Green water

Discussion in 'General Discussions' started by T. Guppy, May 24, 2019.

  1. David Kusner

    David Kusner

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    Pet masters usually have quite a large variety of well priced hardware. Also wild on pets in green stone have good prices on uv filters from sebo.

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  3. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    Hi guys, so I managed to sort out the green it would seem. And I've put in a few new plants too plus some new fishy inhabitants - 4 baby albino Cory catfish. They're big enough that my siamese fighter won't eat them and once they're bigger I'll be giving them to a friend who I convinced to set up a fish tank as well lol.
    Thank you all for your help!

    IMG_20190725_130401.jpg
     
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  4. f-fish

    f-fish #unspecified

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    so how did you sort out the green water ?
     
  5. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    I moved the fish temporarily, took out everything, drained it completely, washed the gravel and boiled it a bit, and used boiling water to clean out the tank itself and then put it all back and refilled it.
     
  6. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    So sadly the water is going green again.. Seems cleaning it out fully didn't work..
    So basically I've tried reducing the lights, then daily water changes, then emptying the tank, cleaning and refilling, and adding lots more plants and nothing has worked.. Any other suggestions I could maybe try?

    Also the new plants don't seem to be doing so well.. I'd have assumed since the algae is growing so well (greenwater) the plants would've been happy too, but this clearly isn't the case..

    15649071942934552197424094638553.jpg
     
  7. Barry Roux

    Barry Roux

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    Hi could the tank be getting sunlight some time during the day?
     
  8. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    No it doesn't, it's next to a cupboard which blocks any direct sun from the window. Here's a picture..

    15649078866353137328143340586173.jpg
     
  9. Figeth

    Figeth

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    Hi there, in my one tank I started getting an issue with algae growth, I added some "external plants" in the form of mint stems that started growing roots in a glass of water. That, along with some kariba weed and water lettuce from a local pond, took care of the waterborn algae. I added a few snails to clean the walls of the tank, and shrimp to clean the plants. It's completely clear of algae now.
     
  10. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    The external plants is quite interesting
    I have one of those bamboo plants you grow in a vase at the moment I could use, and I can try growing some mint in the same way too.
    A lot of people are suggesting snails, and my pet shop did say they'd be getting some in this week so I'll go have a look..
     
  11. Figeth

    Figeth

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    Just don't get ramshorn snails, the reproduce way too quickly, nerites are quite a pretty choice.
     
  12. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    How do you suspend your external plants in your tank?
    I currently have a small assasin snail, so I'll have to either buy a lot of snail innitially or put him somewhere :lol: Unless i get big snails.. that might work lol
     
  13. David Kusner

    David Kusner

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    MTS (Malaysian trumpet snails) also very good, stay out of sight most of the time since they stay burried in the substrate and are mostly nocturnal.

    Also include a couple plecos like bristle nose or ancistrus. They are excellent little cleaners and you can also spend hours watching them. They also dont grow very big and get on well with snails and most other fish.

    The one thing I wouldn't do again is the cleanout that you did. Although the intetions were very good all you really achieved was to kill off any BB that you may have had in the tank. I have also had my fair share of green water and algea issue on smaller tanks and you just need to persists and get the balance right. Thats all it is in the end is getting the right balance.

    Remember at the end of the day you are creating your own eco system from scratch and their are a couple of factors and events that need to happen in order to get the balance right. Nature needs to do its thing with us intervening along the way to assist in this small man made eco setup that we create by filling a glass box with water plants and live fish.

    P.S I have many MTS you are welcome to come get some if you need. You can also get them from Mcmerwe online as most LFS dont keep them.

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  14. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    @David Kusner That's very kind of you thank you!
    You also mentioned before about the filter. The one I have is a Sunsun HJ-111B filter, the box says it's max output is 200L/h. I've had a look at most of the pumps everyone suggested and they're kind of expensive for me.. I do have another filter that came with the tank, it's a clear box that you put that floss in with activated carbon pellets and you run an air pump through it.. Would this type be better then?
     
  15. Figeth

    Figeth

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    I used a little hydroponics basket I got at a nursery, threaded java moss through the holes, then put the mint stems in15649236581152015514363.jpg
     
  16. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    Oh quite simple actually.. I've got those baskets left over from planting out store bough plants, I'll just need to look for java moss..
     
  17. Figeth

    Figeth

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    I used java moss because I had lots and I needed to keep the stems in place. I'd image you could use some filter media, or just more stems (btw I bought the mint for food from pick n pay, nothing special). I also just used a clothing peg to clip it to the tank
     
  18. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    Oh ok, I've got some of that fluffy filter media from that filter I described earlier, I'll use some of that. I've got mint in the garden, I'll give that a try, plus I have other plants I've been propagating, I'll transfer them and use those.. Thank you @Figeth !
     
  19. OP
    T. Guppy

    T. Guppy

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    So I've done 5 littleplants for this.. Even if it didn't clear the green water, this is still quite fun and exciting to see how (if) they grow

    IMG_20190804_160434.jpg
     
  20. A new day

    A new day Moderator

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    Cool!

    I’m a bit worried about the 5 plants, can’t see so well on the photo but they look like succulents? If so, they might not like having wet feet, and might not grow fast enough to absorb macro nutrients (eg nitrates). See how it goes.

    I think you can throw a whole lot more plants at the problem to have give yourself a real chance here. The really heavy lifters (ito absorbing nutrients from the water column) are the fast growing plants (eg figeth’s mint stems, floating plants, stem plants). Could you perhaps beg/borrow/ steal trimmings from other joburgers? Eg Water sprite, wisteria, rotala, ludwigia, hornwort.

    Is it only the pea soup algae at the moment or other types of algae too?
     
    Last edited: Aug 5, 2019
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  21. Pezulu

    Pezulu

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    I concur with the use of the succulents.
    Rather get something like Hornwort, which is super fast growing, and will remove nutrients that the algae use.
    Another option would be to dump a bag full of Daphnia in the tank.
    The Daphnia feed on the water borne algae and will clear the tank within a day or so, and the Betta will feed on the Daphnia, clearing the tank in a few days.
     
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