[galettojm]

Hello,

As I've already posted, the willow method worked twice for me.

With my argentinean aquarium club (CROA) we are planning to do an experiment trying different types of substrates in 6 exactly identical tanks (using only inert sand, sand mixed with lateritic soil, sand mixed with black organic soil, etc.). One of the most important things we want to know is how the substrate affects the generation of GW.

After this experiment, that should last at least a couple of months, we want to use these tanks to try different types of lightning.

I am trying to convince the others to test also the willow method.

Bye,

Juan

 

[fastang80]

Nice thread. Very informative.

 

[ShuLL]

Hi fellas, been reading this thread with the utmost interest as i've been combating GW for the past 2-3 mths(and getting quite pissed in the process..lol)..

anyway, here's the background of my planted tank:

I'm running a 3x2x1.5ft tank, about 84Lit or 22Gal(US) with an overhead 55W florescent lighting. Previously when i'm using an overhead filter + DIY CO2, i've had no GW problems. But as with DIY CO2, plants growth are slow due to the inefficiency when dissolving the CO2.

Then, i made a switch to a canister filter with proper pressurized CO2+reactor running at 1bps, the CO2 dissolving rate increase tremendously, but within 1 day, the water turned to a cloudy white. At first, i attribute this to the new bacteria cycle due to the new filter system. But as the weeks goes by, the GW got worse, even as i change 50% water weekly.

The ferts i use are Flourish Pottasium, about 3-4ml every 3 days, 1 ppm of DIY KH2PO4 and 5 drops of LUSHGro-MICROSLiquid every water change.

This is the picture of my tank with the GW

It got so bad that not enough light are getting to my plants and my plants are dying. So i did 50% water change daily for the past 5 days and got to this. Hopefully, the plants will be getting enough lights to start growing and build up mass.

Also, i reduced my light from 6 hrs(12-6pm) to 4 hrs(2-6pm). Hopefully, to combat the algae growth.

This is a picture of my filter setup, if it helps.

I am suspecting that the problem might be the natural light the tank got as it is placed right beside the window.

Also, i can't get willow wood here since i stay in the tropics(3 deg north of equator). The only way is to import from temperate regions, which i forsee, will cost a bomb. But i do have lots of mangrove here. But i would like to use that as last resort.

I will update as the days goes by. And hopefully, can get some advise and tips from here.

 

[fshfanatic]

So do you just pour the D.E. (diatom powder)powder in the bottom of the HOT magnum???

If so, how much do you put in for lets say an 80 gallon tank?

Do you place it outside the micron filter or inside the middle sleeve of it?

I need to do this and I am in need of the knowledge also.

What I do is:
1: Assemble the HOT with the micron filter and place it on the tank and turn it on.
2: Run it until all the air is purged.
3: I then have a plastic "Mustard Bottle type" thingy I bought at the dollar store and fill it 1/4 full of DE and then top off with water and shake.
4: Hold bottle in tank and squeeze into the intake of the HOT.

 

[Year Of The Dragon]

very interesting read.

one thing to note that i have not read in this entire thread is the effect on PH for those that are using this method with a tank that has fish as well.

introducing acid (from the willow) will likely change the PH. i dont know if it is a significant amount, but it is still a change regardless and maybe something to think about for those of us who have fish that are sensitive to PH shifts.

 

[galettojm]

very interesting read.

one thing to note that i have not read in this entire thread is the effect on PH for those that are using this method with a tank that has fish as well.

introducing acid (from the willow) will likely change the PH. i dont know if it is a significant amount, but it is still a change regardless and maybe something to think about for those of us who have fish that are sensitive to PH shifts.

Hi !

I tried the method several times and I did´t appreciate a dramatic change of PH. But my tank has very acid water (between 5 and 6).

Bye !

Juan

 

[galettojm]

Also, i can't get willow wood here since i stay in the tropics(3 deg north of equator). The only way is to import from temperate regions, which i forsee, will cost a bomb. But i do have lots of mangrove here. But i would like to use that as last resort.

I will update as the days goes by. And hopefully, can get some advise and tips from here.

If willow is not accessible you could tried with a DIY UV filter. This is my experience:

http://www.croa.com.ar/ipb2/index.php?showtopic=9987

Bye !

Juan

 

[Alex123]

Ok this is drastic I tried black out for 3 days for my 20 and 10 gallon aquarium and the green water didn't change much. I know I read the part about doing it for 5 days maybe next time. However I did notice my anacharis grew 5-7 inches amazing! Anyhow, since my aquarium is small I decided to change pretty much all the water accept an inch and half at the bottom so I don't have to move the community fishes. It didn't take too long. No one suggested changing 90+% of the water. Anyhow, we'll see if this fixes the issue or not. From what I have read, the nutrients that induced the green water have been used up by the algae but the green water will remain unless killed or removed. Well this seemed like a straight forward way of doing that by removing most of the water. I don't know why this is not suggested as an option. I read it cause undue stress to the fish. I highly doubt that since it's the same water they are used to but cleaner. Anyhow, I hope the water will remain clear. I'll post back later.

 

[Alex123]

Ok just want to report that the water is under control after removing most of the water. The remaining green water I didn't remove caused the water to be a little bit hazy. But for the last 5 days it looks to be not getting worse. I have decided not to let it have direct sunlight currently, my tank is planted. If the water becomes crystal clear, I will open the blinds and let direct sunlight in. Actually my 10 gallon is almost crystal clear and my 20 is slightly hazy. It seems to be like than when I first set it up too as I can recall. It never was crystal clear like my 10 gallon.

 

[Alex123]

Another update. The water remains slightly hazy not clearing up. I can see from one end to the other but the haziness is just flat out annoying. I don't have any filter except a water pump to circulate the water. I have finally solved my green water problem though and this should be called the simple cheap method and don't have to wait for this dang 5 day blackout or expensive uv filter. I ran it for 5 hours and the water looks like doing a 80-90% water change on a green water tank. It's not crystal clear though. I'll see after 24 hours.

 

[merk1_99]

Well I am dealin with my green water with the willow method. Have have had gw for almost two weeks. So we will see what happens.

 

[Amazon_Replica]

Well let me admit, I thought this was BS but was sick of green water, over a month now, with no ferts. I removed my pea gravel purchased at a DIY center. Had some kind of nasty chemicals in there, made the fish discolor and sick. I've used pea gravel in the past but must've had a particularly bad batch. Anyway went with blue and black gravel from LFS. This caused one heck of an ammonia spike, off the charts. I had to pull the fish and wait. I figured, a week or two the tank would cycle what with all the plants in it. After 4 weeks it was worse, and seemed to be even worse with a water change. I thought about a diatom filter but don't have the funds there, and I saw this post and thought to myself, yea right lol.

I caught myself one day when I was driving, spotting out willow trees from the road. After a few days of actually noticing I was looking, I said ok, pulled over and snapped a good thick branch off.

In literally 4 days the water was just a bit hazy, after 1 week it is clear as ever, and the branch only has like 1-1.5 in roots on it. SO, long story short, it seems to have more than worked for me.

Very crude photos, from my phone sorry.

before

after

again, bad photos i know but gives the basic idea

 

[dyollnave]

I really hope the willow method works, I have terrible GW. I can only see about two inches into my tank so it will be nice to see something other than green water for a change. My cherries are pregnant so i really want to be able to see them.

 

[lilypotter2009]

Waterchanges does not work for fighting green water. I think the willow method works.

 

[BettaGuy]

Hello all -

Do you think this will work for Hair Algae? I have a Nano which is infested with green water AND hair algae. It is heavily planted, lightly stocked, but it probably receives too much sunlight. And with such a small volume, things can get out of whack pretty fast.

The good thing is, I have rooted willow cuttings growing in vases, together with guppy fry. (The guppies keep the dengue mosquito wrigglers at bay - I'm in an endemic area.)

I'll try putting the rooted cuttings in the nano tank tomorrow. I only have two stems, with good roots, and new shoots. Anyway, it's just a 2 gallon tank.

Sure, I can rip apart the tank and plant it out again, but it's fun to experiment.


Bettaguy

 

[murdocmason]

all i have to say is bravo insert award here______ =) thanks everyone here for your info i'm currently battling cloudy water for about a month now it gets cloudy during the evening more so today is day one of willow branches in the tank , ill take before and after photos and post parameters of the start date and the end date thx all again sincerely Doc Mason

Start date water parameters and photo

Tank size 25 gal

Nitrate/NO3 ==0-5 ppm

Nitrite/NO2 ==.3

Ammonia/NH3 & NH4 ==0

pH ==7.0

kH ==5 degrees

gH ==180

Carbon source ==DIY cO2 1 gallon jug @ 1bblps @ 15 ppm

Phosphate/PO4 ==0

Iron/Fe ==0-0.1

Ave Temp. ==79F

Filtration ==HOB whisper 400 series filter no carbon

Light ==Coralife 65w 50/50,10k bulb on for about 12 hours a day also recieves some natural sunlight early morning approx. 6-8 am

No special substrate,river sand

Ferts ==Seachem flourish, flourish tabs

about 20 in of fish so a nice heafty bioload

I do 20% wc every 3-5 days or sooner depending on tests also i use a hagen master test kit liquid reagents used to test water

 

[dyollnave]

Worked perfectly for my tank. Month after the water cleared and still going strong. Awesome.

 

[RI chiclids]

well chaulk up another success!went down to my secret large mouth bass spot ,shuffled out on to some downed trees couldnt get to any submerged stuff so cut some of this past years growth.the trees are all dormant now,i figured that this really wouldnt matter its the same principle of forcing bulbs,and it still worked equally as well 4 days with willow,a few hours with diatom and presto,CRYSTAL CLEAR.i gave the branches to my brother to see if it wil clear his tank to!!!!ill keep ya posted....

 

[ryan10517]

i tried it also. The willow worked GREAT. in 3 days my water went from not being able to see 3 inches into the water to absolutely crystal clear! i probably should have took some before and after pics but i was skeptical is was gonna work in the first place. And all my fish love playing in it too so its just a good deal. Thanks!

 

[agy]

Hello. Good ideas. But some body know what exact remove from water willow ?
If this method real work, i will try make live water conditioner(no cash for RO unit) in 2ft aquarium at my window and then regulary add water from 2ft to my 100gal tank.
What do You think Guys ?


If some body can, please post Yours results after willow in clean water for some time(not in aquarium with stock) - what's water chemistry, how they change, ph, kh, gh, tds, e.g. ?