my fish aquariums water turned green can not get back to normal?

Answer 1

The green in your aquarium is algae. The cause is usually too much light either from a nearby window or from leaving your tank light on too much. It could also be a combination of both. Green algae is not harmful. Some fish and invertebrates actually eat it, so some aquarists intentionally let some grow in their tanks. If you want to get rid of it, make sure your tank isn’t getting sunlight and keep your tank lights off completely for about 2 weeks. Also, do a 25% water change for each of these two weeks. Algae can’t survive without light or nutrients from the water. Eliminating the light takes care of one “food” source, and performing water changes will dilute the nitrates in your tank that provide the nutrients. (You can remove the algae from any tank decorations by scrubbing it off under tap water with a clean soft brush.)

Also, you’ll find several chemicals for sale that will “kill” algae. Don’t use them!! Many are harmful to your fish, invertebrates and live plants. The green algae is not harmful, so don’t introduce something into your tank that is.

Do NOT purchase algae eating fish or snails for this problem!! This is one of the biggest mistakes made in dealing with algae. "Algae eaters" will only eat the algae stuck to the sides of your tank and decorations and other items in your tank. They will not get rid of the suspended algae bloom (green water). Also, once the algae is gone, you will be left to care for a fish with special dietary needs. You'll need to feed these fish algae wafers or other appropriate food. Many algae eaters are extremely incompatible with other popular fish. Some get to be 18" in length or longer!! Treat the algae by eliminating the excess light and performing water changes and stay away from buying algae eating fish to fix the problem.

Hope this helps & Good Luck.

Answer 2

I've had this problem for several months now and some one finally gave me the right answer to my problem.
It's an algae. It will not harm the fish, they can survive in the yuckiest looking green water and will not be stressed.
What you need to do is start over. I know it sucks!
If you do not have another fish tank for the fish get a five gallon bucket or two depending on how many fish you have. Move the fish and the half green water half fresh into the bucket(s). The fish will be fine for a day or two as long as you do a 10% water change in the bucket every day.
Now the fun starts! Buy a few big jugs of vinegar. Clean everything. Soak the gravel, plastic plant, and ornament in half water half vinegar over night. Scrub your tank, tubing and filter and filter accessories with vinegar. Rinse everything very well.
Put everything back together and put fresh water into the tank. Let the tank run for two or three days before putting the fish back into the tank.
When putting the fish back in do not just dump them in with the green water. (Do this one fish at a time) Catch the fish with a net and drop them in a container or small bucket filled with fresh water, do not submerge the net into the fresh water. Push the fish out of the bucket and into your clean tank. When you are done wash your net with vinegar.
This is hard on the fish, I know, but I also had to do this it was my last resort and it was the only thing that worked.
Do not buy more plecos it will only make matters worse.
Good luck. It's allot of work.

Answer 3

The green is algae. There are several steps to take in order to get it cleaned up.

First, stop feeding the fish for a few days & turn off the tank lights. The fish will eat some of the existing algae and the lack of light will help to cut down the production of even more algae in the tank.

Next, purchase algae tablets & a new filter cartridge at your local pet store. The tablets dissolve kind of like alka seltzer, and by replacing the filter cartridge you will remove a key location where algae grows.

Another thing you should do is a 20% water change. You may have to do this once a week for a few weeks to help clean the tank. I like to scrub the sides of the tank with a tank sponge (don't use a regular sponge as they contain different detergents). Then I drain around 20% of the tanks water. By scrubbing the tank first, you are removing some of the algae from the tank so it won't grow back. In addition your fish will eat the free floating algae in the tank.

Another tip is to get algae eaters & cat fish for the tank. Algae eaters will suck the algae off of the tank, large rocks, & plants, where cat fish (all varieties) are bottom feeders and will eat the algae off of the small stones on the bottom of the tank.

Once you have cleaned up your tank, remember not to over feed the fish, Do a 20% water change once a month, and rinse the filter cartridge ever 2 weeks, and replace at least every 3 months, and don't keep the tank lights on for more than 8 hours a day (a tip that the aquarium store gave me).

Good luck in getting your tank back to normal.

Answer 4

Please don't buy more fish or any chemicals.Leave the lights off for at least 1 week,maybe 2.Then make sure absolutely no sun light gets into the tank.Black background paper works,aluminum foil is a cheaper alternative.Cover the back,sides,and even the front if it prevents sunlight getting in.

Now check your nitrate levels.They will probably be high.Keep them around 20ppm.You need to do water changes to keep the nitrate levels low.

You can also buy live plants(but not until your algae problem has been taken care of first),these feed off nitrates,and the live plants will not only help keep the nitrate levels lower,but buy consuming the nitrates will starve off the algae.


In the meantime,while keeping all light out of your tank,change 25%of you water every other day until the algae has all been starved off.Be patient,this whole process may take up to 2 weeks,but it will work.

Answer 5

OK first off it its algae then its not that big of problem. What has happened is that condition in the tank are right to make the algae bloom. When this happens millions of spores are released causing the tank to turn green.

As recommented above get some algae distroyer and treat the tank. This should clear the water. Afterward however you will need to address the reason for the algae bloom in the first place. More then likely you had a big increase of Phosphate or Nitrates in the tank. It would be a good idea to test for those. Do water changes as needed to keep those down. This will help to control algae grouth. Also watch how much light is getting to the tank. Make sure you are not getting any direct sun light. You might want to limit the lamp to only about 8 hours a day.

Hope this helps, Good luck

Answer 6

Green water is an algae bloom.

- Make sure you're not overfeeding.
- Make sure the tank's light isn't left on excessively.
- Do a partial water changes (10-20%) regularly.
- If it's really bad, you might try filter media designed to absorb the nitrates and phosphates that are encouraging this problem.


DON'T buy a pleco unless you have the space for it and are prepared to buy additional foods for it. A 2 inch pleco will grow over a foot long quickly. Besides that, "algae-eating fish" aren't guaranteed to keep tanks clean. It's not their job. More often than not, they will turn their noses up to the algae plaguing your tank in favor of other food sources in the tank.

Answer 7

Do 10-25% water changes every day until it goes away. Try to stay away from chemicals unless you really need to. Sucker fish will only get rid of the algae on the walls and other surfaces, not the whole tank water. If you really must use chemicals, make sure they're safe for fish and plants.

ZTM

Answer 8

was there anything you did to make it turn green or that may have had an effect on it? Once i put some medication for my fish in and it turned the water all green. all i had to do was wait for a while. i was really worried but in the end all the fish pulled through.

Answer 9

Buy a temporary container for your fish/ies and leave them in there, then clean the tank, fill it with fresh water and clean the filter out. If the water turns green again, you probably have a filter function problem, so go see a filter doctor lol, aka petsmart or wherever.

Answer 10

Make sure it is not sitting near a window. Sunlight encourages encourages algae growth. Also, don't leave the light on all the time...
Now, clean the tank wiping down all surfaces and follow up with algea treatment (found in most pet stores) following instructions on bottle. It may be necessary to treat several times depending on how bad it is.