[Tedison]

The water in my tank is turning slight green, and i'm guessing that it's an algal invasion. I'm new to the planted scene, and I am not sure how I can take care of the algae without affecting my plants. Any suggestions?

P.S. I turned the photoperiod down to 8 hours instead of the 12 that it was on to help get rid of the algae, would this inhibit the plant's growth?

 

[Tedison]

great, thanks for the help!

 

[Tedison]

is this the product you mean?

 

[Tedison]

yes that but mine was API

I added drops as directed on the bottle, added more floss in the filter and as hours passed water went clearer and clearer. Later that day (say 10hrs later) I did a 50% water change and replaced the filter floss. I didnt rinse and reuse since I wanted all the green algae spores out of my tank.
Did the same thing the following day or the day after and what do you know it cleared up well.

Whats your current filtration on your tank??
Did you disturb the gravel recently??
Do you have root tabs in your gravel??

Heres some photos of my tank 5 months ago
With green water:
http://img111.imageshack.us/img111/3870/1000047jv8.jpg[/IM]

After a 90% water change..Did nothing but make the water cloudy and then green again in the next few days..
[IMG]http://img237.imageshack.us/img237/4412/1000363zx8.jpg[/IM]

And after accu-clear and water change and adding more filtration..
[IMG]http://img265.imageshack.us/img265/3929/1001126np4.jpg[/IM]

Not sure if it will work for everyone.. But heck it saved me from spending $$ on a uv sterilizer.[/QUOTE]

My tank is a 29 gallon with an aquaclear 50 HOB filter on it. The gravel has been disturbed a lot recently, as I just planted a lot of new plants, but I don't currently have root tabs as I plan on changing out the substrate sometime soon. The water isn't extremely green, but it just seems to have a yellowish-green tint to it. I am going to do a water change tomorrow. I tested the parameters in the tank today and everything is in working condition beyond my nitrates which is at 5 ppm. I really don't have the money for a UV sterilizer either, so I will try out what you did.

P.S. by filter floss do you mean the filter sponge? Doesn't that get rid of a lot of the beneficial bacteria in the tank as well?

 

[Tedison]

Is this a new setup or a mature one? Often times a green water outbreak is triggered by an upset balance of bacteria in the aquarium.

This is a mature tank, been set up for ~1 year, but i just started adding live plants to it. The only thing that I can think of that may have upset the bacteria balance is that I just recently changed my filter's biological bag, but that's never triggered a green water outbreak before

 

[Tedison]

a blackout won't do any damage to my plants and fish will it? And should I feed my fish during this time? would dosing with Excel help or does that only help certain types of algae?

 

[Tedison]

I've heard another cure for green water is to cut a willow branch about 3 feet long (some new growth) and put it in the tank sticking out the water.

By the time the branch sprouts roots the GW is gone.

Never tried it, but thought it was interesting enough to mention.

that is interesting, i'll have to see if I can find a willow branch...

I still haven't done a blackout, as I am moving in 3 days and I don't want to stress the fish out any more than is needed...