Why is my water green?

[tarannosaurus 24]

Okay, so four days ago my water was suddenly really green. I did a water change (four days ago), and now it's green again. I don't understand what is going on. My fish doesn't seem to be stressed out but still want to know.

I just tested the water:

pH: 8.1

ammonia: 0

nitrite: 0

nitrate: 30

I can't find that list of questions you guys want answered in new topics. I hope I got everything.

Tank is 55 gallons

Fluval 305 canister

One goldfish (Oranda)

Pro-Gold twice a day

30-40% water changes every two weeks

68 degrees F

Sorry if I missed something.

[tarannosaurus 24]

Oh here it is. I'm sorry.

Test Results for the Following:
• * Ammonia Level 0
  
• * Nitrite Level 0
  
• * Nitrate level 30
  
• * Ph Level, Tank (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines) 8.1
  
• * Ph Level, Tap (If possible, KH, GH and chloramines)
  Other Required Info:
• * Brand of test-kit used and whether strips or drops? API drops
  
• * Water temperature? 68
  
• * Tank size (how many gals.) and how long has it been running? 55 since December
  
• * What is the name and "size of the filter"(s)? Fluval 305
  
• * How often do you change the water and how much? 30-40% every two weeks
  

• * How many days ago was the last water change and how much did you change? 4 days
  
• * How many fish in the tank and their size? One oranda, about 7" total length
  
• * What kind of water additives or conditioners? Prime
  
• * What do you feed your fish and how often? Pro-Gold twice a day
  
• * Any new fish added to the tank? No
  
• * Any medications added to the tank? No
  
• * List entire medication/treatment history for fish and tank. Please include salt, Prazi, PP, etc and the approximate time and duration of treatment. No
  
• * Any unusual findings on the fish such as "grains of salt," bloody streaks, frayed fins or fungus? No
  
• * Any unusual behavior like staying at the bottom, not eating, etc.? No
  
• 
  

[Evening 102]

It's probably just some algae in your water column, and should settle down eventually. It makes great fry food too.

[cathface 161]

do you have your tank in direct sunlight? how long do your leave the lights on? it does sound like algae to me, which is nothing to worry about.

[tarannosaurus 24]

I figured it is algae. It's not in direct sunlight. You think it will go away on it's own? I'm not sure if I want my tank water to be green. Maybe my lights are making it worse... They are T5HO's.

[happysnapper 454]

Cut back on the light, for sure. Do you have plants in there?

[tarannosaurus 24]

No plants.

[SynthHermit 70]

Sounds like algae to me,too. Adding some live plants will give the algae competition for the nutrients in the water,and given enough competition the algae won't be able to survive. Fast growing plants that use more nitrates would work better/faster.

Also, I'd recommend doing your water changes weekly, instead of every other week. I'm sure this will also help cut back on the algae.

Best of luck!

[tarannosaurus 24]

I have those lights because I wasn't sure if I wanted to get plants someday.

[shakaho 6,312]

Did anything change in the week or so before the algae bloom? Feeding? Filtration? Number of fish? Amount of light?

Your nitrates are high, and nitrate is food for algae. There are two ways of getting nitrate down: increasing the frequency and/or amount of water change (as already recommended); and using plants. It takes a lot of underwater plants to use up the nitrate produced by goldfish, and the fish don't cooperate much in allowing the plants to grow. The simplest way to use plants to remove nitrate is to suspend land plants so their roots are in the water. Pothos http://www.bhg.com/g...seplant/pothos/ is very easy to grow and just gobbles up the nitrate. I have put the roots in plastic flowerpots and hung these on the tank side with s-hooks. I suspended a plastic mesh box across the tank with bamboo stakes going through the mesh and resting on the edge of the tank, and put the plants in the box. The pothos grows very fast and very long. The bigger it gets the more nitrate it eats.

You might consider decreasing the amount of food you are giving your fish. More fish food makes more nitrogen waste makes more algae food. Don't worry about your fish not getting enough to eat. The algae in that green water are food that your fish can swallow all day long.

One more question. Do you keep the sides of your tank nice and clean? If so, you might let the algae grow on the back and sides. The algae that grow on the glass, like plants, compete with the suspended "green water algae."

Edited May 15, 2012 by shakaho

[dnalex 13,633]

How many hours of light are you giving the tank? I would start by decreasing the number light, possibly even cutting it in half, since there aren't any plants in the tank at the moment. The other thing to do is to get a cheap analog timer and set your light cycle there, with maximum lights on being a 4 hour stretch at a time.

[tarannosaurus 24]

Okay, thanks for all the suggestions guys.

I have sand substrate so I think it will be difficult to grow plants unless I used flower pots or some kind of tray with an appropriate substrate. Those plants in the photo look nice. Would I need to get anything else to grow plants besides a different substrate? And what kind would be suitable for those plants?

I keep all the sides of the tank clean. There is no algae on the glass. I will also start doing water changes more frequently.

Thanks again for all the help guys.

[number20121 2,663]

Okay, thanks for all the suggestions guys.

I have sand substrate so I think it will be difficult to grow plants unless I used flower pots or some kind of tray with an appropriate substrate. Those plants in the photo look nice. Would I need to get anything else to grow plants besides a different substrate? And what kind would be suitable for those plants?

I keep all the sides of the tank clean. There is no algae on the glass. I will also start doing water changes more frequently.

Thanks again for all the help guys.

If you are referring to the pothos, they are not to be fully submerged. Only the roots go into the water. Here's how I got mine set up. I got the plant itself resting on top of the filter box/along the back of the tank, since there is a wall only a few inches behind the tank, the plant gets enough support to not slide out. Additionally the roots have grown quite long, as of now they reach down almost to half the tank, and are enough of a counter weight to not have the plant slide out.

http://i82.photobucket.com/albums/j269/EileenGalvin/algae.jpg

No need to change the substrate or anything. It's kind of like using the fish tank as flower pot for the pothos. Just make sure you secure the plant well enough that it doesn't slide out.

[tarannosaurus 24]

Oooh I see. So it must have really low lighting requirements?

[happysnapper 454]

Yes, none of mine have any kind of natural light getting to them and they are growing and green

[tarannosaurus 24]

Also, do your fish mess with the roots? Haha

[happysnapper 454]

Mine can't get to the roots because I have them submerged right in the filter box. It works but when it's time to clean out the filter media sometimes I have to disentangle roots.

[bagh 199]

You can try a UV sterilizer. The UV sterilizer utilizes a germicidal fluorescent lamp that produces light at a wavelength of approximately 254 nanometers (2537 Angstroms). The water with the bacteria and algae passes over the bulb (or around the bulb if a quartz sleeve is used) and is irradiated with this wavelength. As the light penetrates the bacteria/algae, it mutates the DNA (genetic material), preventing growth/multiplication of the organism. It will also help in eliminating bacteria and fungus along with the algae if matched with proper wattage of the lamp and water flow-rate through the quartz sleeve.

Please visit this website for details:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2148&aid=2855

Edited May 16, 2012 by bagho

[tarannosaurus 24]

A UV sterilizer is already on my wishlist, believe me haha. Those are so nice.

[bagh 199]

A UV sterilizer is already on my wishlist, believe me haha. Those are so nice.

That's great!

Yeah they are very useful too!