Why does my fish aquarium turn green with algae within a day of cleaning it?

Question

My aquarium is always green with floating algae. I thought it was the sun so I moved it to an area where the sun does not shine on it. It is still green. I have asked every one I know including pet stores and no one knows what the problem is. I have 2 Placostomus one is 14" long and he is 10 ysr old. A red tailed shark that is at least 10 yrs old. 2 cory cats. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

Answer 1

I'm guessing you mean that the water itself turns green, right? Like, as opposed to algae just growing on the rocks, it's actually tainting the water green?

Well, algae needs 2 things to grow (other than water): sun/light, and nutrients.

Is it possible that, even though it gets no direct sun, that the tank still gets too much light? Tank lights do not need to be on more than 9 hours per day, so if you can, reduce your photoperiod.

Nutrients, well, they can come from many sources. If you are overfeeding, reduce the amount of food you give your fish. Feed small amounts; feed small pinches over a few minutes and stop after 3 minutes. Remove any food that is not consumed. Feed at most twice per day, and once her day is sufficient.

Is your tank possible overstocked? I don't know what size your tank is, but plecos produce a LOT of waste, and a 14" would rapidly foul up a tank smaller than 60 gallons. If your tank is small, consider increasing your cleaning schedule to 30% twice a week or 50% once a week, vacuuming the gravel.

Also, cories are schoolers, and are happiest in groups of 5+.

If your water is turning green after you clean it and then gradually the green goes away until the next time you clean, then you may have 'old tank syndrome' OR are upsetting the biological filtration in your tank.
Do you have an undergravel filter? If so, change and get a HOB (hang off the back) or canister filter. They will actually remove the large waste particles and biodegrade small waste particles, as opposed to just sucking it into the gravel where it rots (out of sight, out of mind) until the bacterial populations explode, resulting in green water or/and cloudy water.

Anyway, if you have a HOB or canister filter - do you change the cartidge regularly? Don't. You need the bacterial populations to convert the toxic ammonia. If there are not sufficient bacteria to biodegrade the ammonia, the algae will glady take over.

If your filter powerful enough? Consider upgrading or adding a second one, as filters are always weaker than claimed (I always use filters rated for 20 gallons MORE than whatever my tank is)

You may also just have elevated levels of phosphates or nitrates in your tap water.

Buy a test kit and test for ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, and see what the results are. It will definitely help narrow down the cause.

Answer 2

Yes, this is undoubtedly an algae bloom. The heaters don't cause the algae, but it is the sunlight. You need the heaters for your fish. It seems as if you haven't been doing weekly water changes. Perform 25% of a water change every week, and once or twice a month at minimum should you be scraping the walls of the tank to get rid of excess algae. A 10 gallon tank is too little space for a Pleco, but you can get a snail or two to help keep the algae under control. Make sure you aren't overstocking your tank. What kind of fish do you have? If you have Goldfish, then you should know that each Fancy Goldfish needs a tank of 20 gallons or more with a filtration system made for tanks twice the size. If you have live bearers such as mollies, guppies, platies, and so on, you should only have two in such a small tank. Anymore would be overstocked, even three would be pushing it. I suggest you do some more research before purchasing anymore fish.

Answer 3

Green water is the result of an algae bloom that can be caused by too
many nutrients in the WATER COLUMN. Some nutrients are normal and benefit live plants.
Foods high in indigestible proteins (amino acids), which many
commercial foods are such as TetraMin will contribute to this problem

Often aquarists worry too much about pH and not enough about
kH and electrolytes which are much more important than many aquarists realize. The
calcium level in your aquarium is very important as ALL fish need
calcium for proper osmotic function and disease resistance (this
includes soft water fish). Electrolytes are important to proper aquarium Redox, which if out balance, algae or bacterial blooms can occur (not to mention poor fish health).
Bringing this back to your algae problem, you need to remove
nutrients from the water column and improve the water quality in your
water column.

Here are a few suggestions:
[1] Do regular 20% water changes with a gravel vacuum every 2-5 days
until your parameters improve.
[2] Increase your kH to at least 80 ppm which is very important to
aquatic health, although not directly to algae problems, it does
contribute to proper Redox which does.
[3] Although most aquarist are not familiar with new research (mostly since 1980s) with the Redox Potential, a proper Redox of around -300 mV is important to clarity and proper water oxidation properties. You do not need to rush out and buy a Redox meter, but considering your new water problems, it is probably can be low and can be increased through these methods: Improved electrolytes, INCREASE dissolved
oxygen, stable and clean new water with a kH of at least 80 ppm,
better filtration, and finally UV Sterilization.
[4] I would improve your filtration for redundancy reasons alone. A
pre filter such as a Filter Max on your Whisper is an inexpensive
start. An Internal filter with an aeration injector such as a Via
Aqua 305 to increase cross circulation and dissolved oxygen
[5] Increase electrolytes and kH via Wonder Shells (better for
electrolytes) or Aragonite, NOT baking soda which is only a temporary fix and does not supply needed calcium, magnesium or electrolytes.
[6] Lower your bio load by removing fish
[7] If you are feeding a low quality food, switch.
[8] Limit lighting to 10-12 hours per day and keep your aquarium away from the window (keep in mind that lighting is usually not a cause, but tends to just worsen the situation).

CONCLUSION:
You do NOT need to follow all the above suggestions, but take them into consideration and apply them as needed.

For more information here, including links for Redox, and kH, please read this article:
http://www.americanaquariumproducts.com/Aquarium_Information.html

Answer 4

too much lighting, even man made lighting can cause this. also, there may be too much waste in the tank (the plecos are poop machines), do a water check for the nitrates, nitrites, ammonia you know all that stuff. but if you have kept even just two fish alive for ten years you know what you're doing. you may need a UV sterilizer or a diatom filter. i don't know how big the tank is but these things may help.

to see if it is from too much light, leave the light off for a couple of days, the fish don't care at all really, and see what happens. also lowering the temp a little may help, but since you have warm water fish don't lower too much, again you probably know the temp limits since you've had two of them for ten years.

Answer 5

Beard Algae
Color: Bright green to blue-green to blackish green
Appearance: Actually a member of the red algae family, beard algae grows on the edges of plant leaves as well as on the edges of almost any hard surface. Composed of very fine strands it grows in dense patches resembling a dirty green beard, thus earning the name beard algae. Rapid growing, it is soft and slippery, yet clings tenaciously to plants and cannot be easily removed by hand. It is eaten by only a few fish, notably the Florida Flag Fish and the Siamese Algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis
Cause:
Rhodophyta

Contaminated plants

Small strands in water of fish bag

Digestive tract of fish

Beard algae most often enters the tank on contaminated plants, however even small free floating strands in a bag with fish are enough to start it growing in your aquarium.
Cure:
Bleach affected plants

Remove affected leaves

Stock tank with Siamese algae eater

Treat tank with copper

Affected plants can be soaked for two to three minutes in a ten percent bleach solution to kill any algae on them. Completely remove heavily affected leaves. Bleach rocks, gravel, and any other items that exhibit growth of the algae. Stock the tank with a Siamese algae eater (Crossocheilus siamensis).
Note: Be sure to purchase the proper species, as many species of fish are sold under the name of Siamese algae eater. Other species of fish do not eat beard algae. If other options fail, treat with copper according to manufacturers directions. However, copper can have adverse effects on certain plants as well as fish, and should be used with caution.
Prevention:
Quarantine new fish for 48 hrs

Purchase plants & fish from reputable LFS

Bleach new plants prophylactically

To avoid algae entering the tank via fish, quarantine new fish for at least two days. When placing them in the tank net the fish rather than dumping them out of the bag, so no bag water enters your tank. Soak newly purchased plants for two to three minutes in a ten percent bleach solution to kill any algae on them.
I first thought about light related algae but then read your entire question. This is information from a site I used when I had my tank maintainence business. I think this is what you are dealing with.
Good Luck

Answer 6

its probably from the phosphates in your water it helps algae grow i would try cleaning the tank completely and then go buy some RO water, or bottled water and see if you have the same problem also another cause could be nitrates in your water but if the nitrate levels are normal i would try getting some different water and see what that does if that helps then you know its in your home water and you can invest in a RO filter for your house.

Answer 7

Do you have live plants? Your lighting could be too strong for your tank especially if you don't have live plants. Algea doesnt
need sunlight if you have a good flourescent light. What kind of algea is it. Is it stringy like hair or is it slimy and kind of bubble like? What kind of light do you have on your tank?

Answer 8

Very simply too much light not enough current. Simple yes but that is all thta needs to be said

Answer 9

fish may be too large. my ex had that problem and when he downgraded to smaller fish it stopped.

Answer 10

do you have a filter? or you could get some snails to eat the algea....