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OK....I did a water change and vacuum in my 55 gallon, I have blacked out my tank, lowered the water a little for extra movement and added Phos-Guard to my filter. Is there anything else I should be doing to cure this problem? And are you sure my fish will survive 4 days of this? Dont they need some light in there becasue it is black as night! There is a tiny bit of green algae present but nothing much.

I wonder what makes this tank different than my other tanks, this one went cloudy then it cleared (which I know is normal), then green water set in and all the other tanks have been crystal clear from the start. It doesnt get direct sun but it does get daylight in the room.

Any comments would be aprreciated I manintain my tanks very well...so I am puzzled.

Sorry, I just noticed I put this in the wrong forum!


[span class="edited"][Edited by songbird1963 2004-06-28 12:34][/span]

[span class="edited"][Edited by songbird1963 2004-06-28 12:38][/span]

Hm... have you tried a product called "Algaefix"? I hear it works wonders.

BTW, I noticed in your signature that you mix SA and African cichlids. Usually not a great idea, but if it works, then fine.

If You want to stay away from the Chemicals, All you need to do is get some Black Activated Carbon...Place a bag in your Filter, and the Green Water will be gone within the day....Is your tank covered in Algae or just green water problem? Try this, it will work...

I do want to stay away from adding chemicals if at all possible....I currently have 2 Emporer 400's running on this tank with carbon filled cartidges....2 may be too old but two are brand new...I need more? I could add extra I guess.

No Algae to speak of....just green water.

mr bubbles...the only one who doesnt get along is the Firemouth...he is a little Bas***d. but he hasnt bitten anyone yet...all bark and no bite

I was looking forward to getting a 75 gallon tank or bigger soon, but all this is getting to be a a pain!

[span class="edited"][Edited by songbird1963 2004-06-28 13:36][/span]

You will need a small bag full to place in the filter.
Your Filter Cartridges only come with a small amount of carbon, and you may just have Zeolite White Carbon in there anyway....Make sure you get Black Super Activated Carbon....Reduces Green Water and Odor......White Carbon is just for reducing ammonia....

In my experience, carbon does nothing for green water. The algae that cause green water are not killed off by carbon, nor " absorbed" by it. There are four ways to get rid of green water, some more permanent than others.

1) blackout method - the cheapest method. Black out totally for 3-4 days, no peeking. On the last day, do large water change to remove some of the now dead green water algae.

2) UV sterilizers. When the green water goes through the uv, it scrambles up the dna of the microbe and effectively kills it. The cheapest are usually about 80 to 100 bucks, and require a pump or can be placed inline on a canister filter. They aren't recommended for planted tanks as they can mess up fertilizers, but excellent for fish only tanks. THey operate non-stop and kill bacteria, viruses, as well as algae spores, etc.

3) diatom filter - this filter uses super fine powdery granules to catch the smallest, tinest particles. There is only one such filter designed for continuous use that I know of. All others are meant for short-term cleanings of tanks. They will rid a 20 gallon tank of green water in about 15 minutes tops. These can be had for $75 and up. I have used them for this before, but the green water keeps coming back, leading me to method number 4.

4) Getting the nutrients in the tank balanced, and copious amounts of water changes. If you get your tank out of direct sunlight, and perform more often than usual water changes, along with balancing out the nutrients in the tank, you can get rid of green water, but it takes a very long time, but once the nutrients are balanced out and any physical factors that may have caused the problem in the first place are fixed, it is less likely it will show back up. This and UV sterilizers are the only guaranteed method of making sure it does not come back.

Thanks Jake,
I appreciate your post. I think the problem may be too many nutrients and over feeding. I am pretty sure this is the problem because I have 6 giant danios who eat everything that drops in the tank and the more docile fish dont get a chance to eat so its difficult to get them fed. And this could be why there isnt a problem in any of the other tanks.

I do weekly water changes with gravel vacs...1/2 the tank at a time and the Nitrates never go over 25. No direct sunlight. I dont have a canister filter so does that mean I cant use a UV sterilizer? I wouldnt mind having one if it does all that!

I will continue with the black out and see what happens.

Jake, If your set trying the other methods, how do you have experience with Black Carbon? Black Carbon is intended to absorb the green water, just as White Carbon Absorbs toxic ammonia....I have used Black Carbon in my pond during the worst of Texas Heat, when you can have all the plant coverage you want, and still have green water and algae probs...Since Last summer when I tried this myself, I have never had green water again in my pond, its been crystal clear....Already half-way through this summer and not even a chance the green water will come back....Thats my experience with Black Carbon...Got rid of my green water just through the same night......If you have truely given it a chance, then your opinion is appreciated that you havent had good experiences with it, but it you havent, then keep trying your methods and maybe give it a try sometime......

I haven't tried the carbon yet because my fish store is quite a ways away, but I am doing the black out....this will be day three and I havent peeked and its driving me nuts!!!!!!!!!

Man, I hope my poor fishies are gonna be OK...I need some reassurance from others who have tried this PLEASE!!!!!

We just did a 4 day blackout and all the fish came out fine. It was a ten gallon, and the water was so green you could barely see through it. After the 4th day the water was just slightly tinted green "barely noticable" and then we did a 30% water change. All seems to be going great "so far":%)

Hope this helps

[span class="edited"][Edited by NeptunesLady 2004-06-30 18:39][/span]

Thank you for that post....I will unveil mine this afternoon and let everyone know what happened. I bet my fish are REALLY hungry by now!

I agree with you on the :%) seems everything happens to this tank (except disease thank goodness)...the other three are perfect.

[span class="edited"][Edited by songbird1963 2004-07-01 07:54][/span]