Freshwater advice

[jeepboy]

I know this is a saltwater site, but figured many had freshwater tanks also. I have a 10g freshwater tank that is having a green algea problem. The water is even colored. All the water parameters check out ok and I've been doing water changes also. Does anyone have any advice on getting it under control? If not anyone know of a good freshwater site similar to this site?
Thanks

 

[michelle13]

Mine had that problem once. I removed one of the fish and it went away i.e. it was overstocked. That's all the advice I can give.....hope it helps!!!

 

[ryebread]

Is your tank positioned in a way that it's recieving sunlight?
The first step I would take would be to cut down on the amount of light that the tank is getting. Keep the lights off for a few days if need be and make sure that you cover up the back and sides of the tank if they are getting sunlight.
Next would be to increase the flow. Get yourself a powerhead in there so that all of that green nastiness can't settle down.....if the algae is suspended in the water, the filter will get it.
Make sure that you have a new filter cartridge and you may want to run a carbon cartridge too.
Does the water stink yet? Usually "Green Slime" smells pretty bad.
They also make a product called "Algae Destroyer" which seems to work pretty well but, it is always safer to keep chemicals out of the water.
Good luck.

 

[jeepboy]

Tank does not get any sunlight. I will leave the lights of for a few days and see if that helps. The water does not stink and i just changed the powerfilter cartridge today. I'll see if these steps help before trying the algea destroyer.
Thanks RyeBread.

 

[greenbananas87]

i had a problem with algae for a while, then totally broke it down and cleaned it all, and when i put it back together i added a snail and didn't have a problem since then my snail outgrew the tank so i need to get another one

 

[unknown]

I dont know what to say bought your algea problem exept I would get a few chinese algea eaters and maybe a pleco to help counter it. Also here are a few good forum site for FW tanks
www.worldcichlids.com and www.fishprofiles.com are some of the ones I like alot hope I see you there.
Vince.:happyfish

 

[jlem]

How much do you feed your fish. If they look fat then cut the feeding way back and just keep then slim but not skinny. That will keep the fish looking for any uneaten food also and keep the tank cleaner.

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by Jeepboy
I know this is a saltwater site, but figured many had freshwater tanks also. I have a 10g freshwater tank that is having a green algea problem. The water is even colored. All the water parameters check out ok and I've been doing water changes also. Does anyone have any advice on getting it under control? If not anyone know of a good freshwater site similar to this site?
Thanks
the reason you have green water and algae is because you have not established plant life to complete the nitrogen cycle. The algae is there because it is the plant life completing the nitrogen cycle.
Add plant life, get it established, and the algae/green water will be thing of the past.
When estabishing a FW tank I first add plants and then let the system alone for a week. Under anywhere near normal conditions, there is never an algae problem. After a few months of operation it is possible to get some algae which is easily controlled by lighting and reduced feeding. And by using that method (called the natural balanced or leiden method) filters, air stone, water changes and the like are optional. Even direct sun light does not produce algae when the plants are effective.

 

[jeepboy]

I do have plant life in the tank, its growing well and covers almost 2/3 of the tank. I think my algea problem started by over feeding. I was gone for 1 week and used one of those 7day dissolving food pyramids. It hardly dissolved at all, which must have made the fish really hungry. This one fish in particular, kissin gourami, looked really thin so I would put a little food in every few hours to feed him. But he is a poor flake food eater so I think alot of it must have settled to bottom. When I got back I thought I would also increase the lighting to help the plant life grow. Guess I should have realized I was asking for trouble. I turned the lights off yesterday, hopefully I'll see some results soon.

 

[beaslbob]

You will see results soon. With that much plant life IMO it is an overfeeding/toomuch light problem. Keep the lights off for a few days and don't feed, and the algae should be all but gone. I have to moke these adjustments from time to time myself. Always amazed by how fast the system responds.