Christhefishman Posted September 16, 2022 Share Posted September 16, 2022 Well I really screwed myself here! Accidentally double dosed easy green and a couple days later my tank started getting cloudy and now it’s got a very green tint to it. It’s been over a week now and I’ve done multiple partial water changes and it only seems to help for 24 hours and then back to hazy green. Been testing all week and just tested again.. 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 15ppm nitrate, PH 7.4 im not sure what the best course of action here is that will get rid of this free floating algae without killing my plants. My plants are very hardy species (guppy grass, dwarf aquarium Lily, and aponogeton ulvaceus). Took my a while to get everything going well with the plants (I’m not new to fishkeeping but deff new to live plants) so I’m frustrated that my mistake caused this whole algae bloom. How much can I cut down in light without it negatively impacting the plants? Should I stop doing multiple water changes since it hasn’t helped get rid of it so far? I haven’t added any more fertilizer since I accidentally double dosed. I’ve got a school of brilliant rasboras, a pair of dwarf acaras, and some panda corydoras for fish stock if that help too. Tank is 29 gal. Thanks guys!! I want a clear tank again! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted September 16, 2022 Administrators Share Posted September 16, 2022 Water changes are unlikely to get you through this. I would use either a uV sterilizer or black out the aquarium for a week. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-algae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christhefishman Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 On 9/16/2022 at 7:07 PM, Cory said: Water changes are unlikely to get you through this. I would use either a uV sterilizer or black out the aquarium for a week. https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-algae Wow hey Cory!! Super cool thank you for commenting! Funny enough about an hour ago I was watching that same video. You’ve helped me so much getting into planted tanks with your videos and live streams! Time to hop online and check out some UV sterilizers. With the plants that I have do you think blacking out the tank for a would kill them? Thanks again Cory! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrators Cory Posted September 17, 2022 Administrators Share Posted September 17, 2022 It's hard to say, if the plants are really thriving, usually they handle a week no problem. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christhefishman Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 On 9/16/2022 at 10:28 PM, Cory said: It's hard to say, if the plants are really thriving, usually they handle a week no problem. Gotcha! You know what I ended up purchasing a UV sterilizer last night because I saw people have such incredible results. Plus, I figured it would be something g good to have lying around in case this problem ever arises again down the road. Thank you Cory! as always I appreciate the advice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MattyM Posted September 17, 2022 Share Posted September 17, 2022 @Christhefishman I kinda did the same thing in a way - over gravel vac'd and kicked a bunch of nutrients into the water column, eventually got myself a tank of pea soup. Plants and fish are happy, just could barely see into the tank. Got the Green Killing Machine, after a few days already much better. Good luck! And yeah, I also think it's a good thing to just have around. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christhefishman Posted September 17, 2022 Author Share Posted September 17, 2022 On 9/17/2022 at 1:06 PM, MattyM said: @Christhefishman I kinda did the same thing in a way - over gravel vac'd and kicked a bunch of nutrients into the water column, eventually got myself a tank of pea soup. Plants and fish are happy, just could barely see into the tank. Got the Green Killing Machine, after a few days already much better. Good luck! And yeah, I also think it's a good thing to just have around. That’s the exact model I bought! I’m happy to hear that you had great results. Mine will be arriving on Wednesday and then finger crossed I’ll be able to actually see and enjoy the fish and plants again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lee W. Posted September 19, 2022 Share Posted September 19, 2022 I did the same thing, basically, and purchased a UV sterilizer. It worked great. I do have a question though, do you have to leave it in long term? I was thinking about leaving it running for one week of clear water then taking it out. Thanks, LW Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sankaz Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 I'm really curious to see how those UV sterilizers work. I've used the blackout method that Cory advised to get rid of staghorn fern. It worked and only cost two (because I really wanted it to be BLACK) trash bags. The truth doesn't change depending on our ability to stomach it. - Flannery O'Connor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rewcolee1 Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 I’ve used a UVC from Fluval for 2+ years. I’ve had great success with it. It has a built in timer that kicks it on for 8hrs a day. I’d say there is really no reason to remove it once it’s setup. I’ve also used the “blackout “ method as well and that also works. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 22, 2023 Share Posted February 22, 2023 On 2/21/2023 at 7:15 PM, sankaz said: I'm really curious to see how those UV sterilizers work. I've used the blackout method that Cory advised to get rid of staghorn fern. It worked and only cost two (because I really wanted it to be BLACK) trash bags. The truth doesn't change depending on our ability to stomach it. - Flannery O'Connor I've used some of the cheaper ones in the past (the Green Killing Machine or whatever they call the one you can buy at Big Box stores) and they do okay. Definitely better than nothing while you're pulling your hair out after chasing clear water for weeks or months. Blackouts usually work too for algal blooms, but then again, I've seen people do blackouts for a full week only to have the water go green again as soon as the lights are back on. I prefer to tackle the root problem, if possible, to avoid running yet another piece of electrical equipment in my tanks. I don't mind running them in small spurts, though. I actually have one tank with green water right now - my 40 gallon flowerhorn tank. Water parameters have always been decent, but when I moved the tank to it's current location I didn't think about how much morning sun the tank gets. Turns out, it's a lot. I blocked the window off with curtains on Sunday, and I've done a couple water changes since then. I'm already seeing a bit of improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sankaz Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/21/2023 at 7:33 PM, Chris said: I actually have one tank with green water right now - my 40 gallon flowerhorn tank. Water parameters have always been decent, but when I moved the tank to it's current location I didn't think about how much morning sun the tank gets. Turns out, it's a lot. I blocked the window off with curtains on Sunday, and I've done a couple water changes since then. I'm already seeing a bit of improvement. I also have light coming in. I'll have to check that for my 29 gallon I'm slowly setting up. It's across the window in the living room. Maybe my bedroom? Oh! That's why my 10g in the bathroom doesn't have green water!!! Thanks @Chris! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chris Posted February 24, 2023 Share Posted February 24, 2023 On 2/24/2023 at 5:26 PM, sankaz said: I also have light coming in. I'll have to check that for my 29 gallon I'm slowly setting up. It's across the window in the living room. Maybe my bedroom? Oh! That's why my 10g in the bathroom doesn't have green water!!! Thanks @Chris! No problem! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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