Green Water And Lost Fish

So Ive had an issue with green water and cloudyness which I assumed was down to sun light although minimal.

My tank is located next to a 6 inch wide 6ft tall doorside window, my hall though in general is a dull place. I have wrapped it in towels for days on end. I have restricted feeding. I have done daily water changes starting with a 60% and continuing with 20% daily for 2 weeks at a time. All is well for 4 or 5 days then the cloudiness starts to re-appear. I am losing patience with this tank at the moment.

This has been going on for around 2 months. Over the last 3 days now as the tank is getting cloudy and green again I lost an EBR his stomach was drawn in and I concluded it was some form of parasite. I treated the tank yesterday with medicine I had can't remember the name ( comes in a red box and turns the water a vibrant green ) my LFS told me it was the best all round cure for ailments. Today though I found the largest of my 6 platy fry floating which was unexpected. The much smaller ones are all still alive.

Parameters are completely fine and the platy has no symptoms at all was feeding well yesterday.

Can anyone suggest any solutions for the green cloudy water as I am lost for what to do.

 

I can help with the cloudiness. What type of filter are you running and what type of media? If the cloudiness is not a bacterial bloom, and it is due to particulates in the water column, filter floss and/or polyfil will help clear the water up. Get some polyfil and stuff it into your filter. This may also help with the green water issue, as it will grab some of the algae out of the water.

In terms of the green water I found an old thread with useful info...

"There are a number of cures for green water:

* Blackout - leave the out, and block out any ambient light from the tank for 5 days. Your plants have reserves that the algae does not, so they will survive, but may look a little ratty for a week or so.
* Diatom/Micron Filter - fine particle can clear the water.
* - zaps the algae with ultraviolet light, clearing the water. Some reports say that UV light also affects nutrients in the water column.
* Flocculants - Clumps small particles together, allowing your mechanical filtration to remove them from the water. i.e.
* - Placed in a , the daphia will consume the algae.
* Small Water Changes - do small (5-10%) water changes, every day until clear.

Notes:

* Avoid large water changes, as that prevents microorganisms from establishing themselves."
Source: GWAPA:

An example of a Flocculant would be Seachem Clarity. It will clump all of the particles together and make it easier for the filter to filter it all out.

 

So I have an All pond solutions 1000 lph filter. I think these are called sun sun in the US.

Media bottom to top:
Coarse, medium, fine foam.
Ceramic Rings, filter floss
Seachem matrix, filter floss.

I really don't think its an issue which can be solved filtering the water. Would this indicate it is a bacterial bloom?

I really am beginning to think this has been caused by the large water changes hindering my cycle but when I test the water I tend to get expected results. 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and minimal nitrates. Although the water changes themselves could be disguising the results.

 

So I have an All pond solutions 1000 lph filter. I think these are called sun sun in the US.

Media bottom to top:
Coarse, medium, fine foam.
Ceramic Rings, filter floss
Seachem matrix, filter floss.

I really don't think its an issue which can be solved filtering the water. Would this indicate it is a bacterial bloom?

I really am beginning to think this has been caused by the large water changes hindering my cycle but when I test the water I tend to get expected results. 0 ammonia 0 nitrites and minimal nitrates. Although the water changes themselves could be disguising the results.

Very well could be. Continual huge water changes and not having a source of "food" for bacteria can cause a die off, thus causing a "bacterial bloom" when the bio-load stabilizes or increases, and the bacteria colony regrows as a result. The only thing I believe that rids a bacterial bloom is a UV sterilizer. I don't see the point in doing that though, as bacterial blooms are temporary.

Give it a week or so for this cloudiness to go away, I believe it could be a bacterial bloom thinking about it more, from all of the huge water changes. Your filter seems to be set up correctly. One surefire way of finding out if it's a bacterial bloom is using a flocculant. If it doesn't go away from the flocculant than it certainly is a bacterial bloom.

I wish you luck, let me know how it all pans out.

 

So ive had a bit of time to reflect on this ive also done another test and I think I'm confident in saying I have no ammonia or nitrites what so ever. I was advised in the past that it could be a baterial bloom but I relatively confident in saying its not the case. Over the course of the few months Ive had this issue Ive given it a week here and there incase it was a bacterial bloom.

I think the best move for me now is to try a flocculant as that's the only way for me to get a definitive answer one way or another.

I will post here the result once Ive used the chemicals.

Thanks

 

Still have not been able to get the flocculant but over the last few days I lost my 1 remaining platy and 3 infant platys.

My 3 remaining rams were beginning to sit very low in the tank and looked quite unhappy, I had no other option but to do a major water change around 80% I also had to cleaned out my filter and replaced the floss.

I removed a large piece of dragon stone as my suspicion is that deep inside the dragon stone holes there can be soft spots of clay, and also parts that become softer through elongated periods in water. I suspect this soft clay when disturbed by a fish could be released into the water providing and excellent source for the algae causing it to constantly return, this is based on the fact the issue began way back when I first introduced this stone to the tank.

A long shot I know but to be honest I'm desperate at this point.

 

So in the end looks as though this was caused by the dragon stone. I removed it and done a massive water change.

Since then its back to normal and has remained crystal clear. Hopefully now can leave the tank to stabalise and mature again before putting any more fish back in there. For now the last 6 residents will have plenty of space to themselves.