Green Water

[KarateQuat]

So as many of have known green water is a thing for many people.
What is the best way to get rid of it?
How does it start?
Does lowering light levels truly help?
I don't quite understand it really as I just got it in my tank that was perfectly fine.

 

[Art]

Hi @KarateQuat (great name, btw). Green water happens due to an instability in your tank. Something must have caused favorable conditions and it jumped on them. It explodes pretty quickly but it's simple to deal with. It's an algae bloom.

What you need to identify first is the reason it was created in the first place. Go over what you're doing to see if anything caused an ammonia or nutrient spike.

If you're into data, we highly encourage members to keep a log of their tank and maintenance routine using Gregg's aquarium template. I realize it takes effort to complete it initially and discipline to keep it up-to-date, but it's invaluable when diagnosing problems.

My go to method to deal with green water is a hang-on UV sterilizer. It will eliminate it in a couple of days. Simple.

Others use a 2-3 day blackout coupled with a little H2O2 dosing of the water column. The One-Two Punch method explains how but go on the lite side of the amounts.

Let us know how it goes.

 

[GreggZ]

My go to method to deal with green water is a hang-on UV sterilizer. It will eliminate it in a couple of days. Simple.

+1.

You can try all kinds that may or may not work. But like Art said a UV light clears it right up.

 

[KarateQuat]

As much as a UV sounds good to me I have a 75g and i dont have much money to buy one big enough for my tank

 

[BigWave]

Some wont like this answer but it cleared up my terrable green water within 2 days in my 93 gallon cube. I have two smaller UV's but not powerful enough to take care of that amount of water. I did 3x 75% water changes that week. Saturday I dosed the tank with Acurel F water conditioner (which i swear is the best thing ever) and yes, API Algae Fix. It started clearing almost instantly. Now many have cautioned that overdosing AlgaeFix can and will kill livestock and even some plants. So be warned.

 

[KarateQuat]

Some wont like this answer but it cleared up my terrable green water within 2 days in my 93 gallon cube. I have two smaller UV's but not powerful enough to take care of that amount of water. I did 3x 75% water changes that week. Saturday I dosed the tank with Acurel F water conditioner (which i swear is the best thing ever) and yes, API Algae Fix. It started clearing almost instantly. Now many have cautioned that overdosing AlgaeFix can and will kill livestock and even some plants. So be warned.

ugh scary haha i cant risk that