Please Help

[ray john]

Hi I hope someone can answer some questions please. Ive got a 5ft by 2ft tank .24 small fishes ,mollies , platies,corys, rams, tetras. but the water keeps going green. I just did a test & the results are
p.h 8.5, ammonia 0.0 ,nitrite 0.0 , nitrate 25-50 . fish are happy just look ugly. I covered the tank for 2 days to stop any light getting into it about a month ago. It looked nice until last week but the water has started to go green again. what could be cause it? & how can i stop it ? Not sure the female ram liked having no light as when we covered it last time she looked very pale buy got her colour back quick.
It is a Rena tank thats got 4 5Ft tubes that are on for 9.5 hrs a day. Is it too much light for the tank?
Its a Rena filter & its got Phos-Zorb in it that is supposed to stop green water. What can we do ?

 

[WILDER]

http/www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/algae/green.shtml

 

[smmetz]

PH and nitrates seem high to me, but I am still very new to the hobby.

maybe a few water changes would help get those values down and reduce the green tint of the water until, as that linked article says, when the rotifers and copepods have returned in strength, the euglenoid population collapses under grazing pressures, and the "green water" mysteriously "goes away."

 

[WILDER]

Anything above 050 nitrates want's fetching down with a water change.

 

[diademhill]

Hi I hope someone can answer some questions please. Ive got a 5ft by 2ft tank .24 small fishes ,mollies , platies,corys, rams, tetras. but the water keeps going green. I just did a test & the results are
p.h 8.5, ammonia 0.0 ,nitrite 0.0 , nitrate 25-50 . fish are happy just look ugly. I covered the tank for 2 days to stop any light getting into it about a month ago. It looked nice until last week but the water has started to go green again. what could be cause it? & how can i stop it ? Not sure the female ram liked having no light as when we covered it last time she looked very pale buy got her colour back quick.
It is a Rena tank thats got 4 5Ft tubes that are on for 9.5 hrs a day. Is it too much light for the tank?
Its a Rena filter & its got Phos-Zorb in it that is supposed to stop green water. What can we do ?

0You don't mention plants. If the tank isn't planted the lights only need to be on for viewing the fish -perhaps in the evening?
Or can you switch half the lights off?
Green water = too much light & too much nutrient.

 

[ray john]

yes we have plants that grow like mad

 

[diademhill]

yes we have plants that grow like mad

Cut the lighting down -either by less time or fewer tubes & try dropping by two hours a day
How heavily planted is the tank? It sound like more plants could be needed too.

 

[ray john]

not many about 10 plants but 2 of them are tank over the tank not sure what it call look like very till grass. may be i will do a 40%water change and turn 2 tubes off for a week ?

 

[diademhill]

not many about 10 plants but 2 of them are tank over the tank not sure what it call look like very till grass. may be i will do a 40%water change and turn 2 tubes off for a week ?

Ten plants isn't many - I put in about 150 last time I planted a five foot tank. Your tall stuff sounds like vallis - if it covered at least a quarter of the substrate you probably wouldn't get green water.
Turn off two tubes but just do 20% water change. Reducing time as well - down to eight hours should help.