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Green Water



Mike Lehman wrote: >>>I have a 55 gal setup that is 3 weeks old.  I have
a 175 watt MH light on 12 hours per day.  I have CO2 injection with PMDD
added.  My plants have been in for about 1.5 weeks and are growing very
well.  My problem is green water.>>>

I've just come out of a green water problem quite successfully by
following Karen Randall's advice.  Two steps:  1.  Eliminate excess
nutrients in the water column (through water changes).  2.  Darken the
tank for 4 or 5 days (I used a dark blanket and duct tape and kept the
lights off the entire time feeding the rainbows once a day in the dark
-- poor things!).  I opened the tank up on the evening of the 4th day
(no biblical pun intended <g>) and had pristine crystal clear water
which has remained clear ever since (about 2 weeks now).

A couple of other thoughts:  You have a brand new setup.  See the
archives on running-in a new tank.  We've just had a good discussion
which you should consider.  The (almost) universal advice is to use
nutrient supplements sparingly, if at all, during the early run-in
period.  You're asking for trouble if you add the full regimen of
supplements when the plants aren't sufficiently established to use those
nutrients.

One other observation:  My green water problem persisted for over a
month after I was 'certain' that there were few excess nutrients in the
water column.  FWIW, I also have bright lights as you do.  Practicing
'patience' after correcting the initial water condition did not
eliminate the green water in my case!  A 50% water change would be
almost clear.  Then a couple of days later a light green haze would
settle in (just a soft light pastel green, not green pea soup, as
before).  My guess is that the green water can hang around in fairly
good water conditions which in the first instance would not support an
outbreak of green water.  This is where the blanket comes in.  The
higher plants can handle a few days of darkness without any apparent
signs of distress (at least my plants seemed to do quite well).  The
green water, on the other hand, could not handle the darkness.  It was
wiped out. (Unlike young Luke Skywalker, my green water DID see the
power of the Dark Side! <g>)

Good luck and let us know what you do and how it turns out.  Green water
is an interesting adversary. Steve Dixon