# YAY!!! I got greenwater!!!!



## wellbiz (Aug 6, 2003)

Ouch :shock: :shock: Greenwater is the worse.... Yea it is usually phosphates.... Plant sticks/root tabs that get uncovered can cause it too, at least from what I have read on this forum and others... A UV and a diatom will make quick work of it... Or just the Diatom by itself...



Jason


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## Ace (Dec 10, 2003)

No rough word plz.I got green water in my bare tanks all the time.Excessive light and heat may cause greenwater.Cut down the lights and feedings will help. Daily water change will have them out of the water.Nothing to do with kh and gh i think.Is the tank planted?


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## Ace (Dec 10, 2003)

hey wellbiz what's a diatom filter? can give me some info?


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## wellbiz (Aug 6, 2003)

Ace,

http://www.thekrib.com/Filters/diatom.html and do a search on this forum for some more info.... Just a filter with real small @1micron or less filtering media. It polishes the water


Jason


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

I dont use plant food sticks..............I don't do gravel water changes nomore. What do you think of bright N clear says it removes phosphates. Oh yeah I took out my filter media a month ago. I use bio-media, filter floss, and sponge in my fluval 303. So I don't have carbon anymore. I was thinking of trying "RENEW" from seachem. Green water is so sad looking. lol


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

NY,
How old is your tank?
What is your phosphate level? Before you start to fight phosphate, you should at least know how much you have!
What is your nitrate level? Good to know!
Those two should be present and balanced.

IME blackouts and water changes do not help with green water. I would avoid both, and instead continue like normal, trying to ignore the green water :wink: The greener and thicker it gets, the quicker it will be gone. After a few days it will have eaten up all the nutrients that it needs, and things will clear up for you.

A diatom filter will filter them suckers out, but again, I would just let it run it's course and wait it out, because as soon as you disconnect the diatom filter, things will get thicker again.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

Well I don't have a phosphate test kit or a nitrate test kit. I have a nitrate test kit coming this week but couldn't find a phosphate test kit. My tank is about 3-4 months old.


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## Rex Grigg (Dec 10, 2002)

GW is more associated with high nitrate levels than phosphates. In fact the quickest way to get GW is to put some Urea in the tank. That's the most common form of nitrogen in terrestrial fertilizers. While you can use a UV or a Diatom filter to cure the GW you need to find out what caused it or it will just come hammering back.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

NyCzBuBba said:


> Well I don't have a phosphate test kit or a nitrate test kit. I have a nitrate test kit coming this week but couldn't find a phosphate test kit. My tank is about 3-4 months old.


Aww.  http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=RS3119

Many tanks go through a GW phase during their initial period of finding balance. Once they clear up they seem to be immune...


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

Wow I can barely see my fish now. The plants are not visible a long time ago. Man I wish I had a camera to take a pic of this I was looking at Ross's thread about greenwater and I think I passed that.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Monitor your fish... if they seem to be low on oxygen in the mornings, add an airstone or increase water movement during the night time, when the algae use up O2.

Give it 5 to 7 days :shock:


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## Joe Schmoe (Sep 25, 2003)

There's hope. Water changes (nothing too extreme - 50% twice within a week), a UV sterilizer and some filter floss in the Fluvals is all it took for me.
Before:








After:









Sorry the tank is busy. I'm trying to figure what I can grow.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

wow mine is just as bad.........Can it be my tap water that has too much phosphate I hope this phosphate tester comes in soon.


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## Gomer (Aug 14, 2003)

I had GW...on both tanks. I did the backout for 72+ hours. GW came back (i did monitor P and N). I later got a UV ster. and the GW was gone in a day. It hasn't come back since. My water is now clearer than it has ever been ..even before GW came into play.


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## Aftica (Nov 26, 2003)

this is the Diatom that I have... works great..

http://www.thatpetplace.com/MainPro...=vortex&SKW=&EDP=5283&T1=F25+0404+0040&PgNo=2

you can see it in the corner of this picture...










I used to use it once and a while for really polishing up the ole tank Works on Ick too Its a nice filter to own but not a necessity...


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## Sparky01GT (Nov 18, 2003)

I highly recommend the Coralife TurboTwist UV sterilizer. I put the 9W on my 75 gallon tank and in three days my water was clearer than it ever was before, even with the diatom filter. I haven't seen a hint of any kind of algae since.

edit: its on sale at Drs. Fosters & Smith, $79.99
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=7999&R=12931&N=2004+113565&in_merch=1


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

i would love to say that leaving it alone will clear it up eventually...but i've lived with greenwater for over two months now.....and it never goes away......


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Hubba,

With the amount of tanks in your sig, the $80 to $100 for a UV sterilizer might be money well spent. 

If the GW isn't gone after a few days, there is probably a continuous source of nutrients for it in your water. Is your Nitrate/Phosphate level in the recommended 10:1 relation?

If it doesn't burn out by itself as I described you might need to resort to stronger weapons, like diatomaceous earth or as mentioned a UV sterilizer (that reminds me how bad they are for your fish :lol: sorry had to say that).


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Yeah, you forgot, UV kills ALL your fish!!!!!! LOL


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

I had green water for about a month and used a diatom to clear it up but it kept coming right back within a week. The water would be clear within an hour after putting the diatom filter on. I'd leave it on overnight and then remove it. The last time I did it I left it on for 24 hours. I then cleaned the diatom filter , filled it with fresh diatom powder and ran it for another 24 hrs, then did a 50 percent water change. It's been about 3 weeks and it hasn't come back yet, knock on wood.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

Just getting worse and worse.


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## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

http://www.koiclubsandiego.org/GRENH2O.html

A very interesting read on greenwater in ponds, afterall with lighing setups and CO2 etc, many tanks are small indoor ponds...

it seems there are times when use of an algaecide is ultimately needed.


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## GulfCoastAquarian (Jul 30, 2002)

I've knocked out green water with a UV filter before but a diatom filter seems to do a faster and more thorough job (removes rather than just kills). It's a worthwhile investment, in my opinion.


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

yes, I'm looking into getting diatomaceous earth since i already have whisper filters that i can use.....i'm checking the swimming pool supply stores in my area....i hope to find it soon.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

I'm getting very aggrivated I don't know what to do anymore I guess last resort to do a black out. Should I be doing regular water changes?


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## Ace (Dec 10, 2003)

You don't want to add more food(minerals) for the algae.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

NyCzBuBba said:


> I'm getting very aggrivated I don't know what to do anymore I guess last resort to do a black out. Should I be doing regular water changes?


So since this started on the 19th, you haven't done any water changes? Give it 3 more days... remember the greener it looks, the faster it could die off. Have you gotten the test kits? What are your NO3 and PO4 readings? How are the discus doing? Is there a lot of leftover food?

If it doesn't get better in 3 days... hmmm. Blackout. Water changes. Maybe get a magnum HOT 250 ($40) and load it up with DE ($5) and do what Mr. Hyde described. Or spend the $90 or so and get a UV sterilizer. It's much more convenient than the DE filter.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

Well i got my nitrate test already and it looked to be 10 ppm. Where can I get a magnum HOT 250 for 40$? I'll buy that scince I have no other choice right now.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Big Als for example, search for hot magnum. Look for some diatomaceous earth (DE) in swimming pool supply stores. This will clear things up for you...


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

ok made a mistake with nitrate test its 0ppm


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Are you sure :lol: that's good for Discus... but you might just get it up a little, it is possible that it helps battling the green water. Basically any change in conditions could make them disappear. A balanced NO3/PO4 relation being one of them.


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

Well so much for knocking on wood, my greenwater is back with a vengeance. After my last thorough double diatom filtering it has taken about twice as long to come back as usual but it is back just as bad as ever. I've held back on feeding and kept with once a week 1/3 water changes as usual. I'm thinking that when I originally set my tank up I may have overdid it with using plant fertilizer plugs. I uprooted a few plants last week and may have leaked some fertilizer into the water. I used about 15 plant plugs in a 46 gallon tank, probably should have not used any to start out. What else could it be? I'm thinking of just letting it run it's course like wasserpest suggested. I'm wondering just how long I should let it go. The plants are probably going to be starving for light soon, if not already.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Don't worry too much about the plants (unless you do blackouts :lol: ).

Whatever has leached into your water column needs to be taken out or eaten up by those critters, I mean phytoplankton. I remember someone having problems for an extended time, and he later realized that his fertilizer sticks or plugs were GONE. They had been sitting on top of the tank somewhere :lol: 

If you had stuff leaking into the water, water changes will surely speed the clearing up. In contrary to a GW in a freshly setup tank.

You really should test your NO3/PO4 levels and see if they need any adjustments.


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## nativeplanter (Dec 30, 2003)

I live in an area where the phosphorus in the tap water is incredible! I have successfully gotten rid of green water many times by using a flocculant such as "Crystal Clear" (available at Wal-Mart even!). It works by making tiny particles (such as single-celled algae) clump together, and a regular old filter can then trap them. It also works very fast! Flocculants are marketed as a means of clearing cloudy or murky water. It's a very inexpensive and very effective solution for me. Use a low dose at first, as some fish can be sensitive (watch for gasping at the surface. It will clear up in an hour or two).


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

Wasserpest, I tested today for Nitrates and Phosphates and both tests showed 0. I've tested it in the past and have always gotten 0, not even registering on the test chart. Could it be something in my tap water, Phosphorus or Sulfer? My tap water(softened well water) is probably not the best, it has a slight sulfer smell to it before going through the water softener and is not crystal clear. I've always mixed 1 part tap water to 5 parts RO water but I'm going to start getting tap water from a different source. A friend of mine has well water that may be better quality. 
The green water seemed like it gradually started getting worse after my last water change using my tap water. Using the diatom filter seems to me just a temporary fix, I sure would like to find the root of this problem.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

mr hyde said:


> Assuming these tests I did are accurate...


Dangerous thing! What tests are you using? Have you made sure they work? Zero levels of NO3 are not good. And if indeed something leached into your water, I would have expected some PO4 readings.

1) Make sure your test kits work, by mixing a solution with a known ppm, and testing that.
2) Test your tank water
3) Dose it to 5ppm NO3 and 0.5ppm PO4
4) Test tank water again to see if the results are as expected
5) Wait and see... patience :wink:


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

Wasserpest, I don't have any way of dosing my tank at this time for phosphates and nitrates but I did do another test to see if the tests would register. I have a turtle tank set up that is in need of a water change so I knew the readings would not be 0 on this tank. I came up with a phosphate reading of 5mg/l and nitrates of 20 mg/l. Not a super accurate way of knowing the test kit is accurate but at least it tells me it does register. The kit is a hagen and it's expiration date is far off.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I think GW needs a very specific combination of conditions. Otherwise it would be haunting many more tanks. Therefore, a change of conditions could wipe it out. If you are sure that both NO3 and PO4 is zero in your tank, changing that to 5/0.5ppm is a drastic change of conditions which might wipe out that green fog.

If not... hmmm I am running out of ideas here... back to diatom filtering? :roll:


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## Shakey (Dec 7, 2003)

For what its worth, I read on a site about how a guy ran his tank water though another tank that contained a colony of water fleas. They eat the unicellular algae and that cleared it up for him.

Unfortunately I am no clue at all on how to raise them, but I do know that most LFS's around here sell eggs for creating the colony, but as for how to do something like that, I have no info  

Its not an easy fix, but I know it does work, just not the easiest to pull off, but I figured I would throw it out there.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

HEre is my pic of my latest it gotten better how much longer till crystal clear?[/img]


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

how do you add picture???


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

ahhhh got it now lol!


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

If it started clearing up all by itself, it shouldn't take that long, maybe two or three days. If you did something like a huge water change or diatom filtration etc, it might come "back with vengeance" :wink:


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

I lost alot of plants that died in my tank and the glosso died too well alot of it doing this black out very upset its like i got to start new again.


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## NyCzBuBba (Nov 16, 2003)

new pic


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## E. Simpson (Oct 18, 2003)

I feel your pain.After dealing with green water for the last 2 weeks myself and trying everything I decided to do a blackout.I'm starting on day 2
of the process.

Hope you get your tank back in order.I know this really sucks...



Ernie


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

wasserpest
I recently got some nitrate and phosphate to dose with and did a test on a half gallon batch I made up with 2ml nitrate added (seachem nitrogen). I checked this with my hagen nitrate kit and got a reading of under 5 still. Looks like you may be right about my kit being inaccurate. If this kit was right then it would take over a hundred ml to get my 46 gallon tank readings to above 5. The green water still comes back every week after diatom filtering, starting to really bug me. I think I'll pick up a red sea or seachem test kit this weekend and figure out what my nitrates really are.


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

isn't green water from phosphates??? that's how i always got green water


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Having correct NO3 and PO4 numbers could help immensely. There have been some discussions about NO3 testing recently, not sure if you had a chance to read through them:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=36031#36031
http://www.plantedtank.net/forum/viewtopic.php?t=4516

and especially that one:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forum/viewtopic.php?p=37899#37899

But Hubba is right, PO4 levels are just as likely to cause green water. Do you have a PO4 testkit?


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## hubbahubbahehe (Sep 13, 2003)

the thing is , if you just rely on fish food, then you get a lot of phosphates and a lot of nitrates... but the correct ratio for a planted tank is around 10 ppm nitrates to 1 ppm phosphates right? so I'm assuming that if you add more nitrates, then your tank should be more balanced.


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

yes, I have tested for phosphates and got 0 also. Hard to say if that test kit is accurate either. I recently started dosing phosphates but after seeing how my nitrate kit is not reading right I won't be dosing that either until I get another type of kit and re-test. What brand phosphate test kit would you recommend? red sea?


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

I use a Red Sea phosphate kit, and I am happy with it. It shows changes clearly and immediately. My tap water and tank water tests as 0.1 ppm, and I add PO4 to up it to 0.5 ppm, which the test kit confirms.


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## mr hyde (Sep 7, 2002)

Just an update, the green water is finally gone, not sure exactly what did it but something must have worked. Started dosing nitrates and phosphates to the recommended levels, and also potassium, iron, and flourish. It didn't clear up right away. I was using the diatom filter weekly to clear the water of the algae. Finally after the last time I used it, 3 weeks ago it has not come back. The water has remained crystal clear, clearer than i thought possible without a diatom filter. I've had this green water for close to 6 months so I'm very glad it's gone.


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## SCMurphy (Oct 21, 2003)

mr hyde said:


> Just an update, the green water is finally gone, not sure exactly what did it but something must have worked. Started dosing nitrates and phosphates to the recommended levels, and also potassium, iron, and flourish. It didn't clear up right away. I was using the diatom filter weekly to clear the water of the algae. Finally after the last time I used it, 3 weeks ago it has not come back. The water has remained crystal clear, clearer than i thought possible without a diatom filter. I've had this green water for close to 6 months so I'm very glad it's gone.


Congrats, have a beer (or your favorite beverage), isn't a clear tank a joy to behold? My ten cleared again, I now know that I can use Flourish to push it over the edge as well as just phosphate and LeafZone. More fun experiments to follow. 

Post a new pic! roud:


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