Shadowbeam

Hiya, I'm new to this site so sorry if i make any mistakes

The problem I'm having at the minute is the water in my tank is quite murky, i recently managed to get it to quite a good stage after taking out some of the things in my tank and using Green Away.

But it's recently been getting murky again after I've added the decorations in (One is a helmet type thing which i put in the middle of the tank, the paint has been peeling a little so I was worried that might be the problem but the fish shop said it wasn't anything to worry about...)

I've been told by the pet shop not to have my tank lights on because I don't have any live plants, but my friend said he has his on about 8 hours a day. If I have the lights on any length of time the algae seems to get worse so I'm not really sure which advice to take!

Green away seems to work but i don't want to have to use it forever I'd rather get the problem sorted.

After testing my water all the levels are fine (though I'm not sat at home atm so can't do a quick check).
Had the tank since July 09', It's 60 Gallons.
3 Mollies, 2 Platys, 1 Koi Angelfish
I change the water roughly once a week 25-30% (Not on the dot because i work shifts) and clean the gravel as i do the changes.
My fish get fed flakes mainly, but bloodworms once or twice a week.

Any advice (especially clarfication on the light times!) would be really helpful! I adore my fish and want them to be happy!

peacemaker92

WELCOME TO FISHLORE!

About the lights, since you don't have any live plants. You can do like a blackout thing. You can leave the lights on for 8-10 hours once or twice a week. Then just leave it off the rest of the other days. This should provide less chances of more algae to grow. Or you could get algae eaters. I'm not sure which fish so I'll let other members give their input on that one.

The murky water could be caused by anything. What color is the murky water? If its green then it is an algae bloom. If its just white cloudy water, then it could be a bacteria bloom caused by your cycle. Keep us posted.

Shadowbeam

Thanks for the welcome ^^ Been wanting to join fish forums for a while now

Thanks for the advice on the lighting too, it's good to have a bit more of a guideline to go on! I did get an algae eater but unfortunately he passed away because of a nitrite spike a while ago which was pretty devastating, so i'm a bit scared to get another

It's going into a greenish colour again, so it's that algae making a comeback i think, i've really tried alot to keep down the algae but nothing seems to work. I'm also going to keep an eye on how much i feed them the next few days and see if that helps, also planning a water change.

Thanks alot for the quick reply

Blub

Its not uncommon for new tanks to experience algae problems. What are the water levels? You might be having too much nitrate. It is possible that it will go away with time. I agree a blackout might work.

Algae eaters won't do anything for murky water - they tend to stick to other algae types. Different species like different kinds of algae.

aquarist48

Hello ShadowBeam and Welcome to Fish Lore. Here is a link you may find helpful:
Aquarium Algae Control
As stated above algae issues are very common in newly established tanks. I have my tank lights on timers, they are on 11 hours throughout the day, every day. Make sure your tank isn't getting any direct sunlight.

If your tank has a white cloud then it is a bacterial bloom, also very common. It will eventually go away on it's own.

Best of luck and hope you can get it under control soon.
Ken
I have moved your thread to the fresh water/algae section of the forum. This may help you to get more responses and to help others down the road that may have the same issues.
Thanks!
Ken

Shadowbeam

Thanks all for the help! I'll take the advice and see how it goes It's nice to get such solid advice ^^

hop2jr

Ya I had the same problem sounds like green water starts out looking milky then goes green in a day took me 4 months to fix mine. do a 5 day blackout of the tank. do a water change feed the fish then blackout all light in 5 days unwrap the tank don a waterchange and see if it works. good luck!

Shadowbeam

Ooops forgot to update here hehe, my tank has been crystal clear for about a month now so thanks to all those who gave advice! I did indeed do daily water changes and blackouts, so thanks hop, good advice!

hop2jr

Glad 2 hear about the tank!

aquarist48

Glad you're all cleared ShadowBeam.
Ken