# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Cause of Green Water Outbreak?



## jzkmom (Jul 5, 2003)

My 30g is going through an outbreak of green water right now. While trying to figure out the best way to get rid of the green water, I'm also trying to figure out what ferts are out of whack to have caused it. I've been adding KNO3 daily for the past week. and my nitrates are still reading 0. Would a dropout of nitrates cause green water? I'm also adding K and iron twice a week. PH is 6.8 with DIY yeast CO2, but PH jumps to 7.6 without CO2 injection. 
If I do a blackout to eliminate the green water, should I turn off the CO2? I'm concerned about the PH swing when I turn it off. 
Here's the rest of the water parameters:
PH 6.8 w/CO2 (7.6 without CO2)
KH 5
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
Phosphate .2 mg/l


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## jzkmom (Jul 5, 2003)

My 30g is going through an outbreak of green water right now. While trying to figure out the best way to get rid of the green water, I'm also trying to figure out what ferts are out of whack to have caused it. I've been adding KNO3 daily for the past week. and my nitrates are still reading 0. Would a dropout of nitrates cause green water? I'm also adding K and iron twice a week. PH is 6.8 with DIY yeast CO2, but PH jumps to 7.6 without CO2 injection. 
If I do a blackout to eliminate the green water, should I turn off the CO2? I'm concerned about the PH swing when I turn it off. 
Here's the rest of the water parameters:
PH 6.8 w/CO2 (7.6 without CO2)
KH 5
Ammonia 0
Nitrites 0
Nitrates 0
Phosphate .2 mg/l


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

I'm more concerned about your nitrate test kit. How much KNO3 have you been adding? What nitrate test kit are you using? I use the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals test nitrate test kit and if you don't follow the directions to the letter you will get false negative readings.

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## jzkmom (Jul 5, 2003)

I'm following the KNO3 dosage instructions from the article on Chuck's Planted pages. It calls for 2 tablespoons of KNO3 (Greenlight Stump Remover) mixed into 250ml of water - each ml will add .72ppm to a 30g tank. I was adding 1 ml. per day, but after 5 days, NO3 still wasn't registering on my test, so I have been adding 2 mls. per day for the past 2 days. The article recommended adding the KNO3 slowly, it stated if too much is added at once it will kill fish.

I'm using the Aquarium Pharmaceuticals Nitrate test kit. I am following the test kit to the letter, even using a timer, shaking the bottle 2 solution for 30 seconds and shaking the test vial for 1 minute and waiting 3 minutes to read the results, all as per the instructions. 

I was even concerned that my test kit wasn't registering correctly, so I added 1 drop of the KNO3 solution to the test water and with that the NO3 readings registered at 160, so I know the test is working and the KNO3 is adding nitrates.


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

jzkmom,

You're just not adding enought KNO3 to get ahead of the plants, so it doesn't accumulate to a level where your kit can read the nitrate level. You should probably bump the level up to 5 ppm or so. Then you can probably use daily dosing to maintain the nitrate at your target level.

I've read that sudden increases in nitrate levels can cause problems for fish. I've never heard what fish it causes problems for, what problems it causes, why it causes problems, or how much it takes to cause problems. Personally I add fair-sized nitrate doses without seeing a down side. Is this just more poorly-founded aquarium lore?

Oh yeah, I almost forgot...

In my experience green water is often brought on by the combination of bright light and some disturbance or change in the system. I speculate that the disturbance releases ammonia into the water column. The event itself may be fairly brief, but once the green water bloom is underway it doesn't just go away by itself.

Roger Miller


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## jzkmom (Jul 5, 2003)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Roger Miller:
> In my experience green water is often brought on by the combination of bright light and some disturbance or change in the system. I speculate that the disturbance releases ammonia into the water column. The event itself may be fairly brief, but once the green water bloom is underway it doesn't just go away by itself.


Roger,
Could a change in lighting cause green water? I have always had 60 watts over my 30g, but about 3 weeks ago, I retrofitted my strip light with one 96 watt CF bulb from AH Supply. So I just went from 2 watts/gal up to 3 watts/gal about 3 weeks ago.

If you meant a disturbance in the substrate released nutrients or mulm into the water column caused it - I have added new plants and rearranged some, so that's a possibility also.

Since once underway the green water won't go away by itself, in your opinion, what is the best way to get rid of the green water?


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

jzkmom,

Yes, I think that the increase from 2 to 3 wpg plus disturbing the substrate may be enough. What I had in mind in the way of disturbances would include anything that breaks the tank's usual rythm -- even cleaning the filter.

My tried-and-true method for getting rid of green water is to dose the tank with Hagen PClear (a flocculent) then filter out the green water. I load the media chamber of a Magnum 350 with filter floss and about an hour after the PClear is dosed I turn the filter on and run it continuously for 24 hours. If necessary I repeat after 24 hours.

In my 55 gallon tank that process always gave me crystal-clear water over night. On my 150 I had to cut the lighting down to 4 hours/day and did the treatment 3 times.

If you stop the treatment before the water is completely clear (view the tank end-to-end) then the green water is likely to return.


Roger Miller


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## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

Any chance that you uncovered some fertilizer sticks with the plant movements? A large water change might help.


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

I have taken tanks from 0 ppm of NO3 to 10 ppm of NO3 with no problems. With a 75 gallon tank you would be better off IMHO to dose dry.

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## wetmanNY (Feb 1, 2003)

All substrates are essentially hypoxic, below the uppermost few centimeters. In low oxygen conditions iron and phosphates become soluble (and are taken up by rooted plants). Stirring up the substrate, whether in replanting or ill-advised "gravel vacuuming," brings up that enriched porewater and mixes it into the water column. Such a pulse of iron and phosphate can bring on a bloom of green water.

I'm in a minority here to be of the opinion that the very first thing to do in cases of greenwater is to stop fertilizing.


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## Guttboy (Jul 27, 2003)

Ok everyone....good information for me.

My water parameters are....

pH 6.8 to 6.9 (Milwaukee pH monitor)
Temp running 80-83
KH 6 (Aq Pharm kit)
GH 8 (Aq Pharm Kit)
Nitrate 5.0 ppm (Aq Pharm kit)
Phospate .1 or .2 ppm (red sea kit)

For some reason getting innundated with the green thread algae. I have been removing some of the slower growing old leaves off my barcalaya longifolia and off my gian hygrophilia (both of which are growing at amazing rates for me).

Removed some of the myrophillium because it was becoming an alage/detritus trap and growing way to fast.

I have some pygmy chain sword at the foreground which is more or less the biggest concentration of the hair/thread green algae. 

Am considering moving that out of the tank...gonna miss the foreground...perhaps you all have some suggestions for foreground low green plants...dont want to attempt the riccia.

The green water I will attempt to clear up with the (PC clear of Aqua clear) and run the HOT MAGNUM with DE in it....will try that for a couple of days.....when I run the HOT with DE it makes the tanks clearer but does not make it like Roger Millers tanks...those are crystal clear.

Anyhow will keep you all posted...any suggestions please let me know...

Mike

100Gallon/Rena Filstar XP3/Icecap660 with 4x4' Ge Aquarays/Flourite Gravel mix/Malaysian driftwood


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