'll take some water out of another tank and add it...it may help.

Its a pain really...this is teh first time Ive had green water...

I knew it was a risk cleaning the filter but it ahd to be done...it was almost clogged completely with teh black filth from teh disturbed gravel...
Oh well...the plants are still growing (I think) so it'lll bea nice surprise when the water clears to see just how much theyve grown.

Mike

[Alfred]

I'm going to stick my neck out here. If your filter is dead, then I would do a 100% water change twice! You want to remove the suspended nutrients, then let the tank start over. You will still have some of the giid bacteria in the tank.

Next, I would stick a bag of filter media in an established tank to help speed up the process, the stick it in the effected filter a week or 2 later.

You should get away with it if the tank's live stock is not high.

[Noddy65]

Thanks Alfred...thats not a bad idea either..
Ive only got tomorrow to do another water change...so it might be the day.

Mike

[Alfred]

Pls note that the tank might go thru thru haze stage all over again!

[Noddy65]

How effective is the 5 day blackout technique for this problem? My 2 angels have started swimming on their side today.

Alternatively does anyone south of the river have a UV or diatom filter I can borrow for a little while.

Mike

[Noddy65]

Well...thats it...I cant stand it any more...Im gonna do the 5 day blackout starting tonight.

Mike

[Graeme]

just read this on AquaQuotient
i found it rather interesting
http://www.aquaticqu...ead.php?t=15782

Graeme

[Noddy65]

Heres a pic after 5 days blackout...it has improved dramaticaly (although it still looks pretty bad in the pic).

The glosso has started to turn a little yellow, some of the others are looking a little leggy, the Lotus has gone berserk and has shot out about 10 little babies.
No fish fatalities despite no food for 5 days. the littel clumps of BBA I have are looking just the same, I blasted them with some peroxide (that stuff really works well).

Mike

[Noddy65]

Heres the latest pic.

Much improved.
Stopped the ferts, cut back the light but I think more importantly connected up a UV steriliser (thanks Graeme), it went from the pic in the previous post to this in around 4 days.

Mike

[Noddy65]

In fact, just looking at the previous pic, the tank was more like the pic in the first post when i connected up the uv doohicky, I could only just see the rotala and hydro/hygro.

Mike

[Brett]

Green water doesn't seem to have hurt the plants, they are looking good.

Cheers
Brett

[Noddy65]

No its hasnt really hurt them much. The only effect has been that the light has been much reduced (due to poor penetration). I would have thought they would get leggy but I think that becasue I stopped the ferts and CO2, the plants just didnt grow much, so they didnt get leggy.
the glosso has gone a little yellow in places but again, interestingly and strangely, all the longer glosso leaves have died back leaving just the really short one, it look pretty good, just needs a bit of thickening up.
Mike

[Graeme]

Looks like your tank is cleaning up well Mike
The plants all look healthy . Hope it clears up real good
Graeme

[punie]

Graeme,

With your UV hooked up and on, there's no way GW could ever come close to your tanks.
I'd go as far as to say try adding some of Dr. Miller's GW into your tank, watch it just fade away in a day.

[Alfred]

Think that Graeme is not running the UV now. His tank should be stable enough to handle the algae, all the plants are growing like they are out of control!

Have any tanks in Singapore Jerome? I imagine you without one! At least a nano!

[Graeme]

Dont want to steal this post and go too far off topic.

My tank runs the UV when i can.So if the filter is running( stop laughing all who know what happened :oops: ) so is the UV.But if someone else needs it i just unplug it and off it goes.Tank doesnt seem to change either way thankfully

Graeme