Algae suddenly appeared after clean tank for years

jason oscarkeeper

as the subject line suggests i have a serious algae problem i have a large tank with a small ish oscar and two catfish, one day I got up and the whole tank was green. no algae is attatching itself to the glass is just in the water, i have tried all sorts to get rid of it but to no avail, am currently doing partial waterchanges daily just to check my fish are still in there (visibilty zero in tank) any ideas people?

by the way i have been viewing this forum for over a year now , only just got round to registering and joining in, you seem a great bunch of people and look forward to chatting with you all a little more

Jason u.k.

grnlemonade · Super Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 1027

is the tank in direct sunlight?

jason oscarkeeper · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 1:12 am Post subject: it isnt, in fact

it is in a darker area of the house, i have set imers on lamps to reduce the ammount of time the lamps are on. I really cant understand it was clear for years then all of a sudden green. i really want to avoid chemicals although i do know there are some available would like to maybe try some other things first and leave chems as a last resort

this was my first posting , many thanks for your reply

grnlemonade · Super Senior Member Joined: 24 Mar 2004 Posts: 1027

hmmmm, maybe a new food or you are overfeeding which is causing excess nutrients in the water for the algae to grow.

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

How big is the tank and what is the nitrAte readings? How often and how much are you feeding?

-Chelle

jason oscarkeeper · Posted: Tue Mar 15, 2005 9:59 am Post subject: feeding and nitrates tests

chelle, thanks for your response, I checked the nitrates nitrites ammonia level and ph last night all seems to be as it should be. with regard to feeding i put 2 or 3 cockles in each evening for the oscar and a few pellets for the cats. it is a 4' x 2' x 2' tank running two large external filters

I am just amazed that it has suddendly gone green for no apparrent reason.

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Are you vacuuming the substrate really good when you do water changes?

-Chelle

jason oscarkeeper · Posted: Thu Mar 17, 2005 10:37 pm Post subject: algae problem still not solved

i vacuum thoroghly must have the cleanest tank in the uk

t_chelle16 · Moderator Joined: 22 Mar 2004 Posts: 3437

Hmmm . . . I'm stumped. My best suggestion is to keep doing water changes.

-Chelle

jason oscarkeeper · Posted: Fri Mar 18, 2005 11:21 am Post subject: thanks for your suggestions

thanks anyway chelle, tank is clearing little by little each day will just percievere and ill keep you posted

Jason

kc5gvn · Moderator Joined: 15 Mar 2004 Posts: 1147

Hi jason oscarkeeper, I'm guessing that you are leaving the cockle shells in the tank after your fish have fed on them. There is most likely still some organic matter on the shells. I suspect that even though you are reading the NitrAte test correctly that the cockle shells are somehow buffering the water and giving you a false NitrAte reading. It is also possible to purchase what appears to be a new test kit, but has set up on the shelf at the store so long that the reagents have gone bad and give you a false reading. Best suggestion remove the shells. Continue to do partial water changes and it shouldn't take too long for the water to clear up. Also you can take a water sample to your local fish store and get them to test it to find out if your reagents have gone bad.

jason oscarkeeper · Posted: Sun Mar 20, 2005 11:06 pm Post subject: algae problem clearing slowly

kc many thanks for your advice, water semms to be clearing , i will take a sample in to be checked soon