# Very Aggrivated



## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

I have Greenwater in my tank. But my parameters are exactly what they should be according to what i have read. Phosphate 1ppm NO3 10ppm Iron and Traces dosed High. Phosphate form Sodium phosphate NO3 from KNO3. I have lost fish recently from forgetting to decholorinate my water. My fishload as of now is 7 Harlquin rasboras 6 Neon tetras 7 SAE's 1 Rudolph shrimp, 4 otos. WHAT could be the problem??????????


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## aquoi (Mar 21, 2004)

From your account, I speculate that the chlorine that killed your fish harmed your plants too. Thus they have become weaker and photosynthesize less which resulted in unabsorbed nutrients in the water which caused the algae bloom.

You don't usually have to dose Phosphates as normal feeding of fish, fish waste, decomposing matter will provide ample phosphates. Dose only when you have a low bioload and many plants.

Is your tank heavily planted and/or have nutrient-hungry plants?


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

I think My plant density is probably not on the high side. But 80% of the tank at least is planted. I had Recently topped off MY Limnophila Aromatica and Rotala Macranda 'green'. My phosphates will Run to zero in absolutly no time if i dont dose my tank for phosphates.


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## aquoi (Mar 21, 2004)

If your phosphate testkit is accurate, then it might be the chlorine. :roll:


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## PeterGwee (Mar 15, 2004)

The fish load shouldn't be of any issues for a 50gallon tank. The filter is merely a backup for the plants in case they are not doing well..better to have bacteria than algae. If the chlorine killed the bacteria in the filter somehow, the plants if growing well should remove the ammonia rather fast unless the quantity is substantial. Do you see strong growth from all the plants in the tank before the problem or just results from test kits? Oh, one more thing...did you remove all the dead critters that were killed by the chlorine? It might well be the problem there... :shock:


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## aquoi (Mar 21, 2004)

Hey PeterGwee, one question. Do plants take in ammonia that has not been changed into nitrites/nitrates?


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

The plants did seem to have an extra kick by showing more pearling before the green water. Since the plants were dense in some parts of the tank i am still finding fish. I think it must have been letting the dead fish stay too long. There was hairalgae on my tennelus foreground and its extremely hard to find fish within it. I've found 3 skeletons in it in the past couple days. Best recommendation would be to scour it to get all dead fish out and continue blacking it out? How long is a good blackout??? i am going to try 5 days. Also will the greenwater ever go away if i correct my tank issues or is blackout completely necessary without mechanical help?


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## PeterGwee (Mar 15, 2004)

Aquoi, plants do prefer ammonia over nitrate in terms of N uptake. The issue here is that ammonia causes loads of problems...green water, dead critters if too high and loads of algae problems.


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## PeterGwee (Mar 15, 2004)

Shane, you need to find the source of the ammonia (in your case dead critters) both in the tank or filter and then remove as much algae from the tank as possible. If plant mass drops a lot, get more new plants in. Do a large water change after all the mess followed by a blackout of 3-5 days depending on how serious is the greenwater. Do remember to remove the CO2 injection and aerate the tank during the blackout. Make sure no light gets in there during the blackout. 

If you have a diatom filter or UV, you don't need to do a blackout..just use them.


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## Steve Pituch (Jan 25, 2004)

Shane,

What exactly are you using for a dechlorinator?

Steve Pituch


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

The tetra brand dechlorinator, Its at the other house and i wont be over there for a week. Anyhow I stopped worrying about it. My dad whos interested in the hobby and a horticulturalist thinks he can do a better job so he took over the tank and is going to prove to me i add too much fertilizer (Which as far as i know i do not). So basically i am going to concentrate on my new 20gallon at the other house and hopefully laugh at him because i was right, then be frustrated again because i will have more problems with the tank. I think the best plan for me right now is to start from scratch and next time around not to dose until i see deficiency signs. That is what i am doing with my 20gallon and the first week has been good (Except not much new growth).


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## PeterGwee (Mar 15, 2004)

Bad move to wait for deficiencies before dosing. Its too late by the time deficiencies starts to come in. When plants don't grow, algae hell will break loose... 8)


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## PeterGwee (Mar 15, 2004)

Bad move to wait for deficiencies before dosing. Its too late by the time deficiencies starts to come in. When plants don't grow, algae hell will break loose... 8)


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## ShaneSmith (Feb 15, 2004)

I know that i shouldn't wait for deficiencies to show up, but i am trying to learn from the 20gallon so i am trying new things out. Thanks for the heads up though. Once i figure out the pattern for the 20 gallon then i will dose so that no signs show up anymore.


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