Green Water

[ScoutCarcer]

My grandma has a 29 gallon with a Ryukin and a comet goldfish. They are both about 8 inches long with tails. Anyway the water always turns green. My grandma has cleaned it a few times but it always turns green again. We have tryed using water clearing stuff and the algae destroyer stuff but it didn't work. I need help.

 

[jasonskillz]

its time for you to get a UV. i have one and its awesome. the chances for my fishes to get sick is next to zero.

 

[ScoutCarcer]

Whats a UV?

 

[rdd1952]

UV Sterilizers are indeed great. They will get rid of green water in only a day or so. Here is a thread I did 2 years ago showing how it worked on my 29 gallon tank.

Edit: UV is ultraviolet. Basically, the green water is caused by tiny floating algae called diatoms. The UV sterilizer works off a power head. The water passes through the sterilizer and the organisms are killed by the ultraviolet light.

 

[ScoutCarcer]

Is there anything else that will work. My grandma doesn't want to spend that much on a solution.

 

[demonmagus]

well for now do a blackout by turning off all the lights and covering the tank for around 3 days - then buy some hardy plants which will hopefully survive and fight (win) the algae for nutrients

 

[rdd1952]

The green water will eventually clear on it's own but the black out will work oo. It just may come back though. Is the tank ever exposed to direct sunlight? That is a prime cause of green water.

 

[Meds081603]

The green water will eventually clear on it's own but the black out will work oo. It just may come back though. Is the tank ever exposed to direct sunlight? That is a prime cause of green water.

RD is on the right track here. You need to address the issue of what causes the green more than how to get rid of it. Getting rid of it is easy, keeping it from coming back is the trick. I would look at sunlight as the first culprit.