# Green water :( after adding new fish? How to fix?



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

While some say they are a waste of money using a UV unit will knock out green water in no time.


----------



## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

one way is to have some of your fish breed. the fry or something will then eat the green water.. good luck


----------



## mylittlefish (Oct 5, 2010)

I always whip-out my trusty Magnum 250 Micron H.O.T

How much volume are we dealing with ?

First do a few water changes.


----------



## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

+1 for mylittlefish, that's what i would do along with trying to get my fish to breed


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

Kibblemania1414 said:


> +1 for mylittlefish, that's what i would do along with trying to get my fish to breed


Have you ever used a UV sterilizer? 
littlefish, The OP has a 75g Walstad style NPT.


----------



## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

i have not, UV sterilizers are a butt load of money


----------



## snausage (Mar 8, 2010)

I second a uv sterilizer. They are a bit pricey, but they're guaranteed to get rid of green water in about one week and they will prevent a whole host of problems with your fish.


----------



## ridethespiral (Aug 5, 2010)

It is only a light haze of green, nothing severe enough for my to go out and buy a UV sterilizer, especially for a low-tech tank. I was afraid this was the only option... and actually I've been pouring in a gallon of cold water to top off the tank to try and trigger my hastatus corys to spawn lol hell maybe even the petricolas will spawn one day.. 


Right now I'm leaning towards letting it sort itself out. It's hard to notice the green tint unless looking down lengthwise, which then appears slightly milky and tinted with some green


----------



## Darkblade48 (Jan 4, 2008)

I am surprised that for green water, nobody has mentioned a 3-5 day blackout yet.


----------



## HolyAngel (Oct 18, 2010)

Yeah you basically have 3 options here:

1. Let it ride it's course - it could last 3 weeks and be tea green.

2. UV sterilizer - no more green water inside of 3 days, and depending, it'll clear out any parasites and anything else harmful in the water.

3. 3-5 day total blackout. Water change before hand, and then a LARGE water change right after. NO PEEKING and it'll clear it up for sure.

^^


----------



## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

+1 holyangel, thats what i did also, along with many water changes


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

HolyAngel said:


> Yeah you basically have 3 options here:
> 
> 1. Let it ride it's course - it could last 3 weeks and be tea green.
> 
> ...





Kibblemania1414 said:


> +1 holyangel, thats what i did also, along with many water changes


three choices, +1 that's what I did

?????????????

too much caffeine? (might be why your hair is standing up) :icon_redf


----------



## Kibblemania1414 (Feb 1, 2011)

ya! lol:hihi:


----------



## agimlin (Sep 25, 2010)

yeah i would say a black out would be your best bet. dont worry about feeding your fish. and your plants will have some die off. i just did this on my 10g water was so green i couldnt see the back of the tank. almost all of my java fern melted away. starting to make a come back tho after 3 weeks


----------



## gvfarns (Oct 4, 2010)

You can get a UV sterilizer on ebay for like 30 bones (I did). You don't need a high end one of any kind. Just a tube with a bulb in it. 

Ultimately, as your tank matures green water will be a thing of the past, but in the short term something like UV does wonders. The reason people say they are a waste is that after a while they won't be needed, but "a while" can potentially be quite a while for some tanks.


----------



## g01ngog (Dec 30, 2010)

I got myself a 9w UV Sterilizer for my 30gallon at PetSmart for 50ish dollars for my green water. Its on day 3 of usage. I'll report on whether its effective or not.


----------



## wkndracer (Mar 14, 2009)

gvfarns said:


> The reason people say they are a waste is that after a while they won't be needed, but "a while" can potentially be quite a while for some tanks.





g01ngog said:


> I got myself a 9w UV Sterilizer for my 30gallon at PetSmart for 50ish dollars for my green water. Its on day 3 of usage. I'll report on whether its effective or not.


g01ngog,You should be seeing a change within those three days.

If sized properly not just green water can be dealt with. Algae, protozoa and bacteria can be reduced if not eliminated in the water column if the dwell (flow rate) is sized correctly. The kill achieved using one has many uses from time to time while staying chemical free to deal with issues.


----------



## amphirion (Nov 13, 2008)

i'd add daphnia---those critters can clear out green water in no time---plus, your fish can eat them.


----------



## g01ngog (Dec 30, 2010)

I think there's a bacteria bloom in there as well, so we'll see.


----------



## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

Are you running a HOB filter or canister?

You can do all the water changes you want and it won't help and you can do a blackout but not good for the plants. You can spend money on a UV unit if you want but the best course of action is to wait it out and if you have some Purigen, replace only the purigen every week and leave all the other filter components alone. The green water takes time to work itself out and over the course of a few weeks the water will get less and less green and then all of a sudden be clear.

I was running a HOB filter and found if I took the whole filter apart and cleaned it, a couple days later green water hit. I figured out that I was removing all of the beneficial bacteria from the filter.

The best solution for green water is to wait it out, keep the tank topped off and replace the purigen filter every week but do not clean the filter.


----------



## ridethespiral (Aug 5, 2010)

Why would one replace (recharge?) purigen weekly when it can easily go months without being recharged

this is what I'm dealing with (not even sure it is green water algae):

from the front.. not so bad










but the side..



















Just cleaned the glass with the magfloat so that kinda adds to the cloudiness


----------



## dewalltheway (Jan 19, 2005)

That is the start or end of green water. Yes..purigen can go quite sometime without being recharged but after a week, when you pull it out and rinse it you will get a bunch of green come out of it. Do what you want, just trying to help with what has worked for me.




ridethespiral said:


> Why would one replace (recharge?) purigen weekly when it can easily go months without being recharged
> 
> this is what I'm dealing with (not even sure it is green water algae):
> 
> ...


----------



## Bearslide (Feb 9, 2011)

I was dealing with the same problem - all new tanks and all of a sudden, algae all over the place. I opted to go UV sterlizer - got the 9 watt Green Killing Machine from Petsmart for $49 - works great. BUT - found a different brand on ebay for $29 - WITH a spare bulb. Took a chance, ordered 2, they work great. I like them MUCH better than the green machine - easier to place and less obtrusive in the tank. Both work great - the algae is gone in just 3 days, water is crystal clear, ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels good, fish all healthy and happy.

The advice I was given was to run them a week on, a week off, so they are an integral part of my tanks now. Hoping to get a much bigger tank next year and when I do, the company that makes the UV sold on ebay also makes a cannister filter with a UV built in - with an off-on switch. Wish I had seen that before I bought filters and uv sterilizers for 3 tanks!

I like the idea of the sterilizer - hopefully it will head off any bacteria or fungal problems as well as take care of algae.


----------



## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

When I couldn't take the green water anymore, ebay is where I snagged a decent, and cheap UV filter. Here is the thread I made with my green water problem, complete with pictures.


----------



## Bearslide (Feb 9, 2011)

Green024 said:


> When I couldn't take the green water anymore, ebay is where I snagged a decent, and cheap UV filter. Here is the thread I made with my green water problem, complete with pictures.


Yup - good thread - and that's the same model I got from [Ebay Link Removed] Odd though - exact same thing but now the box says it's manufactured by Grech. When you try to go to the Grech website listed on the box, it doesn't exist. It's the same model being sold in a good nearby LFS for $99 manufactured by JBJ. I downloaded the user manual from the JBJ site and it is the same model. $70 savings - fine by me!

I would agree with those who posted in your other thread - the Sun-sun or Grech or JBJ (whatever) is far more powerful than the Green Killing Machine from Petsmart. Don't think I'd want to use it with tiny fish or fry - would suck them right up.


----------



## Green024 (Sep 19, 2009)

Your buying the name, not the actual product most the time... Tis too bad, because I do like to support local business's, but I'm not willing to pay more than 2x the cost if I am given the choice.

Yea, It does have quite the flow to it. Too much for the 20 gallon I used it in, but I had no livestock to worry about.


----------



## Bearslide (Feb 9, 2011)

> Green024 said:
> 
> 
> > Your buying the name, not the actual product most the time... Tis too bad, because I do like to support local business's, but I'm not willing to pay more than 2x the cost if I am given the choice.
> ...


Apparently so, because they are all the same with the same instructions.

Hmmm - I have one in a planted 20 gal long with 5 rosy barbs, 5 platys and a shark and one in my planted 56 gal tall with 11 young angels and some diamond tetras and it doesn't seem to be bothering anybody. I only run it at night though because you do get surface agitation. Somebody in the other thread said you could put the air nozzle below the surface to cut back on agitation - I might try that. It does come in a 5 watt model, so maybe that one has less juice.

I could just kick myself that I didn't know about the jbj cannister filter with the built-in uv they make BEFORE I bought 3 fluval cannister filters with all the same features but no uv light. Oh well...........for the next tank!


----------



## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

First time I had green water I wasn't fertilizing the tank. I don't think EI had been developed yet and Tom Barr was having a lot of trouble convincing people to try fertilizing the tank on APD. The water was so green I couldn't see an inch into the tank. Searching APD I decided to try fertilizing. Bought stump killer and dosed the tank. It was so neat watching the water clear more each day. So sorry I didn't take photos of the process and my journal has gone missing.

Last year, no luck with fertilizing during a siege of GW. I finally let the floaters build up in the tank and after a couple weeks the water wasn't green any more.


----------

