Green 10 gal tank?

Question

My tank is not in front of any window and does not get sunlight at all. The light is only turned on for about 8-10 hours a day, in the day time. I have checked my level in my tank and they are all good. Any other ideas?

Answer 1

Have you tested your ammonia, nitrites and nitrate levels?

As I said before, a major cause for green water is excess nutrients in the water, caused by fish waste. Get rid of the pleco, he's the culprit. Green water algae needs two things to grow other than water: light, and nutrients. You've ruled out the light, so it must be the nutrients, and you say you don't feed very much.

Answer 2

Green water is almost always caused by too many nutrients in the water. Primarily nitrates and phosphates.

The first thing you need to do is get your tank tested for those to compounds. Also get your tap water tested for them as well, as it's fairly common for tap water to be high in nitrates.

Often the nutrient levels are too high due to over feeding of the tank.

One easy method to cut down on the problem immediately is to do a 30-40% water change with distilled water. Make sure that the water is warmed to near tank temperatures before adding it.

For your tank this would be 3-4 gallons of distilled water. This will significantly lower the nutrient levels in the water.

Another way to clear the water, although not solve the problem, is to use a diatom or micron filter on the water, which will trap the algaes in the filter.

Answer 3

Green water is free floating algae.
The main causes are:

*High waste particulate matter in the water column, which over crowding, over feeding and also important here is improper feeding (poor quality food that is mostly passed thru the fish, usually non aquatic amino acids an too much cereal are the culprits here)

*Intense lighting, but rarely is the problem, this usually just "feeds" the problem.

*Poor water parameters; Nitrates and phoshates to high, kH to low (best above 80 ppm), Redox should be -300 mV (don't rush out and buy a test kit for Redox, there are simple ways to check it). This usually goes with the high waste particulate problem and can effect kH and more importantly Aquarium Redox (which measures the water oxidation and reduction potential

Corrective measures:

*20% water change using a gravel vacuum
*Electrolytes minor elements such as magensium and calcium Wonder Shells are useful here so is arogonite in the filter)
*A UV Sterilizer (100% effective but not likely to be cost effective for this size aquarium, but is is worth mentioning, not just for sterilization, but for Redox)
*Reduce your fish numbers
*Cut back on feeding and improve food quality (No TetraMin). Better choices: Ocean Nutrition, HBH, Spirulina 20 just to name a few.
*Increase circulation and disolved oxygen

There is a lot more information about kH, Calcium, Redox, and proper fish food in this up to date information article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

Answer 4

algae