# algae bloom in my FW planted :(



## MattC (Jul 22, 2005)

algae bloom in my FW planted 

I have a 29G FW heavily planted with co2 injection. a few days ago I started to get a water column algea bloom. it is thick green and grainy. in the last three days i have done 15g in WC and planning another 10G tomorrow. I woke up this morning after a five gallon change last night, and the water looked noticeably better. but as the lights were on for a while, the algea kept getting worse..  
I am running a Rena XP1 cannister filter with mechanical media, some bio holding ceramic material and a polishing sponge. I had put in a phosphate pad when it started. I have never ran chemicals filtration in this tank. it has been running for about a year in this state with no problems. I have been doing my water changes, about 5 gallons every two weeks.. this just came out of nowhere...???
Thanx!


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Sounds like green water since it gets worse as the day goes on. The best methods for removal are a 3 day blackout of the tank, diatom filtration, or UV sterilization/filtration. It won't go away with water changes.

Any other changes to the tank like an increase in fish load, filter cleaning, ammonia spike, etc? Do you use any type of Jobes plant fertilizer spikes in your tank? Any significant decrease in plant growth recently?

Any of these can lead to NH4 (ammonium) in the water column which will cause green water.

I you haven't already, you may want to remove that Phosphate pad. Plants need phosphates as well as nitrates and potassium to grow well. You may want to increae the amount of water you changesalso...once you get the green water under control.


----------



## MattC (Jul 22, 2005)

Thanx for the quick response. I have taken out the phos. pad today and started carbon. Will 3 days of blackout hurt my plants? I did do a filter cleaning just before the green water appeared. Maybe i rinsed away too much biological stuff....
Is there anything else i can do to get rid of it?


----------



## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I wouldn't bother with the carbon; it's not going to solve the problem.

What kind of light do you have on this tank and what are you dosing in terms of fertilizers?


----------



## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

Worst comes to worst you could buy a bottle of SeaChem's Clarity and fill your canister up with filter floss, that'll pull it out very quickly.


----------



## MatPat (Mar 22, 2004)

Three days of blackout will not hurt your plants, assuming they are healthy before you start the blackout.

Clarity may work on the green water but it costs money. A blackout is free! A diatom filter or UV will work on green water also but again they cost money. The important thing is to figure out what caused the green water in the first place so you can avoid it in the future. 

As Laith said, what is your lighting level on the tank and what is your fertiliation routine. Those items may lead to the cause of your problem.


----------



## Gumby (Aug 1, 2005)

MatPat had a good point: blackouts are free.

My experience with green water went something like this:
-Used a whole bottle of clarity to clear up water
-A week later, green water is back
-Tried a 70% WC
-GW came back
-Tried 4 day COMPLETE black out
-Water was crystal clear for 2 days, then turned green
-Borrowed UV sterilizer from friend
-Water cystal clear 
-Stayed that way 

Give the black out method a try though, I'd shoot for at least 4 days. Also check your NH3 levels. I just read tonight that GW is due to high levels of NH3.


----------



## MattC (Jul 22, 2005)

My lighting on this tank is 3 24" NO lights consisting of two zoo med flora-gro and one 50/50. (i like the color) My plant growth is still amazing, but the bulbs are about 11 mths old.. could that have caused the problem?a decrease in light intensity?I will pull the carbon. I will test my water today and post the results later. I am also hunting a uv sterilizer...I will start a blackout today. Thanx!
Matt


----------



## MattC (Jul 22, 2005)

well, I took your advice and tried the 4 day blackout and it worked great! My water is crystal clear now. I started it sunday morning, and turned my lights on last night around 9:30pm. Water is looking great today after lights have been on since 11am. My plants look good too. some have gotten a little lighter, but most look normal. Do we think the GW is gone for good, or does it usually come back? I will not clean my filter so thoroughly next time, and Im bumping my 5G WC's up to once a week again.
Thanx for the help! 
Matt


----------

