green water?

well i couldn't think of a beter place to put this so if there is go ahead and move it

My water has turned green so much that i couldn't even see across the tank this morning.

I have two ideas
1. The clumps of cheato i just added to my fuge are leeching color? lol i dont even know if it is possible but it is an idea
2. Some sort of micro algae is growing in the water.

I know it is not just cloudy because it is green and i know its not like high nitrates and sutch turning the water green because i just added my fuge nitrates are 0 (yipee!) (it is on a reverse cycle) my water has never been this green before
its wierd it started looking a little cloudy 2 days ago then each day it got greener and less visibility through the tank
I did a wc to see if it would help
it did help so i might just have to keep doing wc
the tank pic is after the wc so it is less green.
any other ideas on how to get rid of it or what is causing it?
thanks

 

Possibly an algae bloom. The chaeto's not leeching color, but maybe it had enough "starter culture" on it (cells of different algae living on the chaeto) to pollute your tank. If that's the case, your water conditions were favorable for an algal bloom to begin with.

Not to make light of your situation, but is it just me, or does anybody else see Jimi Hendrix's face in that middle pic?

 

lol now that you mention it

 

When I first set up my 34 Gal RSM and before I added a sump, I used an Aquaclear powerhead with the water polishing attachment and it did wonders for catching all the waterborne algae spores.

 

Sparky hit it on the head. Depending on what you have on there, cut the lights down/off. Also you can try using some fine filter media to get the water born algae. I have an old Magnum 350 with extra paper filters for this type of thing. Just be sure not to let it set to long.

 

I have never had water look like this and I don't know if this would help but you might want to try and put an ALGONE filter pad in a high flow area. You can pick these up at and LFS i believe they are about 13.00 for 6 little pads. Not really gonna fix your problem but may help clear up your h20. They are supposed to help remove no3 as well but i don't think they help with that. Maybe help clear up the green water though!

 

I was thinking it looked like Mufasa calling for Simba hehe.

All kidding aside, it looked like your typical green water algae bloom. What type of water are you using? Conditioned tap water is the usual cause of this type of condition.

 

Direct sun light can cause this as well. I would let things take it course. If there is an algae bloom using a filter sock will only prolong the problem. Find the source before treating the sympton.

 

Just add some rotifers and as they feed on the greenwater, they in turn feed the corals and micro life in the tank.
The voracious feeders will wipe out the culture in hardly any time at all, and create the zooplankton the system will love.

 

Wow, you're good!! That's right on. Jimi Hendrix was a bit of a leap, but Mufasa it is!!