Charlene Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Thanks in advance for any advice! Tank Parameters/Info: 37 gallon aquarium - AquaClear filter for 50 gallons+ - Sponge Filter -3 black mollies -4 platies (one is a swordtail) -1 baby fry - PH 7.4, Ammonia between 0 and 0.25, Nitrite and Nitrate 0, water is soft. The tank was set up in April, and I’ve had on and off issues with it since. The first photo that I attached is what the tank currently looks like. The other two are from middle of June. I’ve been changing water frequently (prob too often) because there were floating particles and the water had a tint. I used to have an algae eater in the tank and it seems like the water quality went downhill since he was in there. Do you think I am causing a bacterial bloom? If so, anyone know if I should do anything for it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 i see in your first pic what appears to be green water. green water is an algae bloom of sorts, most commonly but not always caused by a lot of direct sun light hitting a tank. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 I thought it had a green tint to it also! It’s very interesting because we recently reduced the amount of hours the light is on and we have been keeping the blinds closed in the room it’s in to make sure it’s not algae related. Would an algae eater help with this at all? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 This pic makes it look a lot greener than it actually is, but here is the tank this morning with the light on. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Yes an algae eater would eat the algae that is on the surfaces. Are the plants real or fake? If fake the light will be only for you to see the fish, because the fish don't need extra light. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 The plants are fake. Any thoughts on a UV sterilizer? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 A UV sterilizer would work. As would a diatom filter. Or you can do nothing and eventually the algae will go away on its own. Something that feeds on algae will eventually find its way to your tank. It will think it's found an all-you-can-eat buffet and grow like mad, reproducing like mad, and eating all the algae that pops up, and you'll have clear water again. Daphnia loves algae and if you get some daphnia in the tank the green water will disappear. (Assuming the fish don't eat the daphnia before the daphnia can eat the algae.) All kinds of very small life forms love algae as a food, and once they find your tank the algae goes bye-bye. It can take weeks/months for nature to fix the issue. A diatom filter will fix it within minutes or so. A UV sterilizer will fix it in a day or two. Green water isn't bad though. It's often pretty good for the fish. It just doesn't look pretty. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 Thank you all for your help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted July 21 Share Posted July 21 Agreed that it’s green water. I’ve had it a couple of times on my 6 gallon cube. What had helped me get rid of it is: Lower intensity on the light, floating plants to help block the light, and extra water changes. How long do you have your light on each day? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 21 Author Share Posted July 21 We recently cut the light down from 12 hours to 8. When the water was crystal clear, we did have it on 12 hrs/day. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 22 Author Share Posted July 22 Just added a UV filter tonight. Water looks horrible at the moment.. so will see what happens in the next 24-48 hrs. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AllFishNoBrakes Posted July 22 Share Posted July 22 (edited) On 7/21/2024 at 10:07 AM, Charlene said: We recently cut the light down from 12 hours to 8. When the water was crystal clear, we did have it on 12 hrs/day. This is probably a big part of the reason the green water happened. 12 hours is a super long lighting period. I do 10 hours, and that’s the max I would ever do. Good on you for cutting it down to 8 hours. Between that and the UV sterilizer, you should be good to go. Test your tank often as an ammonia spike is possible. The UV sterilizer kills the free floating algae, and dead algae produces ammonia just like any other dead or decaying thing. Edited July 22 by AllFishNoBrakes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 Ok will do! Thanks very much! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 23 Author Share Posted July 23 (edited) Not sure it’s much better so far.. Edited July 23 by Charlene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew22xc Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 You and I both having the same issue right now. Insane cloudy water for the last 10 days. Tried water changes, nothing. I'm just letting it ride unless you have good success with the UV. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted July 24 Share Posted July 24 (edited) Looks like a bacterial bloom to me. As @gardenmansaid there are 2 options: do nothing (no water changes- that usually only prolongs it- but keep an eye on ammonia spikes!!!) Or what you are doing, UV. Be patient! Edited July 24 by xXInkedPhoenixX Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 24 Author Share Posted July 24 Thank you! I’ll keep you all updated on the progress with a UV filter. @andrew22xc - sorry you are having this issue, too! A local aquarium keeper told me that our town adds tons of minerals to the tap water in the summer. He told me to switch to spring water over time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 25 Author Share Posted July 25 Tank from front and side this morning! Looking better, but not there yet! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew22xc Posted July 26 Share Posted July 26 Mine is only getting worse. I'm starting to question the whole leave it thing. It's been 10 days now, of not touching it. Hopefully it turns around soon. This is the first tank I have ever had this problem with. Have set up around 20 tanks over 3 years. Hopefully the UV works and I can try it, please let me know @Charlene Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 26 Author Share Posted July 26 Mine was basically staying steady with the bacterial bloom portion for 10 days and just turned the corner. The only change I made was rearranging the order of the filter media in my filter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew22xc Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 @Charlene how does the tank look? I really want to know if the UV is working for you? Mine is really starting to get under my skin. I can tell plants are starting to take off, but I can't truly appreciate it bc the water is so cloudy. First 3 months of a planted tank are so fun to witness and I have missed almost half of it now 😔 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesuisbanan Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 So I had this issue for a couple weeks. I did water changes and nothing changed. Finally one of the water changes I took the water from another tank and used it to fill the water in the cloudy tank and it cleared up the next day. I don't know why it worked when the new water didn't but it worked and my tank is clear now so I am assuming it was something with the bacteria just going crazy and the clear tank I took from balanced it out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Charlene Posted July 31 Author Share Posted July 31 Getting clearer! Just taking longer than expected. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted July 31 Share Posted July 31 The water from the other tank probably helped colonize some bacteria 🦠 that you were missing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
andrew22xc Posted August 11 Share Posted August 11 Bought a UV sterilizer one week ago. Made a measurable difference so far. But still nowhere close to clear water. I'm just at a loss. Can anyone give me tips for possibly preventing this in the future? It has been such a downer on my centerpiece tank, and none of my other tanks have gotten even a slight bit cloudy, apart from tannins. Nothing changed on this tank besides the high end light, but it's practically dialed in to cheap amazon light specs to prevent algae. Am I just unlucky? Does an exposed planting substrate increase risk? Enlighten me please 🥺 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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