My fish tank water always seems to be green,what could be causing this?

Question

I have a 20g fresh water fish tank that contains Two gold speckled mollies,One 4 inch long pleco,One blue dwarf garoumi and Four neon tetra...along with a few snails here and there.lol
My tank water always seems to be green.the water tests ok,the tank is not over crowded.i do regular proper water changes,do not over feed and the fish do not seem to be stressed.The green tint looks bad even though the fish show no signs of stress and he water tests come ok good.
I have been keeping fish for quite a few years and have never come across this issue unless i skipped a few days on cleaning,acidentally over fed or there was organic material in the water...such as wood.
Now, none of those things are in play here, yet i have yucky green tinted water.What can i do to get te water clear?And what could be causing his?

I do have a bad habit of leaving the tank light off, lol, i forget to turn it on when i leave the house.So the light is usually only on during the weekend from about 7am till about 9pm.Could it still be too much light?
Also, the tank sits diaginal to a window that is covered with blinds,we dont open the blinds because we live on a busy industrial street...yucky view.
I will check it out tomorrow and to to note how much of the sunlight is reaching the tank at whatever points in the day.The light algae thing makes much sence and i cannot believe that I had not thought of this.lol Schmacks herself in the forehead.
How do i make sure i'am not taking away too much algae? I have the pleco and the snails that thrive on this.

Answer 1

It is algae. How much sun or other light does your tank get? I had this in a 125 gallon tank which was by a glass sliding door. At first it bothered me, but when I realized it had become the main food my cichlids were eating, I liked it. I could leave for days and not worry about them. Somehow an algae has gotten in the water. I think there are drops you can put in,but do it after a big water change, since the dying algae may use a lot of oxygen as it rots.

Answer 2

You have an algae problem!! Your lack of light would not cause this problem since algae needs light to grow. If your tank is in direct contact with sunligt (and by direct i mean is it by a window, a door..), then move it soon. Also get some algae eaters and do a 50% water change and change your filters. Do another water test becasue high nitrates cause algae blooms. I would also suggest keeping your light off for a few day when all of the above are corrected unless you have plants but I still think it would be ok.

Answer 3

algae thats the green stuff, you need to turn the lights on more. I am assumming it is growing on the sides of the tank? If it is from any fish place u can buy [can't think of the name] but they are magnetic cleaners one side goes in the tank the side with the scubber on it and the other on the outside. U move the one on the outside and it will clean the inside to reduce this I suggest thet you buy yourself a couple of sucker fish, they will also clean the glass and some cat fish and some goolie loches all these fish help to keep the tank clean. Start killing the snails before your over run with them. Otherwise I say u have a nice healthy tank......... hopefuly it has some real weed in it, too many pple get the plastic crap.
One other thing when u clean the tank do u syphone the bottom water out and replace it with freah water??? If you don't do it lol

Answer 4

I had that problem with one of my ten gallon tanks. I checked a few sites and askedon here and realized that it was an algae bloom and was getting too much light. I just covered the tank with a dark cloth for about a week, and didn't turn the light on unless I was feeding the fish. The water is now the clearest, cleanest of all my tanks.(I have 4). I did a water change on my 29 gallon yesterday, and now its getting green, time to get the cloth out again, I guess.

Answer 5

The green tint is caused from too much light or direct sunlight. I had a similar problem with my 75 gallon tank, I was told I don't have to leave the light on just put on during feeding. With the light on u promote the growth of algae, but of luck....MXMASTR

Answer 6

light and nutrients cause algae blooms.

do a 20% water change and try to reduce the amount of light the tank gets. more frequent water changes (ie 10-20% weekly) will mask the problem.

have you checked your water for phosphates?
if it checks as ok, then you are probably overfeeding.

it will not harm the fish in any way at all.

Answer 7

Algae. Buy algae destroyer in the fish section at walmart or the pet store. Then buy a fish that eats algae off of the tank walls. DO NOT BUY SNAILS they will multiply and take over the world.

Answer 8

It may be the glass used by the manufacturer is causing the "green tinge" effect.

Answer 9

reduce the lighting to 8 hours daily.
time them to come on at mid day.
check ph around netrual 7 or lower is best,also phosphate and nitrate are significant factors for algae

Answer 10

There are a few ways to take out algae depending on the type. There are chemicals you can use - but they're like putting a bandaid on the problem - you need to get control of your tank's environment. Something is out of balance and the algae is your 'reward'. If you don't figure out how to balance it out, you'll just have to go back to your chemical solution again. You've mentioned that you have experienced this often - usually after missing a water change or over feeding - that tells me your tank is almost always right on the edge of getting a algae bloom, and you're having to intervene a lot to keep the balance going.

Natural solutions work quickly, without endangering your other fish, equipment, or biological filter. When it's attached itself to the walls or decorations in the tank I prefer to pick up otocats and snails. Snails are often considered a 'pest', but can be incredibly useful for tanks with algae problems. If you find you have too many they're easy to simply scoop out by hand and toss out in the garden to fertilize the soil, or toss into another troubled tank. Otocats have the additional bonus of being cheap friendly tank mates with virtually any fish, with shy but cute personalities.

Unfortunately in your case... you have an algae bloom. This is the sort that floats freely in the water as opposed to the kind that sticks to the walls. Unfortunately this can limit your solutions to it. Since they don't 'stick' to anything, snails and otocats can't help. So what you need to do is figure out *why* you have the bloom.

Chemically removing the algae, as I mentioned, won't give you long term support. Mechanically removing it will be a *pain* for you since you'll be breaking down the tank, rinsing everything, and putting it back together. And again, you'll be vulnerable to having it happen again if the tank gets out of balance. What you need to do is change your tank so that algae is not encouraged to live there.

The bloom is surviving on two things: Light and nutrients. (The fish poo goes somewhere ya know. ;) ) So the way to *deal* with it is to remove one of those two things.

A short term solution is to throw a *thick* blanket over the tank for about three weeks. Hope your fish don't mind bumbling around in the dark. Of course, once the light comes back you have to hope that every single one of those spores died out or you'll see it come back bit by bit. I don't recommend this one as there's really an even better solution at hand...

*Get plants*.

Plants will compete with the algae for the nutrients in the water. Once they out compete the algae - the algae dies - and voila - crystal clear water. With pretty green plants! As an additional bonus... the plants provide a sort of 'buffer' for your water quality control. You can, with a heavily planted tank, forget to do water changes for a few weeks. When you come back - your water will *still* be clear. You'll have high nitrates and maybe unhappy fish but you won't be dealing with a bloom.

I had a friend who was seeing the exact same problem you have. I gave him some cuttings - about 2 ziplock bags full and a week later - clean water. It cleared up overnight once the plants got over the shock of the move.

What you want to pick up is a cheap, hardy, fast growing plant. You want java fern: http://www.aquahobby.com/garden/e_javafern.php
This stuff can be tied to a piece of driftwood, and it will spread on runners along the length of the wood. It has crisp edges, a nice visual rhythm to it's growth, and a deep green color. It is incredibly tolerant of bad water, low light, and fish abuse. This is stuff you have to *work* to kill. And it'll suck up the nutrients feeding your algae bloom like nothing else. It's cheap too, so you should be able to go to a local fish store - and buy a few handfuls. Just toss them in your tank, let them sink down or you can be more diligent and plant them where you'll want your 'jungle' to grow. A week later and you'll have clean water with a lot more wriggle room for errors like overfeeding. Prune gently as needed every few months.

My own tanks have never clouded up, never had serious algae problems, never had blooms. I can ignore them for a couple of weeks - almost months outside of small water changes - and I know my plants will do part of the clean up routines for me so when I do get back to them I don't have dead fish. In fact, the fish will probably enjoy the plant life - it gives them hiding places and a sense of security - as well as the occasional snack if you have snails living in the tank too. Consider your fish as a way to turn fish food into plant life and you should be good from there.

A few additional bonuses: Plants look *good*. On a dark background (I use black gravel), they look stunning.. guests at my house see the tanks and can't resist getting a closer look. They look at the fish and wave their fingers at them, but the plants give the presentation a depth most of them don't even realize is the basis behind their response. Plus, since the water will remain clear... everyone will think you're a genius at tending to a tank or such a hard worker you clean it *every* day.