Aquariums: Help! I’ve cleaned four times did 2/ half tank water changes and 2 full tank water changes even put two new pumps. I’ve had tanks for a long time. I’ve never had this happen. What the heck is this?
Help! I’ve cleaned four times did 2/ half tank water changes and 2 full tank water changes even put two new pumps. I’ve had tanks for a long time. I’ve never had this happen. What the heck is this?
Posted by Pokemon-shiny-love
31 Comments
LoupGarou95 on
The algae? Excessive light is almost always the underlying cause for algae suspended in the water like this. Excess nutrients matter too, but it’s generally the light that’s the problem ime.
Applekid1259 on
Feed less and cut down on the lights.
LS25-User on
Is it all new or cleaned?
BokChoyBaka on
There’s a window nearby, isn’t there
Few-Rain7214 on
Try Nutrafin Bioclear
mynameistechno on
What have you “cleaned” exactly?
MrFreakYT on
Checklist:
Filter material cleaned with tank water?
No overfeeding, better feed multiple times
If a lot of food drops to the ground and you have no cleanup crew that eats those, this might be one cause
I see a window reflection, is the tank in a bright room or maybe even gets direct sunlight for more than a few minutes per day?
How strong is you lighting, how long do you have it on?
ConglomerateAlien on
Turn the light on for only a couple hours a day, until the algae starts to dissipate
noahgendas on
Too much light and maybe too much phosphate. If I do an all in one designed for RO water I can get green water because my tap water already has some phosphate from the organophosphate treatment to control pipe corrosion.
ItsPassiveDepressive on
I would turn the lights off for a while (days, weeks) or filter with UV light
Toots_exx on
Could be too much fertilizer as well causes this
Pokemon-shiny-love on
I usually have the lighting on for probably five hours. There is window reflection, but I’ve had this tank here for a long time and never had this. I’m not saying that it can all of a sudden be the problem. I don’t know desperately trying to fix. Water parameters are perfect. I’m not a newbie. I’m just having a problem I can’t fix.
wolfmansbrother74 on
Try a UV sterilizer, plenty on Amazon to choose from.
Weird_Alternative965 on
I had the same issue years ago. Acurel F water clarifier is what worked for me and my tank was completely green – couldn’t see the fish at all. After adding the drops, I left the house. I came back a few hours later and the tank was crystal clear. It won’t correct the underlying problem though so if you don’t figure that out, it will happen again.
PalpitationSea4625 on
stop doing excessive water changes cuz you’re going to cause your tank to cycle again and get cloudy water. I had this issue with my other tank do a 20% water change every other day for 1 week and during that week keep the light off all day. during that week turn the light on for feeding till they eat all the food then turn the light off. (theirs amount of food too could do it…should feed an amount of food that they’ll fully finish within 30-45 seconds) after this week of this it should be cleared up. and you should only have your light on daily for about 7hr-8hrs max, that was the time amount I found to work for me.
MaterialCress1974 on
Process of elimination right? You’ve changed the water, you’ve cleaned the filters. Is the filtration strong enough? Seems like the algae is still getting exactly what it needs to thrive. Have we reduced lighting? Feeding? It’s going to take some time for this to even itself out once you make those adjustments. It won’t clean itself up overnight
pgh_capt on
Happened to me all summer. 3 months. Shop told me do 3 half tank changes a week…have a 90 gallon…whew…after like the 3rd week in October it cleared. I haven’t changed the water since except weekly poop sections and tank’s been very clear. Been clear so long it made me worry
Short term easy fix is to turn off the lights and blackout the tank with a blanket. The fish will be fine, swimming in the dark for a few days won’t hurt them. That will clear up the algae bloom after only 48/72 hours. Only turning the lights off won’t work because the tank will still get light from the room. This won’t solve it in the long term since any algae living after the blackout will just bloom again.
Long term easy fix is to get a UV filter off Amazon (order while you’re blacking out the tank). It won’t help with algae growing on surfaces but will help clear up and prevent suspended algae blooms. You don’t even need to run the light the whole time if you’re worried about the UV light.
Don’t stress, this is easy to fix the visual issue going on. The algae bloom is happening the to an imbalance in your tank that you should try to identify and fix long term, though, even once the algae bloom itself is fixed 🤙🏼
pgh_capt on
Watch kaveman aquatics you tube
Kissariani on
Looks like you have restarted the cycle by replacing the entire water column twice, replaced the filters with new filters, and having too many high bio load fish with no plants to soak up the excess nutrients.
I hate to say it but you caused the aftermath. The initial algae bloom is likely from the heavy bio load on the tank without plants.
My suggestion:
Rinse the filters in tank water when doing a partial (20-20%) water change
Vacuum the substrate when you do water changes
Get plants for the tank or get Pathos with their roots in the tank so they can soak up the excess nutrients
Alternatively, you can blackout the tank for a few days and do daily partial water changes till it clears up.
General_Fruit_8135 on
Algae bloom. Lights off for a week. Can eve. Put a sheet around the tank to block outside light.
passthegabagool_ on
Less light time, try live plants
Spiritual_Pair_5889 on
A bacterial bloom in an aquarium manifests as a sudden, milky-white cloudiness in the water, usually caused by a biological imbalance (new tank, overfeeding, filter cleaning).
It is often harmless, but can consume oxygen. Measures: Stop feeding, perform a water change, ensure strong surface agitation/oxygenation, use an air stone, and be patient. If patience is limited, also use a UV-C water clarifier.
karebear66 on
You have free floating algae. It comes from too much light and nutrients. It is very difficult to remove without a special UV light/ filter, like the Green Machine.
KACL780_ on
Adding a sponge filter to my system cleared up water like this in two days, and it’s never gone back.
JStheKiD on
Get a solar water purification filter/pump.
Puzzleheaded_Leg_660 on
Go to the store and get black cardstock cover all sides of the tank. Only turn lights on for am hour a day (half hour before feeding until a half hour after. Tanknwill clear up in a week.
Plenty_Kangaroo5224 on
UV filters are cheap.
Plenty_Kangaroo5224 on
“Cleaning” removes beneficial bacteria in bioslime. Don’t change your filter, you’re removing the beneficial bacteria.
31 Comments
The algae? Excessive light is almost always the underlying cause for algae suspended in the water like this. Excess nutrients matter too, but it’s generally the light that’s the problem ime.
Feed less and cut down on the lights.
Is it all new or cleaned?
There’s a window nearby, isn’t there
Try Nutrafin Bioclear
What have you “cleaned” exactly?
Checklist:
Filter material cleaned with tank water?
No overfeeding, better feed multiple times
If a lot of food drops to the ground and you have no cleanup crew that eats those, this might be one cause
I see a window reflection, is the tank in a bright room or maybe even gets direct sunlight for more than a few minutes per day?
How strong is you lighting, how long do you have it on?
Turn the light on for only a couple hours a day, until the algae starts to dissipate
Too much light and maybe too much phosphate. If I do an all in one designed for RO water I can get green water because my tap water already has some phosphate from the organophosphate treatment to control pipe corrosion.
I would turn the lights off for a while (days, weeks) or filter with UV light
Could be too much fertilizer as well causes this
I usually have the lighting on for probably five hours. There is window reflection, but I’ve had this tank here for a long time and never had this. I’m not saying that it can all of a sudden be the problem. I don’t know desperately trying to fix. Water parameters are perfect. I’m not a newbie. I’m just having a problem I can’t fix.
Try a UV sterilizer, plenty on Amazon to choose from.
I had the same issue years ago. Acurel F water clarifier is what worked for me and my tank was completely green – couldn’t see the fish at all. After adding the drops, I left the house. I came back a few hours later and the tank was crystal clear. It won’t correct the underlying problem though so if you don’t figure that out, it will happen again.
stop doing excessive water changes cuz you’re going to cause your tank to cycle again and get cloudy water. I had this issue with my other tank do a 20% water change every other day for 1 week and during that week keep the light off all day. during that week turn the light on for feeding till they eat all the food then turn the light off. (theirs amount of food too could do it…should feed an amount of food that they’ll fully finish within 30-45 seconds) after this week of this it should be cleared up. and you should only have your light on daily for about 7hr-8hrs max, that was the time amount I found to work for me.
Process of elimination right? You’ve changed the water, you’ve cleaned the filters. Is the filtration strong enough? Seems like the algae is still getting exactly what it needs to thrive. Have we reduced lighting? Feeding? It’s going to take some time for this to even itself out once you make those adjustments. It won’t clean itself up overnight
Happened to me all summer. 3 months. Shop told me do 3 half tank changes a week…have a 90 gallon…whew…after like the 3rd week in October it cleared. I haven’t changed the water since except weekly poop sections and tank’s been very clear. Been clear so long it made me worry
https://preview.redd.it/7qvq62qn0wig1.jpeg?width=1125&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=8b4553751856a6baaea11f92f0557ae68a89fe85
Short term easy fix is to turn off the lights and blackout the tank with a blanket. The fish will be fine, swimming in the dark for a few days won’t hurt them. That will clear up the algae bloom after only 48/72 hours. Only turning the lights off won’t work because the tank will still get light from the room. This won’t solve it in the long term since any algae living after the blackout will just bloom again.
Long term easy fix is to get a UV filter off Amazon (order while you’re blacking out the tank). It won’t help with algae growing on surfaces but will help clear up and prevent suspended algae blooms. You don’t even need to run the light the whole time if you’re worried about the UV light.
Don’t stress, this is easy to fix the visual issue going on. The algae bloom is happening the to an imbalance in your tank that you should try to identify and fix long term, though, even once the algae bloom itself is fixed 🤙🏼
Watch kaveman aquatics you tube
Looks like you have restarted the cycle by replacing the entire water column twice, replaced the filters with new filters, and having too many high bio load fish with no plants to soak up the excess nutrients.
I hate to say it but you caused the aftermath. The initial algae bloom is likely from the heavy bio load on the tank without plants.
My suggestion:
Rinse the filters in tank water when doing a partial (20-20%) water change
Vacuum the substrate when you do water changes
Get plants for the tank or get Pathos with their roots in the tank so they can soak up the excess nutrients
Alternatively, you can blackout the tank for a few days and do daily partial water changes till it clears up.
Algae bloom. Lights off for a week. Can eve. Put a sheet around the tank to block outside light.
Less light time, try live plants
A bacterial bloom in an aquarium manifests as a sudden, milky-white cloudiness in the water, usually caused by a biological imbalance (new tank, overfeeding, filter cleaning).
It is often harmless, but can consume oxygen. Measures: Stop feeding, perform a water change, ensure strong surface agitation/oxygenation, use an air stone, and be patient. If patience is limited, also use a UV-C water clarifier.
You have free floating algae. It comes from too much light and nutrients. It is very difficult to remove without a special UV light/ filter, like the Green Machine.
Adding a sponge filter to my system cleared up water like this in two days, and it’s never gone back.
Get a solar water purification filter/pump.
Go to the store and get black cardstock cover all sides of the tank. Only turn lights on for am hour a day (half hour before feeding until a half hour after. Tanknwill clear up in a week.
UV filters are cheap.
“Cleaning” removes beneficial bacteria in bioslime. Don’t change your filter, you’re removing the beneficial bacteria.
Have you tried a blackout?