A question of water

[JamesTasker]

Hello , a question and a problem about my water. First the problem. My water is rather green which i think but am not sure is algae . I put in a teabag thingy that is supposed to help but I don't know how long it takes to work. Any ideas? It is called Green-X and is a phosphate remover. I think there may have been an improvement after 1 day but it could be my imagination . I have also done a 10% water change just now. Anything else I should (or should not) be doing? It is a 30 gallon tank with 2 dwarf gouramis which seem fine.

The question which could be connected: Is artificially softened water poisonous to fish or can I use it. At the moment I am using filtered drinking water and boiling it in the kettle to achieve the correct temperature. Do you think there is a connection between this and the green water? Thanks for some much needed help.

 

[Sinuhe]

That sounds like an algae bloom, yes. I don't have very detailed information, but what I usually see adviced for this kind of a problem is to do frequent partial water changes and turn off the lights in your tank to prevent more algae from growing. Removing excess nutrients in the future should help to prevent it from happening again. Also, what kind of lighting have you got in your tank?

 

[JamesTasker]

I have had the lights off yesterday and on for just 4 hours today. The lights are made by 'Glo-Light'. One is purpley and the other is yellow. they are both the same length as the tank but I can't tell you more because I threw the boxes.

 

[Sinuhe]

The purpley one is probably meant for plants. It's good for the plants, but the problem is that it's also "good" for algae. I'm not 100% if the light could be a part of the problem with an algae problem like this or not, but generally that type of light makes algae grow more. I used to have a daylight and a "plant light" tube in my previous tank years ago, and also got an algae bloom like that at some point. As I was setting up my tank now, after a couple of years off, I saw a lot of people recommend against the plant lights and to only stick to daylight tubes.

 

[Dragonslair]

It does seem as though you you have an algal problem. The problem sounds as though it is alread quite wide spead. You have two options: Option 1. You can throw away your money and buy aids and treatments to cure the stuff or Option 2. You can take you fish out of the tank and place them elsewhere whilst you clean and strip down the tank, cleaning all the gravel and start again. This time taking care where you site the tank.ie away from windows or where it will get direct light from the sun all day or somewhere too dark where you will need the lamps on all day. Next you will need to cycle the new water, and when you eventually put your fish back into the tank ensure you feed your fish sparingly. If you feel that you can't do that what I suggest is that you purchase some Nitra-Zorb and Phos-zorb and place it in your filter system.
Most algae problems that I have encountered personally or via enquiries is due to over feeding and/or too much lighting. To combat algae you need to know what algae is and how it grows,basically you need to know its life cycle so you can interrupt it or stop it.

 

[JamesTasker]

Thanks, could anyone also tell me whether my artificially softened water would harm the fish? It's a pain having to boil it in the kettle to get it to the right temperature as all the hot taps in my house are artificially softened because our tapwater would be very hard otherwise.

 

[dunc_man_fishy]

I would not recommend boiling the water in a kettle, the element may leech metal elements into the water such as copper, this is why it is also not recommend to use the hot water taps as the water may have sat around in the tank for a while.

How exactly is the water softened? Do you have a home RO unit perhaps? Boil the water in a pan if you have to. My prefered way to get the water to temp if to leave overnight in a barrel in my airing cupboard next to heating boiler.

 

[Alien Anna]

A lot of home water softening equipment adds salt and other chemicals to water to soften it, which is why you are advised not to drink the water and have to have at least one tap in the house with normal mains water, for drinking.

Only use water in your tank that you would drink, unless the water softening unit is an RO unit of some kind.

 

[JamesTasker]

My water is softened by adding salt so I was right not to put it in my tank. I can't heat it in the airing cupboard - no room. So is boiling it in a pan the only option? It will take forever...

 

[Alien Anna]

Why are you trying to boil your water? What's wrong with just adding dechlorinator to your tap water? That's what I do with the liquid granite that comes out of my taps and my fish are fine.

 

[Sinuhe]

If the water straight from the tap is too cold for the tank, then let it sit in buckets to reach room temperature (which usually is fairly close to the tank temp), then add the water into the tank, and your heater should take care of the rest. If the temperature difference is great, then change less water at once.

 

[lgreenmk]

I have two ottos in the tank, but they are still little (I don't think they get very big anyway). I have small algae dots on the front acrylic and on Spongebob (my daughter's tank), and the ottos don't seem to touch it. When I try to scrub the front panel with an acrylic aquarium scrub, it doesn't come out. How do I get rid of it before it spreads?