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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Green Water
I just switched my fish over to a 75 gallon tank. THey were in a 55 before. Before I switched them from the 55 to the 75 the water was kind of green. Now it is really green I can't even see through it. I bought a new canister filter. IT didn't do anything. How can I get rid of this green water and clear it up? | 
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| you can cover the tank in blankets or garbage bags and do a "blackout" for 4-5 days..that should kill it..but figureing how you got it is usually tougher...overfeeding, too much light, direct or indirect natural sunlight are a few....goodluck! | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| I think you should do as Shawnie said and put something dark over your tank fo a little less than a week...and from my opinion it's probably from too much light in the tank either natural or from your aquarium lights.I can't really be sure unless you tell me how much you feed them, where the tank is, how long the light is on for etc... | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Elevated ammonia levels can also be a cause, which sounds plausible with a new filter on a new tank.
There are several ideas for treatment in this thread, including Shawnie's blackout suggestion: Green Water | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Master
| Quote:
Originally Posted by mathas  Elevated ammonia levels can also be a cause, which sounds plausible with a new filter on a new tank.
There are several ideas for treatment in this thread, including Shawnie's blackout suggestion: Green Water | Did not know that mathas...curious how that happens from higher ammonia? is it over time or fast acting ? thanks for the info!!!! | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Keeper
| Quote:
Originally Posted by Shawnie Did not know that mathas...curious how that happens from higher ammonia? is it over time or fast acting ? thanks for the info!!!! | No clue. I'm not even 100% certain that ammonia and green water are related, but there are enough seemingly-credible sources on the internet that link the two for me to at least accept the possibility. You got me curious, so I did a quick bit of research.
As I mentioned in a quote in the thread I linked to, " Green water is free floating single-celled euglenoid protists." ( source).
Given that, I found the following relatively easily...
From a random limnology page: Quote:
Euglenoids: Although the euglenoid algae (Euglenophyceae) are relatively large and diverse, few species are truly planktonic. Almost all euglenoids are unicellular, lack a distinct cell wall and possess one, two or three flagella that arise from an invagination in the cell membrane. Reproduction occurs by longitudinal division of the motile cell. Nutrition is by photosynthesis but some are phagotrophic. Nutrition is supplemented by the uptake of dissolved organic compounds. Ammonia and dissolved organic nitrogen compounds are the dominant sources of nitrogen among most euglenoid algae. Their development occurs most often in seasons, strata or lake systems in which concentrations of ammonia and especially dissolved organic matter is high.
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From Robert Andersen's Algal culturing techniques: Quote:
Diatoms require silica, euglenoids often require ammonia.
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SkepticalAquarist, on the other hand, attributes it to a low predator population and "unscavenged nutrients combined with plentiful light": Quote:
It's interesting that "green water" can present a problem in a newly-set up tank, but rarely in an established tank that has a flourishing microfauna. Why should this be? And why, after medication has been used to eliminate a plague of ICH or Velvet, should green water sometimes make an unexpected reappearance, even in an established tank? Well, though single-celled algae are partly responsible for "green water," most of the dense green tint comes from Euglaena and its close relatives. The medications countering Ich may have some slight effect on algae, but they have much more effect on the euglenoids. And they are devastating to the free-swimming plankton, the population of all-but-microscopic ciliates, rotifers and crustacea, especially copepods, that graze on Euglæna and keep the population in balance. With their grazers gone, the decimated population of euglenoids rebounds like a fallow pasture, for these protists multiply by cellular division rather than any form of sex. Until the grazing population also recovers, the water turns thick and green. Then, when the rotifers and copepods have returned in strength, the euglenoid population collapses under grazing pressures, and the "green water" mysteriously "goes away."
Because green water results from unscavenged nutrients combined with plentiful light, the darkness cure can work in a pinch. Turn off all lights and swaddle the tank in towels to exclude even ambient light from the room. Give it five days in total darkness. Don't even switch the light on for feeding. The fish will survive. The plants might be stressed. The reasoning behind this mumbo-jumbo is that algae and euglenoids don't have the storage facilities "higher" plants have.
| So long story short, who knows  | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Hi Denman
I had the same thing happen to me in my 55g tank. The water turned green and since I was transferring my fish to the 125g at the time, I was able to 'blanket' the 55g with black plastic garbage bags for 4 days. You will have to make sure every part is covered if you use this method, including the top slots where the filter an heater sits. I also did a lot of water changes but that never worked to clear the water color. After 4 days I took the plastic off and it was magically clear again and I was able to transfer fish from another tank into it. I havent had any problems with it since.
Best of luck with your tank!  | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Fish Bum
| Ok I leave my light on all day. So I just have to cover it up for four days or so? Do i just skip feeding my fish during this period? | |
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June 19th, 2009
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| | Moderator
| Hello. You could also purchase a diatom filter or a Marine Land HOT Magnum canister filter with the micron cartridge. Either one will eliminate the algae in a matter of hours. Both filter down the the micron. The diatom filter can even filter out parasites and a lot of other cooties including ammonia to a certain degree. I have both and I haven't had a bloom of any kind in MANY years. | |
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