Hi all first I want to say that this is a great newsgroup !!

I am experiencing a greenwater problem at the moment and thought someone on
the list may be able to offer some insight into it. It is the only sort of
algae I have EVER got in any of my planted tanks and is a real pain (not as
bad as others though). Here are my tank specs:

200lt
6x30w fluro lights
CO2 injection approx 1 bubble / 2 sec with Dupla system into intake
Eheim Professional 2224
(the water is really soft here.. carbonate and general hardness both about
40ppm.. i have been buffering it)

I have just moved and set it back up about 2 weeks ago. It has a lot of fast
growing stem plants in it and for the first week things stayed crystal clear
and the plants were bubbling profusely. They are still bubbling but the
water is a hazy green. I haven't been adding any water column fertilisers
and only have some laterite mixed in the bottom 1/4 of the gravel.

I am hoping at the moment that it is just a phase in cycling and once the
plants really pick up they will out compete the algae. I think ill try and
do a big water change and see what happens (I have no fish in there at the
moment)

Cheers,
Jon

PS. to reply in person remove the _nospam_

The kH is about 2 degrees while the pH is around 6.8 (gotta check.. lots my
CO2 kit color chart hehe)

Cheers
Jon

"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
200lt
6x30w fluro lights

That's a lot of light. Well over 3 wpg. You need to make sure you have
plenty
of CO2 with this light level.

(the water is really soft here.. carbonate and general hardness both
about
40ppm.. i have been buffering it)

What is your pH and KH? That tells you more about how much CO2 you have
than
the bubble rate. Try measuring it in the morning, just before the lights
go
on, and in the evening, just before they go off.

And what have you been buffering the water with?

Also, you may need to add fertilizers. If not now, eventually, you will.
With
this lighting level, you'll need to add plenty.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

Do you use any root fertilizers like jobes etc. If so a piece might have
gotten to the surface of the gravel and gotten into the water column.Also
how are your phosphate levels from your tap water.If you have high levels
with high light you will have green water.Its not
harmful just not good to look at.On way to clear it up this worked for me
was to use Kent Pro clear I used it twice and with water changes the water
cleared on its own in about week and a half.This stuff works right away
within a day water is crystal clear.Your going to need to change all filter
media after using it.I dont recommend using it long term as I am not sure of
the long term effect it could have on fish I have read it could possible
harm gill function if used to often.Just follow the directions on the
bottle.I was amazed how well this product worked.
I also added a really strong water column feeding plant a water sprite that
plant grows like crazy I need to keep cutting it back.Give this a try you
should have great success it worked for me.And also watch out how much food
your feeding. Also listen to the last post make sure you have proper Coo
levels this is essential to keeping your plants growing properly and keeping
algae to a minimum.I wish you good luck it really is not fun getting green
water I hated it since my tank is in my living room. I think what happened
to me is my clown loach dug up a piece of jobes.Also regular fertilizers
such as flourish or TMG will not cause green water problem. Excess
phosphates and high nitrates will however with high light levels. I know
people that grow green water on purpose to raise daphnia.You can also read
more about green water at the Krib which is a great resource tool to use in
Aquarium hobby.
"LeighMo" wrote in message
...
The kH is about 2 degrees while the pH is around 6.8 (gotta check.. lots
my
CO2 kit color chart hehe)

Given your light levels, I would really try to increase your CO2. With a
KH of
2, I would aim for a pH of 6.4. Assuming you aren't using phosphate
buffers,
that is.

See this page for recommended CO2 levels:

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

200lt
6x30w fluro lights

That's a lot of light. Well over 3 wpg. You need to make sure you have plenty
of CO2 with this light level.

(the water is really soft here.. carbonate and general hardness both about
40ppm.. i have been buffering it)

What is your pH and KH? That tells you more about how much CO2 you have than
the bubble rate. Try measuring it in the morning, just before the lights go
on, and in the evening, just before they go off.

And what have you been buffering the water with?

Also, you may need to add fertilizers. If not now, eventually, you will. With
this lighting level, you'll need to add plenty.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/