[robby]

It is hard to imagine that the willow can even kill bacteria
Maybe your white cloudiness is the initial stage of green water. Most green water starts out as white cloudiness, and it can remain that way for quite some time.

I always thought that the initial stage of green water was caused by a bacterial bloom ?????

About the killing: I was told that willow contains acetylsalicyl acid.
This should be known as a bacterial inhibitor.

 

[MatPat]

About the killing: I was told that willow contains acetylsalicyl acid. This should be known as a bacterial inhibitor.

If willow does contain acetylsalicylic acid and that is the main chemical that takes care of the Green Water then we may as well drop a baby aspirin in the tank.

Acetylsalicylic Acid is Aspirin...

 

[chiahead]

check this link out

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Salicylic_acid

it states that it is in th ebark of willow trees

I wonder what would happen if I drop a few aspirins in my tank???? Hmmmmmmmm

 

[Bert H]

Sounds like a project for (drum roll.....) PLANTBRAIN!! . Tom, what do you think? Baby aspirin to kill gw?

 

[fishyface]

If willow does contain acetylsalicylic acid and that is the main chemical that takes care of the Green Water then we may as well drop a baby aspirin in the tank.

Acetylsalicylic Acid is Aspirin...

just wondering out loud...but do you think that perhaps it's the nutrient absorbing capabilities of the willow that clear up the GW interesting to find out how exactly it works huh??

 

[Gumby]

I've decided to give this method a try. My 125 has become so green-cloudy that I am unable to see plants in the middle of the tank. I added a TON of willow branches today. I will get pictures tomorrow and will take pictures daily to show the progress of this method for treating GW. I hope to god that it truly works :x

 

[chiahead]

I am still searching for some kind soul to sell/send me some willow branches. Please anyone I cannot find any here.

 

[stcyrwm]

Chiahead,

I'm going hiking this afternoon. If I see any I'll grab them for you. There aren't a lot of them around here but I might get lucky. If you are looking then I assume you know to look around water.

Bill

PS
You have anything cool to trade for????

 

[chiahead]

Its just too hot here for willow trees. No humidity either. I have went to all the local growers and they cannot get them to live here. What were you thinking of for a trade, I do a some good items.

 

[shalu]

I can send you a few willow branches from my backyard dwarf willow. PM me your address, you pay $5 shipping only.

 

[aquaboy]

I can send you a few willow branches from my backyard dwarf willow. PM me your address, you pay $5 shipping only.

Shalu,

Can you also send me some of your "magic dwarf willow"? if you have extra after chiahead. I'll send you $5 shipping payment via paypal right away.

BTW im bgssamson on PT site.

Thanks!
-Brian

 

[Gumby]

Meh, I had the branches in my tank for 5 days. Still have green water and some dried out willow branches. About half of them died, and the ones that lived never sprouted leaves.

I gave up on trying that one, I'm too impatient. I borrowed a UV sterilizer from a friend... anyone know how long it'll take to clear up the water?

 

[aquaboy]

YAY! Green water gone! I've tried the Daphinia & it work great for my 20 gallon.

-Brian

 

[Gumby]

My green water is gone as well. UV sterilizer did the trick

 

[plantbrain]

Sounds like a project for (drum roll.....) PLANTBRAIN!! . Tom, what do you think? Baby aspirin to kill gw?

Toss a jobes stick in your tank and find out, you guys know how to induce GW and know it does no harm to fish/plants................

Why bug me about it?
I have shown you folks the path of how to test............

I like this method, but....................the issue is getting the willows.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[MatPat]

Inquiring minds want to know....

I just filled my failing 10g emmersed setup on my deck with water. It gets 4-6 hours of direct sunlight with filtered sunlight the rest of the day. I also added some Vigoro Flower and Vegetable Plant Food to the water to help promote Green Water. I don't think it will take too long to get Green Water in this setup.

This fertilizer consists of:

17% Nitrogen
- 3.6% Ammoniacal Nitrogen
- 4.6% Nitrate Nitrogen
- 8.8% Urea Nitrogen
17% P2O5
17% K2O

My thoughts are to add 81mg (2-3ppm if my calculations are correct) of Aspirin (acetylsalisylic acid) to the tank after the Green Water is in full bloom and see what happens. I can always add more if it has no effect and it shouldn't be too hard to induce more green water for future experiments.

Presently, there are no fish in this tank, just some HC which is doing suprisingly well considering the neglect it has received. If the aspirin does in fact kill or significantly decrease the Green Water, I may add a few feeder guppies to the tank and try it again to see the effects aspirin has on fish

I know this is a very basic experiment so if anyone has any input to make it more scientific, feel free to lend a hand...

 

[plantbrain]

Do 2 tanks, one a "control" to compare the untreated tank to the treated tank.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[MatPat]

Mkes sense but since I only have one 10g tank at the moment, I will have to continue on with this method for the time being

I guess I could invest another $10 in another 10g tank (or find a SWOAPE member willing to donate one) and do a "control" tank also. Set up both tanks exactly the same and treat one with ASA and let the other one go untreated. I assume this would verify the results of the first test.

 

[plantbrain]

Simple, put a tank divider glass in there.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[ctmpwrdcamry]

I already have a test subject Matt, if someone would be willing to send some willow i will go pick up some dividers.