# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Algae blooms



## james_uk (Mar 20, 2003)

I keep getting what I beleive to be algae blooms in my 20 US gal tank. When I put some of the tank water into a clear glass and place it beside tap water in a clear glass, the tank water appears to have a green tinge. My filter floss is also green every time I change it.

Some reading I did into algae blooms indicates high nutrients and high lighting levels to be the cause.

Flitration is provided by a small internal power filter filled with floss and a bigger internal power filter with sponge (455 l/h).

Lighting is provided by 3 flourescent lights of varying lengths to cover my arkwardly shaped corner tank.

There are not many plants left at present. They all seem to be dying off slowly.

I do a 25% water change once a week with a 50/50 mix of tap and RO water to reduce hardness.

Any idea what could be causing the problem?


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## james_uk (Mar 20, 2003)

I keep getting what I beleive to be algae blooms in my 20 US gal tank. When I put some of the tank water into a clear glass and place it beside tap water in a clear glass, the tank water appears to have a green tinge. My filter floss is also green every time I change it.

Some reading I did into algae blooms indicates high nutrients and high lighting levels to be the cause.

Flitration is provided by a small internal power filter filled with floss and a bigger internal power filter with sponge (455 l/h).

Lighting is provided by 3 flourescent lights of varying lengths to cover my arkwardly shaped corner tank.

There are not many plants left at present. They all seem to be dying off slowly.

I do a 25% water change once a week with a 50/50 mix of tap and RO water to reduce hardness.

Any idea what could be causing the problem?


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

Excess of nutrients would be my first guess. Do you know the nitrate and phosphate levels? How much actual light are you putting into the tank?

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## chbak014 (Feb 3, 2003)

my nitrate is below 5 ppm, but im slowly dosing nitrate. my phosphate is at 1.0ppm.
how should i correct my cloudyness?
-charley

http://www.geocities.com/charleybak/aquarium.index.html


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## wetmanNY (Feb 1, 2003)

Plants that are dying back slowly aren't competing with the algae and are releasing their nitrogen and other nutrients back into the system as their cells break down.


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## james_uk (Mar 20, 2003)

Rex,

Three flourescent tubes light my aquarium.

1) Hagen Aquaglow 14 Watt
2) Hagen Sunglow 20 Watt
3) Hagen Aquaglow 25 Watt

The tubes are covered by a large sheet of tinfoil to prevent light escaping out of the aquarium

I haven't got a phosphate test kit at present but planning on getting one soon

I have a nitrate test kit but suspect it is giving false readings so I'd better not give you the results.


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## Phil Edwards (Jan 22, 2004)

I used to be plagued with GW for months at a time. A diatom filter was very useful for clearing it up, but didn't keep it from coming back. 

I found that GW seems to be more of a result of a lack of nutrients than an overabundance. When I knew I could clear it up at any point (with the diatom) I started adding larger doses of nutrients. Lo and behold....I didn't need my filter, the water stayed clear! 

James,
You've got enough light that your plants should be using a fair amount of food. Boosting my levels to between 7.5-10.0ppm NO3 (I feed a lot of frozen foods), and doubling the amount of PO4 was just what my aquarium needed to stay clean. 

Are you adding CO2 as well? If not, that's probably your problem.

Charley, 
Do a large water change then get your NO3 up past 5.0ppm and see if there's much of a difference. 

Et. al,
Don't forget to keep enough Potassium in the mix to allow your plants to use what you put in their home. 

Best of luck,
Phil

Proverbs 3:7-8


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## djlen (Jun 22, 2004)

You are running almost 3watts/gal. That's quite a bit of light with plants that are not growing well. How long has this tank been set up? Many times newly set up tanks experience algae problems until they settle in. 
You need to give us more info on ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates, especially if it's been set up for a short while. 
With anything over 2 watts/gal., IMO, you need to load it up with nutrient eating plants and consider some sort of CO2 injection. If you don't want to go the CO2 route, cut down on the light. At least until the tank establishes itself and you can find the correct balance.
Len

HAVE DISCS - WILL TRAVEL


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## Guest (Mar 21, 2003)

You need a fully packed tank with plants.
A few plants is not good. Densely planted is.
CO2 and nutrients are big players for promoting plant growth.

Quit focusing on what makes algae grow and work on what makes plant grow. 

NH4 from any number of sources(even a fairly small amount) allows a Green water bloom.

New tanks, big distrubances, filter issues, removing lots of plants etc can cause this 

GW will need to be dealt with first and then the nutrients/CO2 will need to changed, then you'll need to get some plants in there. 

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## james_uk (Mar 20, 2003)

Ok, I added some liquid fertilizer last night and when I got up this morning the tank had cleared.

Any ideas as to why lack of nutrients was causing algae bloom? It just doesn't make any sense to me!


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## Rex Grigg (Jan 22, 2004)

It may not make sense to you but it's true. If you nose around on the forum you will find enlightenment.

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## ekim (Jan 31, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by james_uk:
> Ok, I added some liquid fertilizer last night and when I got up this morning the tank had cleared.
> ...


This is a very simple way to look at it, 
lack of nutrients plants stop growing, 
nh3/nh4 produced by the fish and is used up by algea. 
Give the plants what they need and they will used the nh3/nh4 leaving none for the algea!

hope that helps!


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