Some advice on my new set up

drfong

Hi, I have a 90 gal tank. I just went thru a fishless cycle and all went well. The tank is heated to about 78-79 degrees. It is moderately planted. After the cycle I stocked it with community fish. 4 fancy guppies, 4 mollies, 4 platties, 6 serpra tetras and 1 pleco. I have a 48" compact light with 2 acitic blue bulbs and 2 white bulbs (i do not remember the wave length). The filtration is provided by 2 oceanic back filters. They each have 2 carbon filters and a bio-wheel.

At the end of the cycle there was a good bit, not tons but some brown alge on the tank and rocks. I cleaned the glass before doing the water change but did not disturb the gravel. I did not want to risk disturbing the brand new bacteria. The water was pretty clear before the water change and very clear after.

The water is now starting to turn cloudy. It has been getting worse over the last few days. The water also seems to be getting a green tint. The fish are doing great and I have tested the water every day and ammonia levels are 0, nitrites are 0 and nitrates are about 5ppm. The ph is close to 7.

The fish have eatten all the brown alge that remained in the tank from the cycle, and I have been feeding them 1 time a day and only enough that they eat it all within a few minutes.

Any thoughts?

PS. The lights are on a timer where the blue lights come on first at 8:00am then the white lights come on at 10:00am. The whites turn off at 6:00pm and the blues at 8:00pm. When the lights are off, I have LED moon lights that are on. What are your thoughts on the timing of the lights and if the LEDS should stay on all night, etc.
Thanks

Jay

I'll start off..

It's a relatively new tank and therefore a little unstable as far as water chemistry, bio colonies, etc.

The "Brown" algae are diatoms, very common in new tanks.
They will eventually fade and be replaced by green algae.

The blue Actinic light is really neutral as far as plants are concerned. IMO there should be a period of dark in the tank, so I would not leave the LEDs on all night.

You need to confirm for us if the cloudy water is green or white so that we can help you deal with it.

Just my few thoughts

Regards,
Jay

drfong

The cloudy water started white but has turned greenish.

On closer look, the water it self seems cloudy white. The green may just be some alge on the glass and surfaces that are giving a green reflection. If you stand back and look at the tank it seems like the water is greenish, but if you look close it does not seem to be the water that is green. I hope that makes it more clear, no pun intended.

Jay

Put some tank water in a white coffee cup and take a look.
That will answer the question.

Jay

drfong

Using the white cup test, it definately has some green tint to the water

Jay

Green...Well this is also a fairly common occurrence in a new tank. All of the bio critters are struggling to find their niche and some have become dominant.

Unless it becomes pea soup a little green water will not harm your fish. It is just annoying to look at.

Usually green water is single cell critters and perhaps some green algae as well.

You have plants, are you dosing Excel?

This stuff is difficult to clear up with water changes alone.

A diatom filter or a UV sterilizer will clean it out in a few days.

If dosing excel and big water changes do not help, you can always use a 72 hour blackout, that will kill it.

You will need to take a look at your water parameters, feeding routine, etc. to be sure you are not exasberating the situation by overfeeding etc.

Jay

drfong

I am not using excel, do not even know what it is. I'll look into it. Thanks

drfong

I have found a bottle of Excel and dosed as directed. I have also cut the lights off and will run them less each day until everything is under control. I have tried to find a diatom filter and no one sells one localy. Petsmart does sell a UV Sterilizer. The local pet shop was out of them. The UV sterilizer seems like a good idea in general but the diatom filter sounds like it could be somewhat a pain in the butt. Would you recomend both or is the UV sterilizer suficiant.

Jay

LOL yes a diatom filter can be a pain. They are great for big tanks, but they are not permanent equipment. They are fast and amazingly efficient.

The UV sterilizer will work for you also, just make sure it has sufficient wattage to work well in a 90 gallon. A UV is really not essential equipment, but for a new tank, it will help with water quality and definitely kill green water
organisms.

Remember...A Diatom Filter is a Filter; A UV sterilizer just kills micro organisms.

Jay

drfong

Thanks, I bought a 24 watt uv sterilizer. I will let it run and do some water changes to get rid of the dead organisms. Hopefully that will take care of the problem and keep it under control. I may keep my eyes out for a diatom filter.