Fighting green water. Simple cheap method. - Page 9 - Algae

Edward · 10-22-2005, 05:24 AM

The aquariums are fully planted and properly fertilized.

Edward

MatPat · 10-22-2005, 10:28 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward

Hi Oleg
It’s quite interesting. We have in this direct sunlight room four 10 gallon aquariums and one 50 gallon. The 50 gallon aquarium doesn’t get green water, but the other aquariums do. This goes on for years. I was hoping the willow does the trick because it is so simple. I even tried the Aspirin as mentioned above, one tablet a day – didn’t kill the green water.

I will keep the willow there so we can see how it goes.

Thank you
Edward

Hey Edward,

I noticed you tried the aspirin and it didn't work. I had also tried it in a 10g tank I had on my deck and it was unseccessful. I first used 162.5 mg followed by 325mg the next day. The water seemed better but it was hard to tell without a control tank.

I have been attempting to grow two more cultures of green water outside and have been unsuccessful due to the cold weather (40's at night) and have assumed the cold was keeping the GW from establishing.

I am going to attempt the GW again this weekend. I will probably add more than one 325mg tablet per day since one tablet had no efffect on my tank or yours. If I remember correctly, one 325mg tablet only adds about 8ppm of ASA to the tank (bare bottom 10g). Feel free to check my math on the PPM dosage...

What affect do you think heat would have on your 10g tanks in the sunroom? They would not be as stable temperature wise as the 50g.

Edward · 10-22-2005, 06:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatPat

What affect do you think heat would have on your 10g tanks in the sunroom? They would not be as stable temperature wise as the 50g.

You are right. The smaller 10 gallon aquariums are significantly warmer. Also the sun angle and spectrum plays a role.
I know people trying to get green water without success. It’s hard if conditions are not right. Maybe we should try growing algae instead of plants to learn what they like the most and then build our strategy against them. What do you think?

Edward

MatPat · 10-22-2005, 07:03 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward

I know people trying to get green water without success. It’s hard if conditions are not right. Maybe we should try growing algae instead of plants to learn what they like the most and then build our strategy against them. What do you think?

I agree whole heartedly

I never have trouble growing green water in my plant tanks. Any major substrate disturbance, such as uprooting a large crypt, and not doing a water change almost always leads to green water in my plant tanks.

Oleg · 10-23-2005, 10:39 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward

Hi Oleg
It’s quite interesting. We have in this direct sunlight room four 10 gallon aquariums and one 50 gallon. The 50 gallon aquarium doesn’t get green water, but the other aquariums do. This goes on for years. I was hoping the willow does the trick because it is so simple. I even tried the Aspirin as mentioned above, one tablet a day – didn’t kill the green water.

I will keep the willow there so we can see how it goes.

Thank you
Edward

Hi Edward,

Let us together find the cause of GW in your 10G tank. And if the tree is able to remove the cause.

Problem:
a constant GW for years

What we know:
Volume: 10G
Light: natural sunlight

Some more info required:
fish load and feeding, type of food and amount
plants load
fertilization (yes/no, what exactly)
- CO2 (yes/no, ppm)
water changes (%, how often)
substrate
About substrate. I have a feeling that this might be the most important thing in your case. What do you use? How often do you clean it if ever? How thick is the layer(s)?
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate level - would be nice to know too.

Oleg · 10-23-2005, 10:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatPat

...I noticed you tried the aspirin and it didn't work. I had also tried it in a 10g tank I had on my deck and it was unseccessful...

This is an interesting experiment but... again.. the aspirin will not remove the cause of GW.

Edward · 11-02-2005, 08:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Oleg

Hi Edward,

Let us together find the cause of GW in your 10G tank. And if the tree is able to remove the cause.

Problem:
a constant GW for years

What we know:
Volume: 10gall
Light: natural sunlight with 10 hours of 40W PC in reflector

Some more info required:
fish load and feeding, type of food and amount
plants load
no fish
100% planted
fertilization (yes/no, what exactly) all known variations
- CO2 (yes/no, ppm) yes, 20 ppm pressurized
water changes (%, how often) 100%, 50% or no WC made no difference
substrate inert old or inert new or with peat made no difference
About substrate. I have a feeling that this might be the most important thing in your case. What do you use? How often do you clean it if ever? How thick is the layer(s)? two inch total
Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate level - would be nice to know too. ammonia and nitrite never seen in planted tank, NO3 from zero to 20 ppm, PO4 from zero to 1.5 ppm made no difference

Too many combinations to list.

Access to sunlight is the most powerful aspect for plants and algae to react. The angle, duration and spectrum with temperature can trigger growth not expected to happen under artificial light fixtures. The GW is mostly visible at seasonal changes.

The answer to this experiment is the lighting period as per the poll.

Thank you
Edward

Oleg · 11-02-2005, 10:56 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Edward

Too many combinations to list.

Access to sunlight is the most powerful aspect for plants and algae to react. The angle, duration and spectrum with temperature can trigger growth not expected to happen under artificial light fixtures. The GW is mostly visible at seasonal changes.

The answer to this experiment is the lighting period as per the poll.

Thank you
Edward

Edward, with all my respect, we are talking here about why the willow didn't help you in one particular tank. You sure haven't tried all these combinations during the "willow treatment".

tivaj · 11-16-2005, 12:43 AM

Blackout leaves your plants weak and green water may comeback. That is what happened to me. However I dealt with it differently.
I emptied about 80% of the water and than added about only 20% back (you have now about 40%) and created surface agitation using an internal filter. the next day I took out half of the water (50% of the 40%) and I filled the aquarium back to the 40% level. repeat this once/twice and than fill your tank back to full level. you will have a crystal clear water and your plants will not suffer. I have used this method more thank once in different tanks and it worked great

Regds

houseofcards · 11-16-2005, 03:26 PM

I was using the willow method for about a month. It took about 2 weeks to get good root development. My water did clear eventually, but I don't know if it was the willow branches or the fact that my plant mass finally increased enough to eliminate the green water. My tank was only about 20 days old when I got the GW. I removed the willow branches about 3 weeks ago and have not had green water since. My best guess is that the willow branches suck up alot of waste, but I don't know if that's any diffferent than throwing a bunch of weeds in your tank.