water help please1

[Ortwein]

hello, i have an eclipse 25 gallon tank and the water is a bit greenish.

I didn't do i fishless cycle i lost a couple fish doing it (live and learn) for a bit it was very clear and started to get greenish into the water.I have had it for aobut 2 months now.I was doing my water changes more recent and larger changes but its not really doing anything. I got some carbon and put that into the filter and i don;t have the light on as long anymore but its not helping. I took out the rocks as i thought the might be the problem but nothing has cleared up.

the water permaters are perfect and the fish are very active and healthy.

I thought it was algy so i bought a few simese algy eaters and they ate lots but then died for some reason, but the one mystery snail is still living

what elts could i do?
thanks for your help

[Chrona]

hello, i have an eclipse 25 gallon tank and the water is a bit greenish.

I didn't do i fishless cycle i lost a couple fish doing it (live and learn) for a bit it was very clear and started to get greenish into the water.I have had it for aobut 2 months now.I was doing my water changes more recent and larger changes but its not really doing anything. I got some carbon and put that into the filter and i don;t have the light on as long anymore but its not helping. I took out the rocks as i thought the might be the problem but nothing has cleared up.

the water permaters are perfect and the fish are very active and healthy.

I thought it was algy so i bought a few simese algy eaters and they ate lots but then died for some reason, but the one mystery snail is still living

what elts could i do?
thanks for your help

Is there actually any algae growing on stuff in the tank? The SAE probably died because there wasn't enough to eat. I would test for phosphates or continue with the water changes for a bit longer. Also, try leaving your light off for 24 hours, and see if that has any effect.

[Nautilus29]

If you look around in the posts someone else just had this problem. Ill try to find it for you.

[Nautilus29]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.] Hopefully that helps you out. What kind of filtration do you have in your tank? Does any direct sunlight hit your tank?

[Ortwein]

the elcipse has the filter built in, gets no sunlight. and it looks like there is no algy in the tank as is.

i am in the middle of doing another 50% water change and i aslo change the fiter which has carbon already in it. what elts is there.

thanks for the help so far!

[f1oored]

Tell us everything in the tank. What kind of rocks? What kind of plants? What fish? And what are you feeding them?

Water changes and filter changes should help but lets see if we can find the source.

[Ortwein]

rocks are from a lake and also an old worn brick. i let them soak for a while but that could be the source ( thust why i took them out already)

i have 4 black skirt tetras and 3 sunset mollys??? 1 silk plant and rest are plastic.

food is wardley total tropical flakes fed one small serving daily.

[Chrona]

How many water changes have you done since taking the rocks out? And has the green gone down any since then?

[Ortwein]

this will be the second 50% change in 4 days. I will probley be doing another 30% tomorrow depending of how it looks.

[Lady Hobbs]

Algae can also forum from being too dark for too long. Cycling with fish requires water changes regularly to keep the toxins down and it should be fine with the light on for 10 hours a day.

[Ortwein]

well so far its staying very clean so it looks like the rocks were the problem. now what dod i ahve to do to them so i can put them back in? boil them or what?

thanks again

[Chrona]

well so far its staying very clean so it looks like the rocks were the problem. now what dod i ahve to do to them so i can put them back in? boil them or what?

thanks again

Boil, bleach, dechlorinate. That should take care of everything that may be on the rocks. I dunno about the brick though, since it's manmade. Does anyone know if the material used for brick will leech out anything?

If I were you, I'd just toss it and get some rocks at the fish shop. It's like a buck a pound here, and there are all shapes and sizes.

[Ortwein]

well i thought it was the rocks and i am wrong.. ( rocks still out) the waters back to the same hazzy look? what the hell could it be this is so frustrating!!!
more help if able please

thanks

[cocoa_pleco]

If its white or grey- bacterial bloom

brown- tannin

green- algae bloom

[Chrona]

It could also just be minute inorganic particles. I had that problem a while ago, and it seems only stuffing a ridiculous amount of filter floss into the filter helped.

[cocoa_pleco]

or that p clear or any other product that clumps small particles really helps.

[Ortwein]

sorry its greenish. whats the best way just eaters? or is there anything elts to use?

[cocoa_pleco]

vacuum your gravel and do a 40% water change today.
Are you overstocked or overfeeding? that must be the cause.
Do 20% changes every day for a few days so your fish dont get sick, and every week once things clear up vacuum and do a 30% change

[Chrona]

Green water means algae bloom. Do you have aquarium lights? Leave them off for 24 hours or so. Also, does your tank get direct sunlight? Do a water change, as recommended, and feed your fish less

[cocoa_pleco]

algae blooms are from too much light, and nitrite.

You can get an otto cat or other small algae eater, but no direct sunlight and aquarium lights on for 8 hours a day max helps

[Ortwein]

okay ill try that and we can go from there. It dosent get sunlight but the canoipy has 2 15" lights so ill keep them turned off more. also my nitrites are 0ppm

would that floss stuff ,p clear or the pills "no more algy" help? whats you opinions on that algy stuff.

thanks again for your help and ill let you kow the results

[cocoa_pleco]

probably just water changes for now. If 30% a day for 4 days doesnt work, use some algae chemical. Otherwise, water changes work

[Chrona]

okay ill try that and we can go from there. It dosent get sunlight but the canoipy has 2 15" lights so ill keep them turned off more. also my nitrites are 0ppm

would that floss stuff ,p clear or the pills "no more algy" help? whats you opinions on that algy stuff.

thanks again for your help and ill let you kow the results

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
This will work great, even in planted aquariums.

[cocoa_pleco]

that is a kick @$$ product!

[Ortwein]

okay, i have been doing 40ish % a day to make sur teh fish don;t die. then i left it for 2 days and its back to the way it was. besides doing tha tmuch work every day is a big inconvinience. Ill go to my LFS to see what they have for algy problems

[Chrona]

okay, i have been doing 40ish % a day to make sur teh fish don;t die. then i left it for 2 days and its back to the way it was. besides doing tha tmuch work every day is a big inconvinience. Ill go to my LFS to see what they have for algy problems

Water changes is only for the nitrates, since algae will reproduce much faster than you can clear them out. The easiest way to kill them is still cutting off all light for a while, and cutting back on feedings imo. You can use the chemical if you want

[cocoa_pleco]

oh, for fish dying i was talking about cloudy white water. Green water doesnt hurt the fish, its just displeasing to you, the owner.
Algae is non- harmful

[Ortwein]

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]
This will work great, even in planted aquariums.

if i use this product i wont ever be able to have the help of an algy eater correct?

[Chrona]

if i use this product i wont ever be able to have the help of an algy eater correct?

Correct, but a better long term solution is making sure algae doesn't grow in your tank in the first place.

[kimmers318]

First, the type of algae that causes water to be green I don't believe grows on the surfaces of anything, it is in the water column, so algae eaters are not going to help. There is a few type of shrimp I believe that "filter" microscopic particles out of the water, but not sure of the names.....sorry.
There has to be a reason for the algae bloom, you need to find the source, chemicals and water changes will be a quick fix, but won't solve the problem in the long run. How long has the tank been running? Often new tanks will experience algae blooms that will clear up on their own after several weeks.
I believe you said it was a 25 gal eclipse, correct? I have had great success with 2 eclipse tanks, a 5 and a 29. How many and what fish are in the tank? How long has it been running? Have you done any filter rinsing/replacement? You may be able to purchase some fine filter material that is meant for the fluval internal filters and lay it on top of the existing filter, it may help trap the smaller particles. If the tank hasn't been running that long, you may need to be patient and let this bloom run it's course. Do you have a test kit to check for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates?

[Ortwein]

the tank has been set up for give or take 2 months?? maybe 1.5 months, all my nitrites and nitrates are at 0 ppm and ammonia is 7.6?? i think.

what flavel media would you reccomend?

maybe ill just let it ride out for a week or 2 to see how it goes

[cocoa_pleco]

AMMONIA AT 7.6? please tell me that just a typo!

If it really is 7.6, MAJOR WATER CHANGE!

[Chrona]

I'm gonna guess he means ammonia/nitrites and 0 and nitrates at 7.6, seeing as how he has active fish in there lol. Otherwise, they'd all be dead.

[cocoa_pleco]

id hope so!!

[Ortwein]

yes lol sorry big type its at 0ppm lol bad mommory had to do another test to rember. i had the light off for 24 hours now and its a little better but not much.

[Chrona]

If you don't have live plants, just keep leaving the lights off

[Ortwein]

okay i am back! i got pissed off and dissmantled the tank to clean it fully and start over.. and everything ( under the filter,in the biowheel the tube that connects to the pump, the propeller, pretty much everything plastic) was covered with kinda whiteish/greenish stuff that i had to scrape off to clean.

I got the most as i could. I clean the rock a bit.. not the best as a could do. what is that stuff?> and what could have caused it?
I think I should have clean the gravel better because if I stir it up it looks like "dust" goes airborn? if that makes sence?

[Chrona]

Well, if you are starting over again, then you might as well bleach everything (making sure to use dechlorinator afterwards) in the tank and fill'er up again. This time, try the fishless cycling.

[Ortwein]

ahh I forgot about the bleach. I got everything back in and is cycling now. maybe ill haul the graval out again and the pump. Thanks for the reminder.

I am really curious on what that stuff was?

[Chrona]

The while was probably calcium deposits from hard water (do you have well water?)

The green was probably algae or diatoms. If you are already cycling, then don't bother. As long as you cleaned everything with water well, it'll be fine.

[Ortwein]

yes i am on well water but have a softner.

[Chrona]

As in one of those tank water softener units that you pour salt into? What kind of salt are you using?

[Ortwein]

no one of the house water softners that will make all tap water soft.

[Chrona]

Yeah, but they are just big tanks that you pour salt into. What kind of salt are you using?

I'm trying to find the article I saw the other day, but it basically talked about how water softening salts containing sodium (Na) were wreaked havoc on aquariums, particularly planted ones.

Bleh, I can't remember where I saw it.

[Ortwein]

the salt is Windsor system saver

so if that was a residue from hard water, your suspot to use soft water?

[Chrona]

Does it say what kind of salt it is on the bag (like KCl, NaCl, etc)? The soft water is good for most fish. It's the fact that it contains salt (and not necessarily the NaCl you can taste) that's bad.

[Ortwein]

i couldnt see anything but ill take a better look in the morning.

do u think that build up will keep coming back? what could i do to prevent it?

[Chrona]

The green stuff always comes back no matter what. It should be part of your monthly maintenance to clean that out. The white stuff.....not so sure what that is now. Maybe salt getting encrusted? Residual hardness? I dunno.