# Why!?



## TFMBIGDOG99 (Mar 19, 2006)

The tank is completely GREEN. Its a 30 gallon, 3.1wpg.. At this point im pretty pissed and dosed with algae destroyer, gotten alot better, but nothing near what i'd like it to be. I bought the 9 watt turbo twist UV Sterlizer, and I'm somewhat regretting it after just reading about diatomic filters. sh*t, can anyone flip me some advice. As far as was the UV worth it, and what I do before installing the UV. I was thinking, 80% water change.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

TFMBIGDOG99 said:


> The tank is completely GREEN. Its a 30 gallon, 3.1wpg.. At this point im pretty pissed and dosed with algae destroyer, gotten alot better, but nothing near what i'd like it to be. I bought the 9 watt turbo twist UV Sterlizer, and I'm somewhat regretting it after just reading about diatomic filters. sh*t, can anyone flip me some advice. As far as was the UV worth it, and what I do before installing the UV. I was thinking, 80% water change.


water changes will never get rid of green water, unfortunately.. the UV will work great, but will take a bit longer than the diatom filter. Be patient 









Green water is caused mostly by an ammonia spike. The GW comes only after the ammonia spike goes back down. Common causes for this could be.. using fert tabs, and then stirring up the substrate..., leaving leftover food somewhere in the tank...., tank not cycled properly..., etc etc..

Most algicides are bad news for plants, because the plants growth gets stunted, and it takes longer for the plants to bounce back from being stunted than algea, a much simpler plant form. 
So after the algea problem is resolved with the algea removers, if the problem is not solved, or the plants simply are in shock from the treatment, the algea will come back, usually at the destruction of the plants. And sometimes with much more vengance than previous.


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## harrykaa (Jan 10, 2005)

Exactly what DiPpY said,

Basically you have a lot of nutrients making water eutrophic. This shows as an algae bloom in the water column.
Then you have used algicids. The bad thing is they stop photosynthesis action on both algae and higher plants. This will also prohibit the nutrient level from lowering. It will actually raise, because of lower consumption (all plants suffer).
The algae will come back (and always sooner than higher plants will recover).

And what you have then is even worse problem.

I would stop using meds, would do more water changes (to lower extra nutrient levels). And then wait till the balance is better.

Harry


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## TFMBIGDOG99 (Mar 19, 2006)

So was the UV worth it?


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## therizman1 (Jan 6, 2006)

TFMBIGDOG99 said:


> So was the UV worth it?


UV's are completely worth it IMO... I run mine 24/7/365 just to avoid any possible problems between algae and parasites and so on. Actually, both of mine are getting pulled apart today to be cleaned and such. $100 is a small investment in my mind to never have to worry about green water or parasites or bacteria living in your tank and potentially harming your piranha.


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## Hater (Apr 21, 2006)

> So was the UV worth it?


It's definetly worth it. I had green water (algae bloom) and used a UV sterilizer tog et rid of it. Now I run my UV 24/7 and have never had green water again.

Hater


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## Round Head (Sep 26, 2005)

Yes, a UV is well worth the money.
Like Dippy said, it can take up to several days for the algae to be killed off, but never 100%.
Remember to not use a very powerful powerhead, the smaller the better so that the algae gets more exposure time in the UV chamber. And place the powerhead on top of the water column, this is more efficient. Also position your intake and outlet with the flow of your current filtration system for better efficiency.

Good luck.


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## TFMBIGDOG99 (Mar 19, 2006)

174 GPH powerhead good?For the turbo twist 3x9w?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Run the water slowly through the u/v, it works better that way


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## flashover00 (Oct 19, 2006)

Does the Uv kill off the beneficial bacteria as well?


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## TFMBIGDOG99 (Mar 19, 2006)

Yes, but is 174GHP too strong of a powerhead?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

flashover00 said:


> Yes, but is 174GHP too strong of a powerhead?


I have no idea.. set it to it's lowest setting, and you will be fine


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