green water?

[aquaman2]

My 55 gal has been runing for 6-7 months now and when i first got into this saltwater thing i didnt know what a skimmer was and the stupid pet store just sold me the ones that hang on the back with bio weels. So far i havent had any problems with runing skimmerless, but i have green water now. I am going to by a skimmer soon, i am saving up my $. My question is what should i do to get rid of the green water till i get my skimmer? I relize that since my tank has been up for a while i most likely have too much nutrients in the water. I have been doing water changes regularly with ro water, and i have changed the stupid cartridges. I am also going to test the nitrates today.

 

[mr . salty]

This green water is most likly an algae bloom.This can be caused by any number of things including Phosphates and excess nutrients..But also,and more likly,,,BAD LIGHT...Have you changed your bulbs latly???I would suggest you replace them.This is most likly a major contributing factor...

 

[aquaman2]

all i have is the cheap lights that came with it, their only 15wats

 

[mr . salty]

This "cheap lighting" could be the cause.But let's see what the nitrates,and phosphate readings are...It may also be about time to start looking at skimmers.The prizm would be a good one for your setup..By the way,,What do you have in this tank(fish)??How big is it??

 

[aquaman2]

The tank is 55 gals and the fish are a kole tang,baby hippo tang and a flame angel, i also have live rock. I will be moving these fish into the 90gal i am setting up. I am going to test my nitrates and phosphates today i will get back to you.

 

[aquaman2]

also i would like my skimmer to be able to handle the 90gal tank when the fish get moved, will the prizim be able to hande the 90, it is rated for it but people have beeen teling me get a better one.

 

[mr . salty]

I hope you will be getting that 90 soon.That is alot of BIG fish for that small tank...I don't think the prizm would work in a 90 with a heavy bio load,I didn't know you were upgrading...Let's see what those readings are...

 

[dburr]

I had this exact problem in my 55 gal. A skimmer didn't help, though you should have one. My water was green for 2 months, nobody had a solution.
Here is what I did, It cleaned up in less than 2 weeks.
I had an old wisper 3 from my fresh water days, set it up with carbon and bought "Seatech" versatile marine filters.(they look like felt pads you get at craft stores) I put these pads before the corbon in the wisper. Every day you need to rinse these out in fresh water because they get clogged, they polish the water. I also bought seaclear by kordon. I dosed it half recommended, twice as often. In other words I split the dose to every 12 hours. This is reef safe.
After 2 days I could start to see the back of my tank, after a week I could see the long way to the other side. Hope this helps
BTW my tank had new lights all other perams were ok. Just an algea breakout. goodluck.

 

[dburr]

BTW I did switch to DI water duing the break out. Water change after water change never touched it.

 

[aquaman2]

thanks guys, tell me what you think of this i went to the lfs and got this poly filter stuff that says it removes all forms of phosphates. do you think this thing will help. Also the 90 is cycling as i type.

 

[mr . salty]

Do you have a Phosphate problem????You never posted any test results.Do you own your own test kit(ammo,nitrite,nitrate,Ph)???If not you should buy one NOW...

 

[mr . salty]

Using this Phosphate sponge MAY work for awhile.But Phosphates do not magically appear in a marine tank.They must be introduced.Either in your sorce water,or something else you are adding to the tank.You will need to find this sorce to solve the problem...

 

[beth]

Carbon filtration should clear up the water and will be temporary solution while you get the other tank setup. Also, green algae on the tank glass will make the water look green, so make sure you wipe down the glass. A skimmer is not really going to clear your water appearance, at least not quickly.

 

[aquaman2]

I do own a test kit but it doesnt have the phosphate tester, and when i went to the lfs they were all out of the phosphate ones so i will be going to a different store tomorrow. I tested my nitrates and their at 5ppms( i thought they would be much worse). The tank has gotten a little better and i have been doing water changs with ro water. thanks

 

[aquaman2]

repost

 

[dburr]

I brought some water to the LFS when I had the problem. I had phosphate so bad the test couldn't read it because of the particle content. Get your water checked, let us know.
BTW. Just carbon alone didn't help or phosphate sponge. You need some kind of micron filter pad to trap the partical, and find out the source to correct it.
good luck it takes time.
dburr