Why Is My Fish Tank Going Green After 1-2 Weeks Of Cleaning?
I have had my fish tank for 2 years now and it has only ever needed fully cleaning out once a month. Why all of a sudden is it going green after only 1-2 weeks of being cleaned out? The green that is appearing in the tank is not the normal dark green algae that normally occurs but a more mid-green colour. Nothing has changed with regards to the tank apart from the addition of a small crab but I can not see him being the problem! Any ideas please let me know.
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October 29th, 2009 at 8:40 pm
By mentioning a crab, do I assume you have a marine set up?
Full clean out of a tank is unnecessary, just a third or quarter partial water change is needed every week or so depending on your fish population.
|Algae grows quickly in fresh water. “new Tank syndrome” which is a posh way of saying pure or raw tap water, can stress or even kill fish.
Partial water changes beat this problem. New fish keepers make the mistake of not “maturing” their water.
Beneficial bacteria break down waste (fish and other) into harmless chemicals (to fish) which act as fertiliser for aquarium plants. Immature tanks don’t benefit from these bacteria and need time (during which algae take advantage causing blooms) to build them up.
Potential cure – cease full clean outs and add some “off the (pet shop) shelf” bacteria boosters.
Also, make sure the tank is out of direct sunlight and lighting is not on too long every day.
That plus buying some algaecide should do the trick and stop it coming back so copiously.
October 29th, 2009 at 8:55 pm
Well, Lilly B. covered just about everything and extremely well but you may have introduced a ‘new-to-your-tank’ algae when you added your new little crab. The possibilities that the new algae came in the water or on the crab.
But another likely possibility is that the new-to-your-tank-crab upset the normal balance/timing by his eating (or your feeding) or his waste products are supplying the algae that had been under control by your previous routine.
Another possibility is that if you moved the tank or the lighting changed.
And in a fish tank the rule is: If something changes – Everything changes! Good luck in developing a new cleaning routine!
October 29th, 2009 at 9:00 pm
Well honey, Cleaning your aquarium is a simple and straight forward task, and should not take very long (Unless you have a particularly small tank or bowl, in which case care can be quite cumbersome and time consuming). The better care you provide for your tank, the healthier your fish will be, the nicer your tank will look and the easier your tank will be to care for in the future. You should not need to take all the stuff out of the tank when you clean it, in fact, I would not recommend it. Every surface in the tank will grow some beneficial bacteria that are part of the biological filter. By removing and cleaning the decorations you stress (and may even kill) some of this bacteria, reducing the quality of your filtration.
When cleaning your aquarium, you should just remove part (10-15%) of the water and replace it with fresh, dechlorinated tap water (bowls and vases require larger water changes more often). While you are doing this, you should use your siphon to suck up some of the gunk that collects in the gravel and decorations. If you have an under gravel filter, it is very important to clean the gravel when you do your weekly water changes, this will prevent detritus and other decaying organic matter from blocking the passages between the pebbles and restricting water flow. Generally, you can clean 25-33% (1/4-1/3) of the gravel while siphoning out 10-15% of the water.
If you have algae growing on the surface of the tank or ornaments, you should get an algae scraper of some sort and scrub the glass before removing water. Many varieties of algae scrapers or scrubbers are available at your local pet store. For additional cleanliness, you could get algae eating catfish and/or scavengers to pick up some of this work for you, however, having catfish in the tank does NOT mean that you don’t need to clean. In fact, algae eaters and catfish, like any other fish, will add to the biological load of your tank and increase maintenance requirements.
Catfish or no catfish, I recommend doing 10-15% water changes once a week for the life of your aquarium. Once you get into this habit, it is not really that much work.
If you have to clean out the filter(s) do not change all the media (cartridges, sponges, carbon packets, etc.) at once, as this will remove the majority of your biological filter, causing the tank to have to go through a cycling period again to get bacteria reestablished. Rinse any new filter media in cool running water before introducing it to the system (unless the instructions for the filter media specifically state not to).
Once you have siphoned 10-15% of the water from your tank, you will need to fill it again. The easiest and neatest way to do this, is to use a siphon to siphon water from a bucket into the tank. This will tend to reduce spilling and messing up the gravel and decorations. Use a bucket that has never had detergents or household chemicals in it (we recommend getting a bucket specifically for use for aquarium chores) and fill it with water. The water should be close to the temperature of the tank water that you just took out (the average person can tell temperature differences within 1/2 degree Fahrenheit with their hand, so just feel the water to see if it is the same). Use a chlorine or chloramine remover to prepare the water for introduction into the tank. Place the bucket somewhere higher than the top of the fish tank, and get your siphon going again and in just a couple of minutes, you should have a full tank. Be sure to watch the siphon, in case the hose gets bumped out of the tank, or if there is enough water in your bucket to overfill the tank. Remember, there needs to be some space between the top of the water and the aquarium cover, because your fish rely on oxygen exchange at the surface of the water in order to be able to breathe.
Do not just “top off the tank” to replace water that “disappears.” This water that is disappearing is evaporating, and it leaves behind all the impurities that were in it to begin with. This means that as you just top off the tank, you are making your water harder until it will eventually no longer be able to support fish. Additionally, if there are even trace amounts of heavy metals or other toxic substances in the water, you are giving your fish more and more of these every time you top off the tank. Most municipal water systems have at trace levels of at least one potentially hazardous substance, but in minuscule amounts these should never be trouble for you or your fish. Furthermore, by not removing water from the tank from time to time, you allow build up of waste products not removed by the filter (such as Nitrate), which are potentially hazardous to the fish and encourage algae growth.
Remember, cleaning your tank is easy. Scrub for algae, remove 10-15% of the water while cleaning the gravel and top off the tank with dechlorinated water.
These cleaning tips are intended for tanks that are already cycled and are over about 10 gallons in size. The same rules apply to smaller tanks also.
Hope this helped honey
October 29th, 2009 at 9:02 pm
Hi Two thing cause algae in your tank. High nitrate in the water and to much light. Never do a 100 percent water change or clean out your tank completely unless it is an emergency. If you do that your tank will need to be cycled again.
I would start out by testing your tank water for high nitrates. If your nitrates are high do a 25 percent water change. If after doing the water change your nitrates are still high test your tap water. If your tap water is in nitrate get a hole house water filter that removes nitrates. Next make sure your tank is not near a window that get a lot of sun lite. If it is move it to a different location. If your tank is not near a window put a small appliance time on your light and set it so your tank doesn’t get more than 12 hours of light.
October 29th, 2009 at 9:08 pm
Your filter isnt strong enough, remember you can never overfilter!
Hope it helps!!
^^)
October 29th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
This is usually caused by SUNLIGHT. Make sure the sun does not hit the tank at ANY time,If not that, your local PET SHOP can offer stuff to keep the water clear.
October 29th, 2009 at 10:55 pm
check and clean the filter