green water

[shaynep]

hello every1 i need help with green water i have a 10 gallon nano i was tryin cycle but i ended up with green water i think it might have bine from leaving the lights on to long a few times but wanted other peoples thoughts. so i shut my lights off and havent turn them back on for 3 days (today) it has cleared up alot. i had a sim. problem before with a 30 everything was good for the first month till i switched to 3 t5 no lights i couldnt get rid of it for nothing my water prams were nitrates 20 amm 0 nitrite 0 i ended up tearing it down and used the 3 t5 on the 10. i used ro water for both tanks any help would be great

 

[stingythingy45]

How are you checking the salinity?
The only time I ever had a green water problem was running hypo-salinity.
Have you added any phyto products?

 

[shaynep]

in using instant ocean hydrometer and im not sure want u mean by the other still new to the hobby

 

[stingythingy45]

[welcome]

The only time I ever experienced a green water bloom was when my salinity was down to 1.008.That was while running a low salinity(hypo)for ich treatment.Generally,green water blooms are algae as opposed to bacterial(whitish/cloudy) colored water.
Lights out for extended periods will help with this,but may not get rid of it.
Even water changes opften will not help.You should have a fish store or fellow reefer check your salinity with a refractor.Ofter,those swing arm hydrometers are off.
The best treatment for a green water bloom is a UV sterilizer.If you can borrow one for a few weeks,all the better.I've cleared a green water bloom in about 4-5 days with one.

 

[stingythingy45]

BTW,you mention"trying"to cycle?
How are you doing this?
Do you have live rock(LR)in there?

 

[shaynep]

ya live rock live sand i just ment trying to becuz the problem with the green water poped up

 

[stingythingy45]

Is the water green colored?
Are you using any type of skimmer.

 

[HighlandReefer]

What is your phosphate level? The best way to control algae is to keep a very low phosphate level. Overfeeding will add too much organic material and phosphate. I agree with the hydrometer being very inaccurate in many cases. If your fish are healthy, you should be able to stop feeding for at least three days.

 

[shaynep]

no skimmers was planning on goin skimmerless i dont know the phos. levels and ya the water was green colored

 

[bertoni]

I wouldn't worry much about the greenwater. Since it's a small tank, daily 20% water changes should be fairly easy, and will help reduce the bloom over time. Cutting the lights might kill it more quickly, although the phytoplankton might decay rather rapidly. Since it's a cycling tank, that's probably not a big deal.

 

[HighlandReefer]

no skimmers was planning on goin skimmerless i dont know the phos. levels and ya the water was green colored

If you have no skimmer, then you will not be able to export the algae in your water column. Water changes alone may not do the trick.