Green Water

[genros]

Hello all,

Three months ago I started my new tank. It is approximalety 150 gal tank with a 40 gal refugium. I installed meta halide, t5s and night light combo system about six weeks ago. five weeks ago i had good green algea growth on the glass and plenty of slime (bacteria) on the sand. About three weeks ago on a saturday I put in a mix called slime away. That day the water turned lime green (no growth on glass) The tank is now green(water is green) and has been going into third week now. I have had water tested and they said all was well. I tried a product called all clear for three days with no luck. I have since removed the all clear product. I recently removed a normal flourescent light over the fuge and installed a twin t5 light and the plants are now growing strong. How do I get the water clear again? what gives?

[hahmedR1]

Tons of water changes!

[LOTUS50GOD]

and run some carbon..

[genros]

whats a ton of water changes
I did about 25% last week
Should I do 20% per day.
Im worried about shocking the livestock in the tank
I have about 130 gallons of water ready to go at all times in other holding tanks (for when i bring in livestock as temporary holding)
so I can do about as much as i want

[SEAFROG]

I would say not to use the slime away . If you just set it up don"t use
chemicals like slime away. They may give you false reading on your
water tests. Did you use RO/DI water to fill your tank. if not that my be whats causing the green water. I agree with LOTUS50GOD. run carbon. Take out any sponge filter.and water changes.

[genros]

THE WATER IS ALWAYS ro

[genros]

Should I do the water change and the carbon or just the water change now?
I do have a clown tang
Burgaundy clow
Bahama Star
Choco Star
couple chromies
70 lbs figi rock

[dagda]

Years ago when I set up my first FOWLR, I had a similar issue. I eventually bought a small UV unit and it was clear in a couple of days. It was a free floating algae. Water changes, carbon, and wet skimming didn't touch it.

[genros]

I have heard seen the uv unit in a tank once. Any recomendations. I was considering it

[dagda]

I just used a Coralife turbo-twist and took it off when it was cleared up. I never had any issues with it again.

If you are interested in a quality UV unit, the Aqua UV's without the wiper seem to be what people "in the know" like.

[genros]

I did another my second water change today, 40 gallons. Lightened up a little but im thinking the uv maay be the to go

[garrettm85]

Filter feeders such as clams, some soft corals, and filter feeding cucumbers would love your tank! I would maybe get a few of those and see if the don't look the happiest that thy could possibly be. They will likely help clean the water up a bit too. The UV is another great option. I have a clients tank that looked very similar to your discription and once the UV was added, literally 3 days later things where cleared up. He is keeping SPS and wanted super clear water. I always suggest running carbon and GFO aswell to help maintain water clarity and get rid of any unwanted trace elements.


Garrett

[BradR]

Ozone worked for me.

["Umm, fish?"]

Also, have you thought about adding some rotifers? Turn off your skimmer until they get your water clean, though.

[mm949]

black-out for 3 days w/carbon>>>>CFC water

[genros]

u mean to wrap the tank with paper and black out (no light)?

[genros]

Hey everyone,

So here I am in the end of month one of 2009 and my tank still has a green tint to it. I have added another 80 lbs of rock and it did lighten up the tint but not much. It doesnt quite look like the mirky swamp it once was but this is killing me. I have added carbon (how often should I be chnaging it) I did several water swaps at that helped but the green came back. It has'nt been clear since I started it up back towards thanksgiving of 08. The water tests out perfectly. I have shut down lighting for a full week and that seemd to help a little but it still came back as soon as put the lights back on. I fear if I wrap it the fish and life on the rocks will die?

HELP!!!!

[genros]

Anyone? Anything? whats a rotifer?

[happyclam]

What brand of salt are you using? Has your RO filter been changed recently? What kind of lights are you running? How established is your filter?

Maybe if you use 20K lighting and alot of filter feeders (clams, gorgonians, soft corals, feather dusters) the bloom might go away, as algae does not grow well in blue light.

These are just ideas though, and I am only a beginner.

[AquaScapes1]

get a UV and you will never have this problem again.

[Haxer]

You didnt have Capulera alage go Asexual in your tank did you...???
It can be a pain to get rid of... The U.V will definatly help, this sounds like a free floating alage of some kind... Use massave amounts of Carbon in the mean time, use one half of a medium size container and change out every other day untill under control. Good Luck...

[genros]

I appreciate the input. I will go today to get more carbon. I am also looking for a UV do you guys recomend any one specifically

[KRASHPD]

I had this problem last week on my new setup. I installed the Aquazone ozone generator right away. If you clean the glass 3-4 times a day for a couple days and run ozone (UV works about the same) your problem will be gone in about two days. My tank looks great right now. I usually have a UV and ozone but I haven't decided on a uv yet. I also like the benefits for fish and corals with running ozone in the tank. The Aquazone Deluxe units are easy to install and will monitor and controll the ozone for you.

["Umm, fish?"]

http://www.google.com/search?client=...UTF-8&oe=UTF-8

A rotifer is an easy-to-culture invertebrate often used in aquaculture that can also be used as coral food. They reproduce very quickly and eat microalgae.

[genros]

whats the difference between a ozone generator and a uv (short term and long term) I noticed the uv light is between 200-300 $$ and a ozone generator is about 4-500$$