Newby needs help please - Green Water!!!
#1
Hi I'm new to tropical fish keeping (3yo daughters request) and have a problem I can't get my head around.
I have had a healthy pond with Koi, Tench, Orfe and Rudd for 10 years so I understand coldwater husbandry but I can't crack this tropical stuff.
I have a 120l (80x40x40) tank which is stocked with 10x Zebra Barbs, 5x Black Tailed Platys, 2x Bristlenosed Plecs and 4x Cherry Shrimps. All of the fish are currently 3-4cm in length and the shrimps are about 1cm. The Tank consists of course substrate (3-5mm) a block of ornate sandstone (that came from the outside of my chimney when it fell off my house a few years ago and was thoroughly clean before it went into the tank) and two plants once of which is ornamental the other is I believe bristle (something?) both of which were purchased from the same supplier as the fish (put in tank 4 weeks before the fish).
The tank is unheated at the moment as the ambient temperature in the room is keeping the water at 23deg C (I plan to buy a heater in couple of months) and the tank is sited in my conservatory which is actually a lean-to type with polly carbonate roof so not too light and hold a constant temperature. I have also over specified the filter as I have done so in my pond.
Initially (first 8 weeks) the tank was placed in a position where it was in direct sunlight for 3-4hrs a day which caused fluctuation in water temperature but it maintained crystal clear water but suffered from stringy algae rising from the plants and stone when there was prolonged sunny weather. Because of this I relocated the plant to a position in the same room where is wasn't subjected to direct sunlight. Around the same time I noticed that my daughter had placed a tissue in the tank (I think she thought she was helping lol!) Anyway ever since the tank has been suffering from green water!!!
I'm now carrying out total water changes every week along with scrubbing the glass to remove algae. The water I'm using is sprayed into a paddling pool using a fine mist sprayer (I have used this process for my pond for 10 years without casualties) along with the correct dose of Tetra Aquasafe. But within 2-3 days the water is going cloudy.
The fish and shrimps seem fine as they have been in the tank for about 2 months and there have been no fatalities and all seem healthy and feed well so i'm not worried about the water quality (or should I?). I feed the fish once a day and I may be a little stingy on the amount I feed them as I'm worried about nitrate levels due to uneaten food but they seem ok and the Barbs are getting bellies lol! 1hr after feeding there is no visible food left in the tank.
So... after all that info... what am I doing wrong? HELP!!!
Aside from the work involved changing the water the tank just doesn't look nice with green water. Coincidentally the fish seem very shy, hiding behind the stone and in the plants and only show themselves when you sit very still or feed them.
Thanks for persevering and reading this post fully but I wanted to give you as much info as I want to sort this out.
Darren