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Ever since the outside temperature went from being 50F to 75F here in Ohio, my tank has exploded with algae. Apparently, what I thought was a dark spot in my room on my dresser during the winter becomes a really bright spot during the spring and summer.

In a matter of one week, my water went from being pristine to green. I did a water change at first, but it did nothign for it at all. It's not just the walls of the tank - the water itself is very cloudy. I'm afraid the fish are not going to make it with water conditions like that, but I have nowhere else to move the tank - not yet at least. What else can I do to clear up the water and save the tank?

If worse comes to worse, I'll have to find a place to move it to, but in my small school apartment, that may be difficult. What else will clean the water out? My filter is obviously doing nothing.

Thank you for all your help, I'm getting kinda worried here.

There are these special sheets of fabric type stuff that you put in the filter, and it can clean out just about anything in the water. I am trying to remember the name of it, but I can't right now. I have used them in my tank when I had small particulate matter clouding up the tank, and it worked like a charm.

The only downside to it is that since it filters out so much stuff from the water, it clogs very quickly and has to be washed out every 4-6 hours or the filter will start overflowing like crazy.


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Just a quick note to tell you not to worry for your fish, they really don't mind the green water and can live happily in it.

Really? The fish don't really mind the cloudy water? Even if it's greenish? That's surprising! I thought it might be really bad thing. Well, at least I won't stress out about it that much now.

If anybody could remember the name of the other filter material that CoryAddict mentioned, that would really help. I could just go to my lfs and see what they recommend, but I'd rather get advice from people on here! Any other advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks again everybody!

ledzepcjs

Is your tank receiving direct light through the window, if so can you hang some thing or is there a blind you can pull down during the day.

Keith

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Yeah it's the window that's the problem. During the winter the hillside outside my window was enough protection. Now the sun is worse on this side of the apartment than I ever thought it would. I haven't raised my blinds at all in the past couple weeks - the algae came out of nowhere with the blinds closed. It is definitely brighter in here than it used to be , even with the blinds closed. The temperatures have also gone up quite a bit outside, and I'm sure this have something to do with it.

The only thing I can think of is to put something up in front of the tank itself, but who knows if that will do any good, or even kill any of the algae in the water.

Thanks again for your help.

I'm sorry, I don't know what filter material Cory Addict was talking about, so I can't help here.

However there are two other (rather expensive) options. One is a diatom filter. See this thread for pictures and more information. The problem with a diatom filter, if I understand it correctly, is that you have to run it every few days.

The other option is a UV lamp in your filter. It's is often used in ponds, but I know that they're making them for aquariums as well. The UV lamp kills the algae and clamps it together so it can be removed by your filter media. It keeps the water clear all the time. UV lamps should be replaced every 12 months but we turned the one in our pond out for the winter when it's not needed, hoping we wouldn't have to replace it this summer.

All those ideas sound really helpful, but also really expensive. One of those diatom filters was only $65, so maybe that's the best option.

How feasible would it be to use the diatom filter on my 10G freshwater one day, rinse it off, and then use it on my 20G saltwater the next day? Is that unsafe for any of the fish?

I'm still hoping to find out more about the "filter paper" I've read about in a few threads. Hopefully somebody else may know more about this and can help me out.

Thanks again for al your help, everybody!

whip some live plants in there. The increased competition for nutrients may make a difference In the meantime, feed less and see if you can diffuse the light somehow

Hi,
Since it's been determined that the cause of the problem
is the sunlight streaming in the window, and that it will
continue for the remainder of the season, why not simply
place something opaque behind the tank? Something as
inexpensive as a sheet or two of black construction paper
would work fine, and might be an interesting,
and contrasting, background for the fish and plants.

A Diatom filter is not the answer to green water. It will
remove the algae. However, it is not designed to run 24/7
and because of its efficiency, it will clog within a few
hours and the motor over heat.

Check out this site for what causes Green Water, how to
treat for it, and how to not have it occur again:
http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/greenwater.html

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Great! Thanks again for the info. Yeah, I figured a diatom filter wouldn't be the answer.

I think it's a safe assumption that the light in the window is the problem. However, the window is across the room, so I would have to put up black construction paper on the front face of the tank - blocking view of the tank itself and making me unable to see the tank at all from the front. I think I might just have to relocate the tank to a place with less light - possibly the living room - and hope for the best.

I've never kept a planted aquarium, and honestly, I'd have no idea where to begin. Getting live plants seems difficult, and I wouldn't know how to take care of them at all. Do they need special treatment of any kind, or will some types of plants just grow and be self-sufficient?

Thanks for all the help, I really appreciate it!