# Why do people still worry about GW??



## pbohart (Jan 9, 2005)

Get a UV or a diatom and you will NEVER have it again - ever.

Is it a cost thing? These options for a 75G are around $100 each - so a cheaper way is certianly interesting, and thus the UV/Diatom path are obviously not for everyone.

Now - show me a foolproof and easy way to get rid of hair algea and I will write a song in your honor.

Sorry - I am rambling.....


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## GTApuffgal (Feb 7, 2005)

pbohart said:


> Get a UV or a diatom and you will NEVER have it again - ever.
> 
> Is it a cost thing? These options for a 75G are around $100 each - so a cheaper way is certianly interesting, and thus the UV/Diatom path are obviously not for everyone.
> 
> ...


Some of us have taken the UV/Diatom route (UV here). I think for others it's a cost thing, while for some it's simply wanting to get it RIGHT! And I admire them for it and strive for the same thing. Although I am glad to have the UV as backup because I cannot abide the stuff and my tank is in my living room. 

If you have green water, UV or diatom is great. But it's like an aspirin. Takes care of the pain, but doesn't remove the cause. I hope I don't ever need my UV again (except when introducing new fish), that will mean I've actually GOT IT!

At least that's my take on it...


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## Jason Baliban (Mar 3, 2005)

GTApuffgal said:


> Some of us have taken the UV/Diatom route (UV here). I think for others it's a cost thing, while for some it's simply wanting to get it RIGHT! And I admire them for it and strive for the same thing. Although I am glad to have the UV as backup because I cannot abide the stuff and my tank is in my living room.
> 
> If you have green water, UV or diatom is great. But it's like an aspirin. Takes care of the pain, but doesn't remove the cause. I hope I don't ever need my UV again (except when introducing new fish), that will mean I've actually GOT IT!
> 
> At least that's my take on it...


My experience with GW is once you get it, it takes forever to get rid of it even if your parms are in order. I got a case of the GW from what I think was a nitrite spike do to an extreme pruning and filter sterilization. I let it go for almost 4 weeks....finally i just went a bought a UVS and ran it for 72 hours, crystal clear water and not a problem since. I know a lot of folks have never had GW....but my take is once your water is prone to GW, it only has to be for 10 seconds and you get it.
jB


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

If you use mulm from the start, you'll never get GW in the start up(the mopst common time folks get it) and if you do large water changes after rooting around and disturbing the tank a lot or greatly reducin gthe plant biomass with a good sized fish load etc.

Now you suckers:
I can get a 9 w UV for 30$ off Ebay, not sure why you folks who are price and $ worried have not looked around much, hehe, hey, I'll sell you one of mine for 70$ with a pump. 
I thought you folks were cheap? I'm greatly disappointed in you all
Well, I'm Scottish so that's my excuse.

And I can get rid of hair algae in about a couple of weeks. 
But that is another thread.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## eds (Feb 12, 2003)

pbohart said:


> Get a UV or a diatom and you will NEVER have it again - ever.


Just want to repeat my experience with GW repeatedly recurring after diatom treatments. No experience (yet) with UV.


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## GTApuffgal (Feb 7, 2005)

plantbrain said:


> I thought you folks were cheap? I'm greatly disappointed in you all
> Well, I'm Scottish so that's my excuse.
> 
> Regards,
> Tom Barr


Scottish? Well THAT explains alot!!! 

So is my husband... I know from Scottish... :tongue:


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Jason Baliban said:


> My experience with GW is once you get it, it takes forever to get rid of it even if your parms are in order.


My experience with GW is that it comes, gets thick, and then goes away all by itself if your parms are in order and you don't feed it by changing the water, usually within 7 to 9 days. :fish:


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## Kris (Feb 27, 2004)

Wasserpest said:


> My experience with GW is that it comes, gets thick, and then goes away all by itself if your parms are in order and you don't feed it by changing the water, usually within 7 to 9 days. :fish:


the not doing water changes is very different from what i had read. i thought that water changes were the correct approach! grr!


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Just my experience... your case might be totally different and with water changes parameters get corrected after they were off and the algae disappears that way (you can not thin out GW by water changes, it grows faster...)

In your case only UV or diatom might get rid of it...


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## Aphyosemion (Oct 15, 2004)

plantbrain said:


> If you use mulm from the start, you'll never get GW in the start up(the mopst common time folks get it) and if you do large water changes after rooting around and disturbing the tank a lot or greatly reducin gthe plant biomass with a good sized fish load etc.
> 
> Regards,
> Tom Barr


Using mulm will prevent greenwater? Why is that? I thought having a bunch of nutrients in your tank at the start would actually ENCOURAGE greenwater. Does it have something to do with getting the bacteria fired up before the algae?
-Aphyosemion


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## Rebgen (Mar 22, 2005)

Here's a newbie UV question for you. How do you set up and run a UV sterilizer? Do I need another pump to run water through the UV unit?

Here's my tank set up:

55 gal. tank
Emperor 400 HOB filter
Twin 24" canopies retro-fitted with AH 55W CF's (2WPG)
Moderately planted with Anubias, crypt, and ludwigia species
Substrate is a base of Shultz's aquatic soil topped off with Estes river gravel
Fauna: Pearl gouramis x 3, Otocinclus x 4, Silver mollies x 3, platies x 3

The tank was set up in February and initially stocked after a fishless cycle. I noticed problems with GW within a week after doing my AH retofit. Since then I have performed x 2 96 hour blackouts followed with 40% PWC due to reoccurring GW.

A couple of weeks ago I started using Flourish Excel (5ml/day) and Flourish trace (5ml/week). The GW came back within a few days and I'm in the midst of my third blackout. I'm obviously treating the symptoms here and not the underlying problem causing the GW. Any help you could offer would be much appreciated.

BTW...forgot to add water parms:

Ph: 7.2
Ammonia: 0
NitrIte: 0
NitrAte: 20-40ppm (Tap water in Des Moines, IA is about 40ppm)


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Aphyosemion said:


> Using mulm will prevent greenwater? Why is that? I thought having a bunch of nutrients in your tank at the start would actually ENCOURAGE greenwater. Does it have something to do with getting the bacteria fired up before the algae?
> -Aphyosemion



Yep.

New tank=> little bacteria.
Old established tank=> lots of bacteria

What does an old tank have that a new one does not?
Bacteria. Adding the mulm adds precisely what is missing from a new vs a established tank.

The bacteria simply do not have any carbon(I'm not talking about CO2 here, more like carbohydrates, like we eat) in a new tank, adding mulm adds a little.
This allows the bacteria to grow well, after a few weeks, the plants and fish waste add enough to prevent the bacteria from becoming Carbon limited.

So why does it prevent GW?

Bacteria converty the NH4 to NO3 in case the palnt parameters are not optimal and is case there is not enough plant biomass to start off with.


I pack the beejesus out of tanks when I start them up, I add mulm.
I fertilize full blast from day one and add fish.

No issues ever.
Even if I do not have good CO2, by the the next day I do and things get running well from then on.


You can get away without the mulm by packing the tank with lots of well growing established plants from other tanks, but mail order or LFS plants are not doing so well typically and take a few days to get growing well again.

So the mulm will help there and in all other tanks beside planted tanks also.

It's instant cycling, screw the Fishless cycling thing, that's a big waste of time and testing.

Folks have done mulm for many decades long before the net existed.
Works on all aquarium types from marine to FW.

GW is easy to induce, just add NH4 and high light.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Rebgen (Mar 22, 2005)

Tom,

Thanks very much for your post even though it wasn't in response to my question. I learned a lot of valuable tips for my own situation and will get busy adding lots more plant mass ASAP. Thanks for all your contributions.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

You can add the UV in line with a canister filter or use a separate pump(your case).

Turn on till the Gw clears and wait about 2 days after to make sure.

They cost about 30-35$ on ebay.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Rebgen (Mar 22, 2005)

Thanks much....I'll check out EBay tonight.


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## Betowess (Dec 9, 2004)

Yeah, it seems if there is a single cell left living, it will multiply and re-take over the tank. I don't think diatom filters by themselves usually lick it. You have to get rid of it via 100% 3 to 5 day blackout, charcoal, mass 70% water change, and a nitrazorb sponge. All of this is really hard on the fish. That was the only cure that worked for me and my PARMs were just fine. Then I decided a decent UV was so so SO much easier and smarter. Yep, UV for me.


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## endparenthesis (Jul 13, 2004)

It's probably a last resort, but the product "AlgaeFix" kills greenwater literally within hours, and is allegedly safe for plants. I don't know how much it can be trusted, but I thought I'd mention it.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

The UV is 100% safe for plants.

Mild doses of Copper algae kill algae, but also kills some plants also. 
Same for H2O2.
Same for about a dozen or so oxidizers.
Chemical solutions tend to hurt plants the same way.
How is harming plants going to help the tank?

5 micron filters also remove GW.

I cannot tell folks enough to avoid algicides.
Rather, suggest to folks to add mulm and pack the tank full of plants from day one is far better preventative advice as is focusing on the plant's needs.

UV's are cheap, they are 100% effective in all cases, don't harm plants and you can sell them later. Try selling a 1/2 full bottle of Marc Weiss or Algafix sometime.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## Little Moe (Apr 17, 2005)

I have my 9W Turbo Twist hooked up to my Eheim outflow line. The UV literally cleaned up my on-going GW problem within 24 hours. My plants and fish were taking a beating between constant water changes and filter cleaning, blackouts, etc. nothing seemed to really working. The UV seems to have done the trick, but I need to know, is it ok to just power-off the UV and let the water run through it? Or do I need to disconnect it from the outflow line?

Thanks


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