eventSecurity

hi

i have a 60L fish tank at home. it currently has 1 male guppy, 2 scissor tail rasboras and 3 neon tetras.

i am just home from holidays, before which i tested the water, results are as follows:

pH: 8
ammonia: 0
nitrate: 10
nitrite: 0

i then did a 20% water change

i had someone feed the fish every day

i am just back, and the tank if filthy. the inside of the glass and the gravel is all coated in a brown/green substance. the water itself is fine, its not dirty at all and the fish seem ok.
just did a water test, results below:

Ph: 8.4
ammonia: .25
nitrate: 5
nitrite: 1

i am assuming this is bad. what should i do?
would a 20% water change be enough, or do i need to add something?
what would have caused this?

i have been away for 10 days and had been testing the water and changing it every 7 days previously, but the tank was never dirty before?

any help much appreciated

gmen4life

is your tank properly cycled if so could be mini cycle 2 much food fed possibly

Lucy

The green on the glass is probably algea. Possible causes to your problems are the lights were kept on too long and your fish were over fed.
Food breaks down and creates ammonia in your tank.

It would be a good idea to start doing daily water changes until your readings are back to normal.
You can use Prime as your water conditioner to detox the ammonia for 24 hrs between water changes.
Do a good gravel vac to get any left over food.
You can wipe down the inside of the glass with a clean, never seen soap soft cloth or paper towel to get rid of the algae and decrease the amount of time the lights are on to discourage any more growth.

Good luck, I hope you had a good holiday

aquarist48

Lucy has you covered. The brown algae/diatoms is very common in newly cycled tanks and will go away on it's own and with water changes and gravel vacuuming over time.

ABCDemily

Agreed here with everyone. I'd feed smaller amounts, and leave the lights on for less. Good luck!