Re: Green Water -- was -- Re:daphnia

["Scott Davis" <unclescott at prodigy_net>]

As usual there are different ways to skin a cat, generate greenwater ...

Another greenwater start, as Wright suggests is a good idea, probably the
best way to begin. However if a selection of water from a well established
tank is given a lot of light, maybe the droppings of a population of fishes,
it will have a good chance of blooming green. You might even go to the
length of setting up a tank for plants and then neglecting to add the
plants. I have used everything from gallon jars to 20 and 29 gallon tanks
(with extra odd males killies or some other species - what else are rainbows
good for? ;)  ) to get the nutrient cycle going. Robert Nhan mentioned
goldfish in the greenwater. They're famous for the amount of material they
excrete. (Fertilizer happens.) Some water movement from a length of hard
airline tubing (or in the case of the 20, movement from a small outside
power filter (without any filter media) is also useful.

You may find that the lights for that tank (if florescent) may need to be
necessary. Also, assuming you aren't going to cook the residents of a tank,
you might set up that greenwater tank (or tanks, greenwater crashes too -
sometimes when it is least convenient) which can catch a couple of hours of
sunlight.

I'm about ready to set up greenwater tanks in different parts of the fish
room by season - as the angle of the sun slides through the windows from the
winter to summer focus and back. What was Kelly green last summer faded in
the winter and is looking like the Chicago River on St. Patrick's day again
this week in June.

Greenwater tanks could also be conditioning tanks for females in need of
some R&R. Battered males could sometimes use a respite.

Way back in the 60s there was an AKA Journal article suggesting that
greenwater was useful for growing out youngsters. I sort of recall the
author ascribing a certain antiseptic quality to the greenwater.

Any of the above uses means you aren't wasting tanks on greenwater
production. They are just doing double duty. Also, if a person is removing
20-50% of the greenwater from a productive tank every day or two, the killie
residents will be that much better off in terms of water quality.

The author of that greenwater article did offer the caution that killies
raised in such a tank would be skittish in clear water and should be
especially given hiding places, top cover and a tight cover when switched
over to new conditions.

All the best!

Scott

>John at  listhub at andante_mn.org wrote....
>
> > Just a quick question.
> >
> > How do you "start over"??
> >
> > I have done good with Green Water when I get a starter from a friend.
In the
> > past couple months I have been having some problems.
> >
> > Is there a way to start green water from the elements(lettuce, etc.).
If three
> > is I don't know it.

Wright wrote
> IMHO, your first way was best. A good starter is better than taking your
> chances with wild starts, I think.
>
> Barring that, any old established aquarium probably has some invisible
> *Euglena* species drifting in it.
>
> Put some change water in a clear jug, on a sunlit window ledge. Add a
> pinch of "Miracle Grow" and see what develops.



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