# green water?



## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

i have a 29 gallon that is medium planted, and just started getting green water. it isnt thats bad yet, it seems to be getting worst by the day, i wanted to know if theres a way to get rid of it beside blackout period(which will hurt the plants), w/o buying a uv sterlizer(no money spend it all on my co2 setup haha), and the willow brach method(none around here). i've tried cutitng down light on hrs, and water changes but nothing sees to get rid of it just slows it down alittle. So basiclly is there a cheap method of getting rid of it that wont weak/kill my plants. Oh ya any one know the real cause of green water?

-Han


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

HaN said:


> i have a 29 gallon that is medium planted, and just started getting green water. it isnt thats bad yet, it seems to be getting worst by the day, i wanted to know if theres a way to get rid of it beside blackout period(which will hurt the plants), w/o buying a uv sterlizer(no money spend it all on my co2 setup haha), and the willow brach method(none around here). i've tried cutitng down light on hrs, and water changes but nothing sees to get rid of it just slows it down alittle. So basiclly is there a cheap method of getting rid of it that wont weak/kill my plants. Oh ya any one know the real cause of green water?
> 
> -Han


Good luck on getting rid of it without getting a uv sterilizer, I had it in my tank for about a month and tried just about every known way of getting rid of it, none of them worked. I got a uv sterilizer and it was gone in 3 days and has never came back even though I dont run the sterilizer everyday. Green water is probably the hardest algae to get rid of. A black out may work but it will more than likely come back and the plants will suffer causing other problems, water changes do not work which I know from experience because all there needs to be is a few algae spores left in the water and even with a 99% water change the water will be green again in a matter of a couple days, cutting down on light will not work again from my experience. Check as much of your water chemistry as you can and just try to get everything where it should be and in balance, I have read from alot of people is that it just usually goes away with time but usually takes a few months.

I have read that putting a branch from a weeping willow tree in the tank will rid the algae from the branch by absorbing excessive nutrients, I have never tried this but I have read from many people that have used it and said it works. A diatom filter works also but at the price of them you would be better off with a uv filter. The only other thing is to check to make sure that at no time does the tank get sunlight, make sure of this because I once got it another time an I was certain that my tank did not get sunlight but I found out at certain times of the season the sun would go through my curtian while i was at work and was causing the green water.

The cause of it is the same as the cause of oter algaes, excessive nutrients or the water being unbalanced, or too much light for what your tank requires. The only good thing is that it is not harmfull to the fish and when I had mine I accually had good plant growth.

Post as much info about your tank as you can and maybe the cause can be figured out. Good luck.


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## Piranha Guru (Nov 24, 2005)

HaN said:


> i have a 29 gallon that is medium planted, and just started getting green water. it isnt thats bad yet, it seems to be getting worst by the day, i wanted to know if theres a way to get rid of it beside blackout period(which will hurt the plants), w/o buying a uv sterlizer(no money spend it all on my co2 setup haha), and the willow brach method(none around here). i've tried cutitng down light on hrs, and water changes but nothing sees to get rid of it just slows it down alittle. So basiclly is there a cheap method of getting rid of it that wont weak/kill my plants. Oh ya any one know the real cause of green water?
> 
> -Han


Daphnia (water fleas) would be a great natural filter. You'd just have to rig up some sort of fine mesh net to keep them in so they don't get eaten. I'm not sure how cheap they'd be...depends on if your LFS carries them or not. You could try a massive water change too, but that may make it worse in the long run.

It's caused by the usual suspects, too much light and too much phosphate and other nutrients. Some believe free floating green algae will pop up when a biological filter crashes and then consusmes the excess nitrogen wastes. It thrives and continues to outcompete the bacteria until steps are taken to get rid of it. I personally have never experienced the green monster, and hope not too!!!


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## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

hm.. i guess i'll have to wait it out and get a uv sterlizer, is the sterlizer the only thing i need to purchase? and rbp75 what one do you use?


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## rbp75 (May 2, 2004)

HaN said:


> hm.. i guess i'll have to wait it out and get a uv sterlizer, is the sterlizer the only thing i need to purchase? and rbp75 what one do you use?


I have a 18 watt turbo twist for my 75, you could get a 9 watt but for a few dollars more a 18 watt even though it would be an overkill for your tank would not hurt. Drs foster and smith have a sale on them right now. here

As I said it is possible that in time it will go away but it would be a good investment to get one not only for ridding green water but it makes the water crystal clear and kill any parasites that may be in the water. Just remember if you get one that most people say not to run them 24 hours a day in a planted tank but some will tell you they do with no problems.

There are others you can get, with a turbow twist you need either a canister filter or a power head and some hose. You need to do alittle plumbing to hook it up but it is easy.


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## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

thx for the great info,i dont have a canster filter so, a powerhead i needed to pump it right? or just a pump, also do you run your 24/7?

edit: i was just looking around on aquabid and ebay and ran inot jebo http://www.aquabid.com/cgi-bin/auction/auc...tion&1138939201 , prety dam cheap. jebo products any good? ebay got 13w and 18w also...hm...


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## jamesdelanoche (Dec 15, 2004)

good luck man, i had green water in my 55 gallon since the summer, did 3 or so blackouts and finally went away on the last one. UV sterilizer is the best way to go in my opinion, i killed two fish by doing too many big water changes too soon after eachother so don't risk it, just save up the money and get one, if it comes back i am gonna have to break down and do the same thing. Don't bother with the algea killer stuff, it sucks.


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## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

Thx man, i actully purchased a coralife 18 watt turbo twister, a LFS is going out of buisness and he ssld me it for 80$ so i hoped right on it. i just hooked it up today, so far the green tint is gone, but there is still a haze though, cloudy water?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

bro, I've only had GW outbreak due to an ammonia spike.. Ive had tanks with 5-6ppm phosphate by mistake.. too much iron, too much nitrate, too much micros.. too much everything yu can think of besides ammonia.. and still no LOL no GW

just don't kill the bacteria in your filter, or leave dead particles all over the place, and you should be ok. Ammonia is the culprit, I am convinced.

A UV is very handy to have around for this situation -u never know when it will hit ya











HaN said:


> Thx man, i actully purchased a coralife 18 watt turbo twister, a LFS is going out of buisness and he ssld me it for 80$ so i hoped right on it. i just hooked it up today, so far the green tint is gone, but there is still a haze though, cloudy water?


leave it run, it will clear the water completely. give it 24-72 hrs

mine never taks more than 48hrs


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## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

kool, i dont worry haha i thought it got rid of the gw and casue some thing else


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## H4N (Nov 10, 2005)

woot no more cloudy water







, 3 days turn turn over, waters better then before ahhah thx guys for all the help


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