# Bacterial Bloom for 2 months



## orki (Dec 21, 2013)

Hi,
Im hoping someone can give me some advise on what I should do about what appears to be a bacterial bloom ive had for nearly 2 months in my planted tank. 
It first started when I set up my tank with bio from my cycled tank and cycled for about 2 weeks without fish but blasted it with Co2 to give the plants a boost. When I added the fish they were all gasping for air as my CO2 levels were obviosly too high, so I turned off the CO2 and put a airstone in the tank. The next day the tank was cloudy and has been ever since. I also had a lot of plants start to melt which would have contributed to the bloom. I removed the fish for a few weeks to let the tank continue to cycle and try to starve the bacteria but it didnt seem to help so added them back. Theyve now been in the tank for over a month. 
I have trimmed off all dead leaves and made several 50% water changes vacumming the gravel, however the tank has only cleared about 50% as in the pic below but still cloudy enough that you cant see the back of the tank. However the plants are finally starting to kick off now and there growth seems to be picking up.
Do I do further water changes, add liquid bacteria or Purigen or just continue to wait and let it settle?

TANK: 45gal Bow fronted
LIGHTING: 2 x 24watt T5HO (8hrs)+ 2 x 24watt T5HO (6hrs)
CO2: Injection 5 bubbles/sec
FILTER: Fluval 305
SUBSTRATE: Aquasoil
TEMP: 79
AMMONIA: 0
NITRITES: 0
NITRATES: 5ppm
PH: 6.4

FISH: 
35 Rasbora espei
3 Rumminose Tetra's
4 Ottos
5 Cherry Shrimp
5 CRS (Had more but found 3-4 dead over the last few weeks)
4 Pearl Lace Gouramis (Added last week)

PLANTS: LOTS

Any help would be most appreciated


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## Guyver (Feb 12, 2010)

Dip a white paper towel in the water and swish it around. If it comes out green, you have a green water-borne algae problem, which I think is the more likely scenario than a 2 month bacteria bloom.

Either way, investing in a UV Sterilizer like the Green Killing Machine from PetsMart or the AquaTop PFUV Elite Series from petmountain.com will solve the problem in a matter of days.

The alternative is to do a full tank blackout using a garbage bag or blanket. It'll take weeks, but should nuke the cloudiness if it is indeed green water.


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## brandon429 (Mar 29, 2003)

changing out all the water is an option, Ive done about 200 of them in my tank no prob. the current condition is the prob, rip it all out man. nothing a couple hours work cant fix. leave enough swimming room at the bottom, pour change water very slowly not a prob. I just did one in my red cherry and fish/plant tank last week, nice refresher.


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## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

Water changes won't help alone. I am battling GW myself and finally just ordered a green killing machine on sale. My GW was going solid green for a while, I can now go most of the week and see from the front to back (but not through), but I can't see across length wise after a few days. I do huge water changes weekly (per EI fert schedule) doing way more than 50% possibly 100% as I both drain and fill at the same time and just let it run until the water is crystal clear. 

You have to juggle light cycles, nutrients in the water, co2, and when you get sick of that choke up and buy a UV.


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## DarkCobra (Jun 22, 2004)

Guyver said:


> Either way, investing in a UV Sterilizer like the Green Killing Machine from PetsMart or the AquaTop PFUV Elite Series from petmountain.com will solve the problem in a matter of days.


Note that the PFUV-15 and PFUV-25 will not properly fit aquarium rims with a thickness exceeding 0.75". I did manage to get a PFUV-25 on a 46G bowfront, but it took some creativity and wasn't pretty. Get a PFUV-40 if you go this route.


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## orki (Dec 21, 2013)

Thanks for the advise guys but still no luck!!
I made a 90% water change and vacuumed up a lot of what seemed to be fine cloudy mud trapped in my substrate. I'm now wondering if it's from some geo liquid type solution I put in the tank early to try to clear what was probably at the start a bacterial bloom????
I tried a 4 day blackout which melted my Syngonanthus sp 'Belem and am currently running 2 filters (fluval 306 & 205) with polishing pads and carbon and a 7w internal uv steriliser
I don't want to pull everything out and start again but may be a last resort&#55357;&#56874;
Any further advise is appreciated


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## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

Your answer was given to you. UV is the only quick solution. I just had to employ uv last week after green water, using the 24w green machine on my 40b the difference as noticeable in 24hrs and clear within 36hrw. I gave up over a month of not being able to view my fish and plants. How much that time is worth to you should help you decide how much longer you want to try fight a potentially losing battle.


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## orki (Dec 21, 2013)

Appreciate what your saying but my water is more milky than green. When the water passes the outlet it looks like clouds


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## TekWarren (Oct 6, 2013)

Same answer applies.


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## water hyacinth (Mar 3, 2013)

orki said:


> Hi,
> Im hoping someone can give me some advise on what I should do about what appears to be a bacterial bloom ive had for nearly 2 months in my planted tank.
> It first started when I set up my tank with bio from my cycled tank and cycled for about 2 weeks without fish but blasted it with Co2 to give the plants a boost. When I added the fish they were all gasping for air as my CO2 levels were obviosly too high, so I turned off the CO2 and put a airstone in the tank. The next day the tank was cloudy and has been ever since. I also had a lot of plants start to melt which would have contributed to the bloom. I removed the fish for a few weeks to let the tank continue to cycle and try to starve the bacteria but it didnt seem to help so added them back. Theyve now been in the tank for over a month.
> I have trimmed off all dead leaves and made several 50% water changes vacumming the gravel, however the tank has only cleared about 50% as in the pic below but still cloudy enough that you cant see the back of the tank. However the plants are finally starting to kick off now and there growth seems to be picking up.
> ...


going by the white growth on the wood ,i'd say it's the wood. I added some branches to my aquarium a while back and it not only caused bacterial/fungal growth on the wood but also in the water. How long have you had that wood in water?


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## orki (Dec 21, 2013)

The white growth on the wood is BBA which I nuked with Excel Flourish it's now gone so don't think that's the problem


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## TDerivan (Jan 3, 2014)

You could try using Chemi-pure, that has always kept my water crystal clear. It might seem counter-intuitive, but have you tried using a bacterial additive like microbe-lift?


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

http://www.oscarfish.com/article-home/water/72-heterotrophic-bacteria.html


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## brandon429 (Mar 29, 2003)

if the poster added a flocculant designed to catch and hold bacteria in suspension that would be interesting that it wasnt exported with the water change. looks white, not green cloud>?

my greenwater was always green

if its a persistent life form uv will help, fw isn't as prone to bacterial suspensions without chemistry support, causing minor precipitations with co2 blasting and unchecked pH impacts or by dosing this or that to try and remedy the cause

Im curious to know when was the last time the clearing liquid was dosed and what the name of it was. flocculants cause whitish conditions until filtration removes them or wc 

uv never hurts to try, get one from a store and use it to see if it helps, if not bring it back. most places give you 30 day ret policy if resellable. I bought a used uv at a discount from my lfs.

all aquariums are chock full of aerobic bacteria in the water, and on all surfaces. imagine the detriment to them of the initial co2 blast, which will be interesting to see if uv clears already dead bacteria. if it de complexes the flocculation or speeds up cell degredation in some way perhaps it can, I like UV and would use it on all my tanks if they made mininiature thumb sized ones lol


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## brandon429 (Mar 29, 2003)

I really want to see a non api ammonia test reading out of this tank in its dirtiest

it is completely possible to kill an entire filter bed with high co2


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