Green Water! MaleRubyBarb please help!

[Cillana]

I added my CO2 injector. It's bubbling about 6 to 8 times a minute. My plants are really happy and growing rapidly. My micro swords are starting to fill in to make a lawn. I also got 5 otos and they are doing a good job cleaning of the glass, driftwood, and plants. But, alas, my water is still green!!! I did two big water changes and can see about to the middle of the tank rather than barely and inch in now. Is it ever going to go away? What is my problem? Is is true that activated carbon releases PO4? Could that be my problem? If so, I don't think I can take it out. My power filter takes these little premade filter pads that contain carbon and are hard to take apart.

[Matt Nace]

Green water is from strong light, with nutrients, that the free floating algae love. The carbon(Co2) does help the plants take up more nutrients, but they can not take them all in. So we have to limit how much we give them.

Ways to prevent?

First, make sure your nitrAtes are low. 10 ppms is good. 20 is ok, 30 is getting too high.

Make sure your doses are daily, not weekly.Plants can use the small daily doses better before the algae, then a big every week dose.

Make sure your lights are on 10 to 12 hours, no more.

Make sure no sunlight hits the tank.

Make sure you dont over fertilize your tank.

Lets get rid of it. It will go away on its own with some help.

Don't add anymore fertilizer to the tank.

Lets reduce the "food" for the bloom by doing a 50% water change.(lowers nitrate and plant ferts)

Do another the following day.
You did this already( what are your nitrates? 30 ppm or lower? If not more water changes)

Leave the light off for 24 hours. Your plants will hold out for 24 hours. This reduces the algae's light source, for it to die off. It may be cloudy after it clears.

If it doesn't clear over night, I would leave the light on for 7 hours max.

Feed lightly .

It is common to have this.

You can also get more plants..to use more nutrients.

Co2 as in DIY or a bought one? I get 1 to 2 bubbles a second. You need to increase it. They may look nice, but algae will catch up with them....as I found out.

You want a .2 to .5 ppm range of Phosphate in your tank. I don't know if carbon/charcoal adsorbs Ph4. I dont think it does. So it wont release then.

That is not your problem..it is nutrients in the water.

HTH

[SegaDojo]

there's no point in using carbon in a plant tank...

Carbon absorbs the trace elements that you use to feed your plants.. Which means that you'll need to add more fertilizer to get the same growth.. PLUS the carbon will quickly overload itself b/c you're constantly adding more and more trace elements.  Making it useless...

[Cillana]

I made the CO2 injector myself. I have an air stone at the end of the tube so it does streams of little bubbles that last for a couple seconds. A couple days ago it was doing it every 7 seconds. Now it's doing it every 12 seconds. I only put 2 cups of sugar (one gallon glass jug). If I add more sugar will it bubble faster? How long before there is to much alcohol and it kills the yeast off?

I haven't added any more fertilizer since it turned green.

I did a 45% water change Saturday and a 30% on Tuesday.

I had my timer on 11 hours. I changed it to 9 hours.

I do plan to get some more plants. I just need some money first. :P

My nitrates are at 10 ppm. I only have 4 tests left!! 20 tests cost me $12!!! That's more than one week's allowance for me. Lucky for me, I had some baby cherry barbs to trade for it.

I'll leave my lights off tomorrow and see what happens.

SegaDojo...
I didn't know this when I bought my filter. I can't take the carbon out and I can't afford to replace the filter.