Green water in itself isn’t necessarily an evil. It is a kind of plant life which oxygenates the water in the exact same way as other leaf plants. Its drawback is, needless to say, that it prevents you from seeing clearly what is actually happening in the aquarium.
The green coloring in the water will be the outcome of microscopic vegetable cells that require light and food to develop in the exact same way as all living matter. Should you eliminate the light, you eliminate the green water, but the issue isn’t as simple to solve as that. Fish and plants require light to reside. The answer is a compromise; you’ve to cut down the quantity of light, and apart from advising you to complete this, I can’t provide you with a tough and quick rule to cover all instances of green water as it is a situation which demands individual therapy. My personal tanks, for instance, occasionally prove the inconsistency of the improvement of green water. I’ve experimented with 3 tanks receiving precisely the exact same quantity of light, quantity of food, and using the exact same quantity of plants in every one. Suddenly one of them has taken on the faint green hue so familiar to tropical fish enthusiasts.
As a fast remedy, I’ve discovered that a big quantity of daphnia tipped into the tank clears it in a couple of hours. Whenever you do this, eliminate the fish initial as daphnia is an oxygen breather and, if a big quantity is utilized, it’ll nearly exhaust the supply of totally free oxygen in the water.
Aquariums with a lot of powerful wholesome plants, and not overcrowded with fish, maintain the cleanest. Slightly acid water tends to maintain water clean, but has the disadvantage that it discourages plant growth.
A mantle of duckweed, Salvinia, or Riccia will aid in cutting down the quantity of light. Even if the water is only a faint green it is advisable to take this action, but be cautious to maintain the feeding down to a minimum till this situation is cleared up.