The water in my fishtank is turning green.Why is it doing this?and how do i fix it?

Answer 1

It is algae. But since it is your water that is turning green, and not the side of your aquarium, it is free floating algae. So, don't buy an algae eater yet. My suggested solution would be to turn your aquarium light off for a couple of days, and also close the blinds/curtains to any window that sheds light directly onto the aquarium. Also, get some shrimp. They are filter feeders and should take care of some of the algae problem. Ammano are probably your best bet, but do some research into the kinds of shrimp that will get along with your fish. Finally, when the algae problem seems under control and you decide to turn the light back on, reduce the time you keep the light on by about an hour to keep the algae from coming back. If when the free floating algae is gone, you still have algae growing on plants and decorations, then you should look into getting a couple of oto cats or siamese algae eaters.

Answer 2

Everyone is on to this one so far. Algae seems to be your problem. To fix it, it helps to know what is needs to live.
First, it needs nutrients in the water (usually from fish waste and excess food). Secondly, it needs light. So by keeping your tank clean and limiting the amount of light it gets (for instance, only keep the aquarium light on for 6 hours per day) is the best ways to prevents algae.
Now for removing the stuff, a plecostamus or other "algae-sucker" will keep your tank clean. Other than that, you can wipe the glass down every so often to keep it clean.
As for the water itself being green, try replacing 1/3 of the water and do that weekly until the problem clears.

Answer 3

There is a chemical called Alegea Destroyer it destroys all different types of alegea bloom in your tank and is harmless to your fish. You could also get an alegea eater but make sure it's not a pleco becuase the pleco as they get oldier get very lazy. Try a chinese alegea eater all they do is eat 24/7. They are a community fish so they can go with almost any fish that you have.

Answer 4

If it's your water turning green, then it is a free-floating form of algae that is surviving on an excess of nutrients in your system. Feed your fish less and change your water (25% weekly) to combat high nitrates.

If it is a stinky green slime, then it's not algae but cyanobacteria, which can be combatted by many medicines commonly sold as fish antibiotics.

If it's hard green spots on your glass or leaves, it's green spot algae, you just have to scrub it.

If it's fine, feathery green hair algae, you can buy algae eaters. My favorite algae eater is the Amano shrimp, which are beautiful freshwater shrimp that eat algae & leftover fish food. Bumblebee shrimp and red cherry shrimp will also eat certain types of algae.

For more information, visit:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_algae.htm

Hope you figure out which type of algae you have!

Answer 5

It's algea on the side of the glass. You can get one of those catfish that stick to the glass, or they probably make an algea cleaner. My usual method is to leave the tank light turned off for a week, since I don't like chemicals, I haven't looked. The fish won't mind swimming in the dark.

Answer 6

You need to change your water because the greenery is changing the colour of the water. Change it regularly and maybe change the greenery in the tank. Clean the stones as well and make sure the pump is working properly.
Hope it helps.

Answer 7

Just got this off the net hope it helps!

If you tear it down you will lose all the beneficial bacterial colonies that breakdown the wastes produced in the aquarium. For that reason I wouldn't start over, unless your tank is in extremely bad condition. With a little elbow grease and a few simple cleaning supplies you can have your aquarium looking ship shape again. Here are the supplies you'll need:

Algae scraper/pads

Razor blade (plastic blade for acrylic tanks)

Bleach

Water siphon

Bucket

Lime remover (made for aquariums)

Glass cleaner (made for aquariums)

Filter media

Filter brush

Old bath towels

Paper towels

I suggest cleaning your aquarium in the following order:

Inside glass

Decorations (rocks, plants, etc)

Gravel

Outside glass and fixtures

Filter

Why clean the tank in that order? Cleaning the glass will cause particles of debris to fall on the plants, decorations, and gravel, so it's best to clean them after the glass has been cleaned. Removing the plants and decorations will cause debris to fall to the bottom, so you might as well hold off cleaning the gravel until the plants and decorations have been taken out. Also, the gravel is much easier to clean once the plants and rocks have been removed. Needless to say, cleaning anything inside the tank will cause the outside of the tank to get dirty, so the outside should be cleaned after the inside. As for the filter, read on to see why that is the last item I recommend cleaning.

Algae Pads/Scrapers
Start your cleaning project by giving the glass a good cleaning on the inside. All you need for that is an algae scraper or pad. There are a wide variety of algae scrapers on the market, from long handled scrubbers to magnetic scrubbers. I personally like the small magnetic scrubbers, however virtually any algae pad will do. People often ask me if it's necessary to purchase algae scrubbing pads at a pet shop instead of the house wares department of a regular store. Although the pads may look the same, they may have a soap or chemical residue in them from the manufacturing process. A reside doesn't matter if you are cleaning your kitchen sink, but it can leave a lethal film in your aquarium. For that reason, I advise spending a few extra pennies to get the algae pads labeled for aquarium use.

For particularly stubborn residue on the glass, use a razor blade to scrape it off. Take care not to cut yourself, or scratch the glass. If your aquarium is acrylic, use a special plastic razor blade, as standard razors will scratch acrylic.

Bleach
Once the inside glass is clean, remove any rocks, artificial plants, or decorations that have significant algae growth, or are noticeably dirty. Do not clean them with soap or detergents! It is very difficult to completely remove soap, and even the smallest trace can be lethal to fish. Usually a good scrub with an algae scraper will remove the algae and dirt from rocks and plants. For particularly stubborn cleaning problems, prepare a 10% bleach solution (1 part household bleach to 9 parts water) and soak the items for 15 minutes. Scrub any remaining residue off, rinse well in running water, and let air dry to eliminate any residual bleach.

Live plants can bleached, however stem plants do not tolerate bleaching well. To bleach live plants prepare a 5% bleach solution (1 part bleach to 19 parts water), soak the plants for two to three minutes (no longer), then rinse well. Leave the rocks, decorations and plants out of the tank while you vacuum the gravel. That way none of the debris stirred up from the gravel will settle on them.

A word of caution - get a new bucket and designate it for aquarium use only. If you use a bucket that has had soap or detergent in it, you risk introducing chemicals to the tank, which could result in the loss of your fish.

Siphon
Clean the gravel next, by using a water siphon to vacuum away the debris. There are several types of siphons available, all of which work essentially the same. My preference is for the Python, because it draws the dirty water directly into your sink, thus eliminating the need to use buckets (which can easily be tipped over). Magnum makes an adapter for the Hot Pro unit that allows you to siphon water through the filter and return it right back to the tank. Although this works well for removing larger debris particles, smaller particles will pass through the filter and are returned to the tank. Be sure to vacuum the entire surface of the gravel thoroughly so that all debris is removed.

Glass and Lime Cleaners
Once the inside of the aquarium is cleaned, the hood, light, tank top, and outside glass can be cleaned. I strongly urge using cleaners designated as aquarium safe. Regular glass cleaners contain ammonia, which is toxic to fish. Standard lime cleaners are even more toxic. Use aquarium safe cleansers, and rinse rinse rinse!

Filter Cleaning
Once everything is clean on the inside, the rocks, plants, and other decorations may be returned to the tank. At this point I'd wait a couple of weeks before cleaning the filter. Why wait? The reason is not visible to the naked eye. The major cleaning you just performed has disturbed the bacterial colonies on the plants, rocks, and in the gravel. Fortunately a significant number of the beneficial bacteria reside within the filter media, so you haven't completely upset the eco-system. However if you changed the filter at the same time, you might end up with a significant ammonia spike because there aren't enough beneficial bacteria left to eliminate the toxins. For that reason, it's wise to give the tank a rest before removing the filter and cleaning it.

When you are ready to clean the filter, should you clean or simply replace the filter media entirely? Some experts caution that replacing the filter media removes too many of the beneficial bacteria, and can essentially throw the aquarium into a new tank break-in cycle. Other experts argue that there are sufficient bacteria on the rocks and plants, and in the gravel to prevent the tank from having to go through a break-in cycle when the filter is replaced. My viewpoint is that what you should do depends on the type of filter media you are using.

If you have filter media containing carbon, ammonia absorbers, or ion-exchange resins, it should be replaced if it's more than three weeks old. After a couple of weeks the absorbing qualities in the media have been exhausted, and there are enough bacterial colonies elsewhere to offset its removal. Media that acts as a mechanical filter instead of absorbing toxins (i.e.: ceramic rings, filter fiber, or sponges) should be gently rinsed to remove debris and returned to the filter. If care is taken to use water that is the same temperature as the aquarium water, and the media is quickly returned to the filter, the bacterial colonies growing on them will not be lost entirely.

Don't forget to clean the filter tubing and other parts of the filter assembly. A filter brush will help clear out the sludge that invariably builds up in all the small crevices.

Ongoing Maintenance
Once you've gotten your tank in shape, make sure you clean it on an ongoing basis so it never needs a major spring-cleaning again. Scrape the glass weekly, vacuum the gravel every time you perform a water change, and clean any rocks or plants as soon as you see debris or algae on them. Clean the filter monthly, either by replacing the media, or rinsing it. While you are at it, soak your fish nets in a disinfectant solution to keep them clean and soft. With regular care, your aquarium will look beautiful all the time.

~ Shirlie

Answer 8

Do you have your tank light on all the time, try to turn off your light at night.

You need a stronger filter system, green tank represents not enough filter system.

Answer 9

You have too much algae in your tank. Clean it and add drops to remove the algae. Or buy an algae eater, they are ugly little suckers!

Answer 10

uh, just to let some people know. pleco's arent' the answer, I've always kept at least 1 pleco in my tanks, started for the algea thing now sort of a ritual I just always keep one, anyway I've always had to scrape that crap off the glass manually.