[SallyWho]

Hello, everyone! I'm new to the forum, and have some, but not a lot, experience with planted tanks. My 29g has been giving me some trouble for the past few months. It's been set up since May of this year, and is pretty well stocked with easy plants (crypts, anubias, rotala, wisteria, etc) and community fish, a few snails, and some cherry shrimp. But the water is perpetually green and cloudy, so much so that I can't see the back of the tank. Tank stats: I have no access to RODI water, so I treat tap water and use that. Finnex Planted+ LED lights are on a seven hour photoperiod. I feed flakes and freeze dried medley once per day. My parameters are good: pH 7.5, nitrites 0, nitrates 10, ammonia 0. I do weekly water changes of 10-15 gallons (which clears the water for no more than one day). Filtration is via a simple HOB filter containing a black srubby-looking pad, and a disposable carbon-filled sock. I occasionally dose with liquid CO2 and ferts, but not regularly. The back and one side of the tank are covered to limit ambient light from a nearby window. So what's up with the pea soup look? Can you help me figure out the cause so I can have a clear tank again? Thanks!

 

[petsnhobbies]

Cloudy green water is caused by a profusion of algae. Algae require nutrients and light to flourish.

You can review your light on/off settings and reduce the amount of food you put inside the tank.

As an initial temporary measure do a water change. This will remove the algae along with the excess nutrients. Increasing the frequency and quantity of the water change can also help.

I think this should solve the problem.

If this is a persistent problem, you can explore the possibility of using a UV sterilizer which can kill the algae.

 

[hiimkari29]

Leave your lights off for a few days

 

[schnebbles]

I don't know how to clear it up, but I would most certainly start dosing your Excel Daily. I don't think it probably does much good on a sporadic basis. You can even double dose it and be safe. I think that may help a little.

I've been reading about UV sterilizers that would help but that's more $$ and more stuff for the tank you might not want. I'm guessing once you figure out the issue (light is my guess) you won't have the problem any longer.

Do you have any sort of biomedia in the filter? If not, I'd also recommend that. It is a good place to keep beneficial bacteria. Most people use it but I've seen some who don't.

 

[SallyWho]

Do you have any sort of biomedia in the filter? If not, I'd also recommend that. It is a good place to keep beneficial bacteria. Most people use it but I've seen some who don't.

What exactly is meant by "biomedia?" Does the black plastic thing in my filter that looks like a dish scrubber not count? I'd assumed that at least some of the bacterial colonies were growing there.

 

[schnebbles]

Yes some will grow there. Biomedia comes in different forms. Ceramic rings. Seachem matrix. There are lots. Not saying it would help with your problem it's just a good thing to have.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

 

[SallyWho]

Yes some will grow there. Biomedia comes in different forms. Ceramic rings. Seachem matrix. There are lots. Not saying it would help with your problem it's just a good thing to have.

Sent from my SM-N910V using Tapatalk

Oh, I gotcha! Thanks! I'll look into maybe adding some more media. I think there's a little room in my filter for something extra.

 

[Raymond S.]

How long has this been this way?
There is of course a much smaller group that make post/threads anything like regularly,
but the forum members list is 32,667 people. One of them says ferts that you buy are a waste of money. All of the rest who have voiced any opinion have said that ferts need to be regularly used. For the best results they should be complete ferts also.
Then on water changes 50% is recommended by the majority. This brings in nutrients which the plants need. One fert system requires it, but that system is based on a safe
level of saturation of ferts, the objective being to insure no nutrient deficiencies.
That 50% water change/w that one keeps the ferts from building up to an unsafe level.
Good plant growth being the reason for this. It's the best way to keep out algae.
But actually IMO this is only a smaller factor in your problem.
Light is the main issue. Usually caused by direct sunlight hitting the tank, it does happen
from a light source which is noticeably high. Something which helps keep out the other types of algae is a split photo period. Mostly just for viewing purposes I do that with my
tanks. One has only one bulb of T5HO and that one has a longer no light period in the middle. On for 3 hrs in the A.M. when most get up and then again on for 4 hrs in the P.M. for afternoon/evening viewing and still keep only 7 hrs total.
Algae does not store energy so plants aren't effected as much by the no light period as it is. Using this as an algae control I'd use a no light period of not less than 4 hrs fairly close to the middle of your total hrs.
That light fixture is a bit much for that size tank. One member claims that you need injected CO2 to use it on tanks less than 20" tall. Others have said it's possible to have it without having the injected, but it will be difficult to manage without complete ferts.
They enable the plant growth needed to counter the algae which normally comes/w that level of light. That type of algae which is in your tank normally burns it's self out in a couple/few weeks. That's why I asked how long it's been there.
Providing good growing conditions(complete ferts) and changing the light period and
increasing the water changes to 50% per week will all contribute to that algae going away faster and having conditions which prevent it's return.
Would you have a picture of the whole tank before this happened?
Some filters come/w some type of media. Most on here don't use carbon in them. If it came/w the filter they just reserve it for a time when you use a med in the tank
to remove it after the med has worked. The most common filter media arrangement is one or two sponges before the bio-media. You would clean those only as they keep the bio-media clean. And actually a sponge is the cheapest/great bio-media. I use the ceramic in one tank and the "Matrix" in the other tank.

 

[turbosaurus]

Add a flocculent (a water clarifier, they have brand names like aqua clear etc for cloudy water) and shove a bunch of filter floss- (looks like pillow stuffing) to your HOB (don't remove your sponge- that is your biomedia). In 24 hours it should be clear, toss out the filter floss. If its not 100% yet, add more clean floss, toss that batch 24 hours later. You may need to retreat if its bad.

Here's how it works, The flocculent will cause the algae to clump together, the filter floss will remove the clumps like a sieve. You toss the floss becasue eventually the water flow will cause the clumps to break down again.

If it comes back after this treatment you'll need to block the sunlight from the window.

 

[SallyWho]

Cool! I think what I'll plan on doing is a 50% WC, add some filter media and filter floss to my filtration, dose with a flocculant, and then black out the tank for three days. I'm also going to see if I can find a way to raise my LEDs a little higher off the water line. The tank is near a window, BUT I've got one of those plastic background sheets completely covering the back and the entire left side of the tank, so it shouldn't really be getting any light from that. I think perhaps my light is maybe a little too much for the tank, and if I'm wrong then I can simply bring the lights back down to where they are now. Thanks for all your input, everyone! I really appreciate it.