green water

I never said that a UV has a brain, just that you wont kill 100% of the good bacteria or 100% of the bad. IMO the positives out weigh the negitives when using a UV.

 

I ran my UV for a month and recently turned it off after my weird bacterial blooms died off, it looked like a weird white turf algae.
I agree with the post regarding the windows. I had a SERIOUS algae problem when stray light entered the tank from the window 2 feet away. After I put background on the side and back of my tank, the algae died off. I would suggest doing that too. As stated, don't rey on chemicals until you are at a "last ditch effort" position. Chemicals will only mask the problem by "band-aiding" the symtoms for a short time.
You got the tank used, did you thoroughly clean the tank and the equipment when you brought it home? Bleach or vinegar solution are great ways to do so. I bleached my tank when I had to start over, you never know what problems you are inheriting when starting up a previously crashed system. If the skimmer is inadequate, you should think about upgrading it. Don't be fooled by looks though, some fancy looking ones are the biggest pieces of junk on the market. Do you have a sump filtration system? What are all the details of the tank? That will help us help you find the best solution to your problem.

 

there are probably huge phosphates in tank. Try cleaning it throughly and scrubbing the rock. I would try not to start over fresh though it might take alot longer to come out in the long run.

 

cycled in less then a month?

also I noticed in your picks you bleached the live rock how long did you wait after bleaching them before putting the rock back in?

 

Yes? How long does it normally take? I just asked my dad he said its been four weeks since we put all the live sand in. (100 lbs)

What I did was I scrubbed the rocks off with a brush to get most of the algae off, then I put them in a garbage can with water and bleach. I left them in there for a few hours, then I took them all out and hosed them off individually until you could not smell the bleach on them. Then I stuck them in another garbage can of water (different can no bleach in this one). I then added Kordon AmQuel+, it removes chlorine and chloramines, and I left it in that water for 24 hours, then I dosed again wth Kordon AmQuel+ and let it sit for another 24 hours. Then they sat out of the water for 3-4 days.

 

in MHO it can take from 6 weeks to over 2 months depending on the system maybe even longer(although there will be different opinions on this).

What kind of filtration are you running? canister? HOB(hang on back) filter?
what kind of media is in the filter?

sorry for all the questions, but it helps in trying to figure out why your water is green.

 

first tank I set up it took 2 months. Or atleast that is what I waited. didn't know you could use stright bleach on the rocks. Don't some of that get deep within the rock and could poison your tank for a long time. Or am I just freaking out all alone.

 

Just because I did it doesn't mean that it can or should be done lol. A lady that works with my dad used to work in the aquarium section of a fish store and suggested using bleach on the rocks. The bleach would have been very diluted, I don't know if that makes a difference or not.

Probably the biggest mistake was having the LFS do the testing while it was (is?) cycling. I probably would be in a lot better position if I knew exactly what was happening.

First time I had it tested they said the ammonia was high, so I let the tank go for another week, and then I had it tested again and they said the nitrite was a little high, but they said I could put in some hermit crabs and snails and see how they do. I've had the water tested about four or five times since putting the crabs and snails in and each time they have said everything looks good.

Well at first I just had the biological (live sand/rock/algae) and a protein skimmer (which I still need to get a pic of), After the water turned green I started putting filter floss in the first chamber of my sump which the LFS recommended.

The windows were open for a little while so thats probably where it came from.

Don't be sorry for asking all the questions, I don't mind helping you help me anyway I can. ;D Thanks for your help.

 

well my first suggestion would be to run carbon, you'd be surprised how fast carbon will clear up your water, it won't fix the algae problem but it will clear the water. once the water is cleared up then worry about tackling the algae problem.I have a canister filter just for running media, I took out the filter pads and the bio media and just run carbon and phosphate remover media in it.plus if there are any toxins in the water carbon will help remove it.