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I have a 20H in my bedroom with access to indirect sunlight (at least, as indirect as I can make it--I have blinds closed over the windows at all times). However, I have recently noticed that my water has obtained a light greenish hue and develops over a period of several days a brownish/slimy-esque material under the gravel and against the glass--BUT only against the glass. That's why I think that it's a water and sunlight issue, but I'm not sure. The fish are fine; they are colorful and hungry and active. I just don't understand the reasoning behind this odd tank issue. The periam's are normal and it has a stable temperature.

Is this a sunlight issue, or might it have something to deal with the 2 sticks of driftwood I have within the tank or with the small rock I purchased at the LFS?

Thanks for your help!

-SF

It's greenwater. Tiny bits of floating algae that generally appears when there is a ton of light(sunlight) and some excess nutrients. Have you tested for ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate? How long has the tank been setup? Even with lots of light I've only had greenwater show up when a tank is cycling. Took a long time to get rid of it in one tank even after it cycled but it never showed up again. The brown could be brown algae(diatoms) but those usually only take over a tank when there is too little light for any other type of algae to grow. The also tend to go away on their own after a tank has been cycled for awhile. If the tank was setup in the past few months but is definitely cycled I'd be inclined to just do more gravel vacs and see if it straightens itself out after it's more established. Otherwise you'll have to look into decreasing the sunlight even more or adding plants to the tank to use up the nutrients so the algae can't grow.

Hi,
Here is a site about green water, how it happens, and
how to eliminate it. BTW many folks want green water
as the floating algae is excellent food for fry.

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/greenwater.html

Frank


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

I was curious, does the temp. of the tank affect the algae? I cleaned my tank not too long ago and must've bumped the heater, setting it back about 3 degrees, and it didn't take too long for the algae to come back. I don't particularly mind the lightly hued water (it's slightly green, but not as bad as before) it's just the algae giving it a dirtly look that bugs me. It's started to adhere itself to the heater and ther plants as well, so every tank cleaning is a little bit longer as I have to remove it as best I am able.

What are some good methods to convince this algae to go away? I don't really want to plant my tank, I just don't have the cash flow for something I've never tried before, and will prolly make mistakes with. I clean the tank on a regular basis, and change the filter and gravel vac and change water and etc. Are there any tips you guys have for the algae, though?

Thanks for the help,

-SF

Hi,
You did not acknowledge either of the two responses to you
with suggestions as to the cause(s) of your problem(s).

Essentially, if you provide water, nutrients, and light,
algae will grow. The light and water is obvious, the
nutrients are derived from the fish and the fish food.

To eliminate the algae or at least limit it, you would
need to provide something to out compete the algae for
the nutrients. Plants are the answer.

For very little, in fact, probably just for the asking,
you might convince the LFS to give you some fragments of
some fast growing stem plants that you could put long the
sides of the tank that face the window. Plant them one
every inch apart along the glass and that should form a
shrub that will thrive in the indirect sunlight that you
are providing.

As for the "stuff" that is growing, that could be the
result of not cleaning the driftwood correctly or enough.
Or, as Sham mentioned, if you have dead areas in the tank
(areas with little or no circulation) you could have an
outbreak of diatoms. Any dead spots would be nutrient
sumps, and encourage diatoms to thrive. If it is diatoms,
increasing circulation and lighting will eliminate them
over time as will water changes. The small catfish,
called Otto's, love the stuff.

Not knowing anything about your tank water causes us all to
play a guessing game. Telling us how long the tank has been
setup with fish, and the water chemistries (ammonia,
nitrite, nitrate, pH, GH, KH) would all help form a better
response.

Frank


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

Sorry, Frank, I was writing the post in a hurry and needed to get it done before I had to drive to school.

As for the tank itself: it's a 20H, been set up about 3 months, about 2 1/2 months with fish (so it should have cycled...maybe...), pream's turned up normal on everything, temp at 74 F. There are 2 dwarf gourami's, 3 rasboras, 1 zebra danio, and 1 dojo loach inhabiting the tank. All are healthy and active. (I know, the space is tight with the dojo...).

Is there room for an otto to aid in the algae? How do I need to clean the driftwood so that it doesn't add to the issue? Is temperature an issue?

I hope that helps...with the helping. ^^;

Hi,
Personally, I'd nudge the temperature up a couple of
degrees to 76 or so for the fish. I don't believe
that temperature has anything to do with the algae.
The stuff will grow in the Antarctic, as well as in
desert ponds.

Otto's are generally kept in small groups of at least
two or three. They are a small fish reaching, maybe
2 inches so they don't add much to the bio load of a tank.

Did you soak the driftwood for a couple of weeks in a
bucket before you put it in the tank? A good scrubbing
with a stiff bristled brush under running water should
take care of the outer surfaces, and the soaking will tell
you if it is going to leech tannic acid into the tank.

"Tall" tanks, because of their depth, are notorious
for having "dead" areas, areas with little or no
circulation. Redirecting filter outputs, or adding an
air stone, will help remove them. Diatoms love the dead
areas as they become nutrient sinks, places where waste
products accumulate and they can grow.

You don't say anything about a light for the tank.
Is there one and if so, what is it?
Here is a site about green water, its causes, and
cures:

http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/greenwater.html

Frank


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

Temp upgrade...okies. I didn't know the range of this algae's abilities! That's pretty amazing! I didn't know any of that.

For my tank capacity, will I be able to add 2 or so Otto's to it? I know my loach requires a bit of room...would they get along?

I got my driftwood from the LFC and they didn't tell me anything about cleaning it. It had been in a tank previously and that water was clear, so I hadn't thought anything about it. I remember I rinsed it before introducing it into my tank, and I rinse it everytime I do major overhauls to my tank (water/gravel vac wise). When it was first intro'd into my tank, it didn't do anything to my water, but I did have a naughty little fiddler crab who picked at it and it then did release some tannins into the water, but really nothing since then.

I have an airstone in the tank, and I can try moving that around some, but everytime I attempt to secure it into the gravel, my loach will dig it and most of my plants up. But I can definitly see what I can do. I really understand now the difference between tall and long tanks (my other tank is long).

I don't have any tank lights or a lid for my tank: it's open on the top. The only light the tank recieves is indirectly through the blinds in the room. Would a tank light effect the algae, or the greenwater?

As I mentioned before, the green water really isn't that bad, just a light tint, and I don't mind it as much as the algae, though I plan on trying to fix both probs. as I get the time.

Thanks for all your help! You've really given me a lot of insight and I look forawrd to your responce.

-SF

Hi,
First, here is a little bit more about the "Tall" VS "Long"
tanks that I wrote in another forum on FP to someone who
also had a 20G/Tall tank:

Quote:
Tall tanks were originally designed as "show tanks."
These tanks were designed to "confine" a few fish in
a narrow (left to right) space for judges to easily
observe them. This way the judge could stand in front
of the specific tank and the fish could not swim to the
other side to "get away" and force the judge or others
to have to side step to keep them in their "head on"
sight.

Later, they became popular with folks who wanted a large
tank (capacity) that took up less room (smaller "foot
print" ) .

Stocking these "Tall" tanks must, like the "long" tanks,
must depend upon the number of square inches of surface
area and NOT the capacity of the tank. There are charts
somewhere that give recommendations (a rule of thumb) as
to the size and girth of the fish and the NR of square
inches of surface area recommended to keep them. Older
publications used to cite a rule of thumb about the
number of inches of fish per gallon. With todays filters
and circulation systems, that has pretty much been ignored
by the more experienced fish keepers.
Endquote

From what you say, you have pretty much a "live" tank.
By that I mean that you have something moving in it all the
time. I would be reluctant to add more fish until the
loach found a new home. With it's activity, and digging,
you will be hard pressed to add any plants to the tank.
If you are developing green water, then you should have
enough light to grow some plants, especially if you plant
them along the sides of the tank that are exposed to the
sunlight. Once the tank is planted with some stem plants
along the sides facing the sunlight, you could add some
ferns (tied by cotton thread) to the driftwood and that
would really enhance the appearance of the tank.
When planted, experimenting with the shades and the amount
of light you expose the tank to, should take care of the
plants.

You might seriously consider a piece of glass to cover the
top of the tank to prevent the fish from jumping out from
time to time.
That crab must have been really busy to have chipped away
at the surface of the wood enough to have allowed the
tannins to start to leach into the water and start turning
it tea colored.
You should test your water, particularly Nitrate and see
what it reads. I suspect that it might be high and that,
together with the light, be the cause of your green water
and algae. That site on Green Water points out that one
of the causes is the lack of gravel vacuuming which allows
the fish waste and any excess foods to accumulate in the
gravel. You should divide the tank into, say four
section, and each week when you change say, 10% of the
water, vacuum a different section. That way, over a month,
you will have cleaned the enter bottom. BTW, do that for
the non-planted sections only.

Frank


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