Green water again!

[ram man]

this time it is in the ten gallon , first i got a little cyano, this died within 2 days, then i started to get green water, did 2 50 percent water changes in 2 days. this stuff wont die, i understand it is common to have algae bloom in a new tank, but when should it die? should i starve it of light? and when i turn the lights on in the mornig, ammonia is at about .25-.10 when i test in the after noon there is nothing! why is this?

 

[FishGeek]

I would do a black out for a few days. Turn the lights on after that and you will be shocked. (If it hasnt fully cleared turn them back off) Good Luck!!!

 

[ram man]

thanks for the black out advise! does anyone know what the ammonia reading problem means? i went to go test it and it is at .25 after the 50% water change i did this morning. could the ammonia be up because some of the rock was exposed to air during the water change?

 

[Lorna]

the only thing that will spike ammonia is decay. Your rock couldn't have been exposed long enough to create that type of spike during a water change. Has something else died in your tank, possibly in your sand or rock? How long has this tank been set up?

 

[ram man]

2 weeks now, it was fully cycled last wednesday.

edit: wednesday not thursday

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Two weeks isn't a very long time, I wouldn't consider your tank fully cycled!

Are you adding in anything into the tank ie. food, suppliments etc..?

 

[ram man]

nope just 5 hermits as a clean up crew. the tank had now ammonia in it, no nitrate or nitrite in it until 2 days ago. all traces went away last wednesday ive sucked a bunch of mulm of the sand in todays water change. do i need to wait a while to test after i turn the lights on?

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Cycling usually takes about a few weeks to a month for the main part of a cycle to take place...so I would not add anything else to the tank for the next little while.

I don't believe it should matter what time of day you test ammonia...I know Ph usually drops when the lights go out but never heard of that with ammoinia.

 

[ram man]

ill test tommorow morning right when i turn the lights on. could the encrusting part of some star polyps cause the problem? ive had it in there since last friday. it had some polyps on it that have never opened even in my mantis tank.

 

[SALTY WATERS]

if they are dying off, then posibbly this may be part of the problem, but I still think your tank hasn't finished it's cycle.

You could also run some carbon in the tank for a few days to clear up your water a bit.

 

[ram man]

how do i know when it is finished cycling for sure?

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Once your perameters are stable for a few weeks then I would say you are okay to go.

Have you read this artical before, Check out myth 15

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-01/eb/index.htm

 

[ram man]

thanks for the help. guess ill just have to wait a few weeks then test. during this time i will save up some money to buy the inhabitants

 

[shwnicus]

green water in a SW? never seen that. saw it in FW occassionally, and used a micron filter to clean it up. the micron filter in the magnum H.O.T. makes a great water clear-er, $35 and easy use. like it as a quick excess food vac too. a free-form algae bloom (green water) is pretty interesting though, there would have be a ton of nitrogen in the water to support it. is it possible that you had something in your LR die, like a sponge or something, did the water stink?

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Oh he definitely has stuff dieing in there...that is why I suggested he wait a few more weeks; his tank is still cycling!

ram man,
Good to see your going to take the right actions

 

[ram man]

i would rather do it right then hurt an animal just because i have a short attention span and couldnt wait. should i just ley it run it cycle then and not do any more water changes?

 

[SALTY WATERS]

I would just leave it sit for the next week as you just did 2 x 50% changes. Next week do a 25% water change and so on...

Oh and if I remember correctly from your thread in the Nano section you added some zoanthids...take them out a.s.a.p.

and like I said you can run some carbon in there for a few days as well.

 

[shwnicus]

Oh he definitely has stuff dieing in there...that is why I suggested he wait a few more weeks; his tank is still cycling!

very true, but was thinking if it was something a little more caustic than just a coralline algae die-off. something that ejected (like when an anemone dies) toxins that may have triggered a bigger die-off in the LR would explain the spike in ammonia and a bloom of the magnitude necessary to cause the green water. good luck with all that, i hope the ramifications are mild for you!

 

[ram man]

took the zoanthids out right when i detected the amonia. should i take the hermits out?

 

[SALTY WATERS]

Oh ya forgot about the hermits... Ya I would take them out as well until all peram's are stable.