Archived message board.
Algea bloom, I think
Badmans Tropical Fish Message Center:
General message area: Algea bloom, I think
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Mark
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Thursday,
February 28, 2002 - 07:45 pm
Hello, first time on the message board. i am having trouble
with what I think is an algae bloom. I have changed my tank
to African cichlids and added some rocks to the setup. I
am now troubled with clouded green tinted water for about
two weeks now. I do water changes every week & feed
once a day. All test levels are in check. I have been a
fish owner for a long time and have never had this problem.
I also have more than enough filtration, does anyone have
any suggestions please.
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Anonymous
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Thursday,
February 28, 2002 - 10:16 pm
Does your tank get direct sunlight? If so, move your tank
to a location where it doesn't get any.
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Kick
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Friday,
March 01, 2002 - 07:53 am
Some questions:
Do you have live plants?
Has your water supply changed in any way?
What kind of "rocks" did you add?
What light source are you using?
On the once a day feeding, how much are you giving?
Give us some clues and maybe we can tell you what caused
it and how to fix it.
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joycedonley
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Friday,
March 01, 2002 - 10:59 am
African cichlid tanks can have a few problems with algae
since keeping plants in a African Rift Lake tank is very
difficult due to high ph and the fact that the fish dig
up and eat the plants. Some Lake Malawi fish tanks do use
hippo plecs or syno catfish, however realize that if you
add a catfish they may consume any fry. Best bet is to check
your light levels. Some mbuna are also vegetarian so they
may possibly help control some of the algae. Also how many
fish and what size tank? What filtration are you using?
Stocking levels can be high in these tanks adding to excess
waste and algae problems.
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joycedonley
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Friday,
March 01, 2002 - 11:23 am
Saw your other posts and 10 fish in a fairly new tank could
be adding to your problems. I have my 75 gallon Lake M tank
in the basement on an auto timer with only about 5-6 hours
of light. I do have a little brown algae on the tufa rock,
but the fish like to pick at it. I am running an Eheim 2026
and a Magnum 250 HOB. I currently have 14 fish in the 75
gallon which has been set up since November 2001.
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Mark
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Friday,
March 01, 2002 - 08:21 pm
I appreciate the help. I don't have any algae just green
water. The tank is 3 months old but recently changed over
to African cichlids. I don't have any live plants. There
is no sunlight near the aquarium and only feed once a day
just what they will eat within 2 minutes. The water supply
is still the same. The rocks are petrified wood and lace.
I am running two Whisper 3's and an Heim 2235 Ecco canister
filter. The light is flourescent and it is on about 8 hours
a day. I have been fish crazy for a long time and I have
never had this problem. I expected a little cloudiness from
the new rocks but everything else is reused even the water
on my initial changeover. I got the cloudy water and they
a few days later it started turning to a green tint. I appreciate
any help. sorry so windy.
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Chris
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Friday,
March 01, 2002 - 11:10 pm
I recently set up a 29 gallon tank and had the same problem
for 4 weeks. Water changes wouldn't help at all. i finally
got relief from a product called Algae Fix made by Aquarium
Pharmaceuticals. No lie - it cleared the entire tank in
less than 45 minutes. I could actually see the water color
changing before my eyes! 6 weeks later, my 4 danios and
2 tiger barbs are enjoying one of my clearest set ups yet.
By the way, the green water didn't seem to harm the
fish at all - I just couldn't see them!
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Mark
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Friday,
March 01, 2002 - 11:50 pm
Thanx Chris Your problem sounds like mine. Water Changes
don't help my situation either. I hate to resort to
chemicals but nothing else seems to help.
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lboy
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Saturday,
March 02, 2002 - 01:12 am
Well... If you dont' want to resort to chemicals, you
can try any of the methods below.
1) completely cover the tank for 3 days so that NO LIGHT
penetrates. This chokes out the algae
2) let the cycling process ride out. after ammonia,
nitrite have levelled off, wait for it to clear.
3) if it doesn't clear after cycling, change 25
percent of the water twice a day.
Method 3 worked for me. It was a last resort but it worked
after two weeks without the use of harsh chemicals. These
algaecides can wreak havok on aquatic systems if they get
in the wild.
Good luck!
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Mark
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Saturday,
March 02, 2002 - 09:00 am
Thank you lboy, I am going to try this first. I covered
the aquarium for 1 day already. Your idea sounds good.
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Chris
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Saturday,
March 02, 2002 - 09:07 am
I trief the covering of the tank for four days, and the
water just wouldn't clear up. I started with 25% changes
every other day, went to 50% and then after 3 or 4 weeks,
tried about a 95% water change. It seems every time, after
two days, I would see the green get thicker and thicker
no matter what I did. I really didn't want to ad chemicals
in to my setup either, however I exhausted every other option.
I hope yours works out for you without adding anything in,
but as a last resort, it should work for you. Good luck!
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Pandora
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Saturday,
March 02, 2002 - 10:44 am
Wow, sounds like quite the season for algae lately. Mark,
I think you posted as Anonymous on the other side of the
forum, and I answered some of your questions there? Other
than that, just wanted to say a few other things...
The green water is just suspended algae, it's not really
anything more mysterious than the anchored algae, though
there are many species that make up both forms. And you
are right, they will not harm your fish directly, but does
make viewing them a pain. I also recommended water changes
and patience rather than algacides, but can understand your
frustration at the slowness of the process. But one other
option I omitted to mention that might help both of you
is checking your phosphate levels... high P in the water,
especially in a relatively new tank will notoriously spawn
algal blooms. You can purchase a phosphate sponge (that
you can cut and insert into your filter) that may help.
Other than that, all I can say is reduce light, have faith
in water changes, and have patience; algae never goes away
completely but the blooms usually reduce on their own as
the tank ages.
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Mark
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Saturday,
March 02, 2002 - 10:45 am
Thanx Chris. I am so far going down the same road it sounds
like you have already traveled. I have already done a 50%
water change and if the cover doesn't work or change
anything within the next day or so I am definately trying
your idea. So far like you, the cover and water changes
aren't working. I am going to get the algea clear today.
I appreciate the help because your situation sounds exactly
like mine.
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Mark
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Saturday,
March 02, 2002 - 10:42 pm
Thanx again Pandora, your right I am on the other side.
I am new to the message board and did'nt know where
to start or how. I think I made enough mistakes, duplicate
messages etc. I am sorry but I think I got my act together.
I was really conserned about my aquarium and needed everybody's
help. It is nice to find a site that cares as much for fish
as I do. The help has been great and I have learned from
this help. To everyone thank you and I will stay in touch.
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Chris
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Saturday,
March 09, 2002 - 09:22 pm
Have any luck???
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Mark
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Tuesday,
March 12, 2002 - 07:37 pm
Thanx for asking Chris. The lights off worked. No more algea
bloom and my water is back to crystal clear. The Africans
are doing great. Now I have bacterial infections from the
fish fighting but I can cure that easily. I appreciate every
ones help.
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Michelle Wardlow
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Wednesday,
March 20, 2002 - 07:32 am
OK, I have a problem...when I turn of my lights for an extended
period of time, I come home to green water. I don't
understand it, because you just said to turn off the lights,
ad it will choke them out. Now, when I turn the lights back
on, the water is really green, but if I leave the lights
on, it will clear up, sort of. I have algae all over my
gravel. I might just start over when I have some extra time.
Michelle
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joycedonley
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Wednesday,
March 20, 2002 - 05:51 pm
Pandora's advise for the green water usually works and
it's also the same as what I've read in magazines.
I don't know why you are noticing more with the lights
out. Algae needs nutrients and light to propagate. If you
vacumn it off your gravel at the water change may help some.
If it's a new tank it may just take time to go away.
Make sure you aren't feeding too much and that the tank
isn't getting too much light from the windows.
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Michelle Wardlow
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Thursday,
March 21, 2002 - 07:23 am
ok, bad news....for some strange reason I lost one of my
fish! I think I may have accidently killed it when I was
trying to clean the tank. I can't find the thing anywhere,
so now I have only threee bottom feeders in my ten gallon
tank. I just went ahead and started over, since the gravel
was so ucky. I have bottom feeder pellets. How many should
I feed them? I know they have to consume them in two minutes,
so should I really skimp on them? I'm thinking that's
what I may have to do. Right now everything is apart, and
the tank is now full again, with clean gravel, clean water.
My gravel was nasty. I don't see how the fish survived
without getting sick. There was food particles all thoughout
the gravel. So now I'm going to do everything I can
to limit feedings. Did you all say it was only nessessary
to feed them every two days when I first do this?
i'm using a dechlorinator called PRIME, and that's
supposed to take care of nitrites too!
I'm making a new-tank resolution that I'm not going
to use it as a nightlite. I did have a tendency to do this.
The fish I have are Cory cats. They are very hardy fish.
Well, I'm done ranting. I'll be back from time to
time!
Michelle
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joycedonley
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Thursday,
March 21, 2002 - 09:45 am
Michelle you might want to read Genesis on Pat's main
page. By redoing your tank the cycling process will probably
start over. I would really watch the ammonia levels. What
kind of filtration did you use? If you used a UGF and in
fact cleaned the gravel you also removed the good bacteria.
I have two peppered cory cats that are over five years old.
They basically exist on scraps of flakes from the others.
I usually add an algae wafer once or twice a week. If you
have algae and excess flake in the tank you certainly don't
have to throw in something else. These fish can survive
on only a tiny amount of food. If you are lazy about the
tank light suggest a light timer which you can get for 4
or 5 bucks at a hardware store. This way you don't have
to worry about forgeting to turn out the light.
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Natalie
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Thursday,
March 21, 2002 - 10:58 am
Michelle, Ditto on the cycling concern. You also might consider
putting some plants in the tank. Depending on your lighting
you can find something that will work for you. The plants
will compete with the algea for nutrients and, hopefully,
the plants will win. Also the plants improve the water quality
by using up some of those excess nutrients and ammonia.
It will make the cycling easier on your fish,and my coreys
love them.
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