Hello everyone!
I have a 30 gallon tank with live rock and 4 fish....3 damels and butterfly fish. I have tested the water and everything looks ok except the water is green. About a week ago I treated the tank for slime algae. That is all gone and now the water is green. Please Help and tell me what I need to do.
Thanks
MAtt

It could be amoniea spike. how old is the tank?:D

What are you level readings and how often do you do a water change?

Right now i would recommend doing a water change and then turning your lights off for about 24 hours. Sounds like it could be an ammonia spike but it could also be the treatment you put in the tank to treat the slime. What was the brand you used? and how much does the bottle say to use and how much did you use? :)

Sorry for all the questions but the more info we know the closer we can get to pin-pointing a solution.

The brand I used is Chemiclean red slime remover. I followed the direction. I just did a water test and every looks to me in the normal range.
Thanks
Matt

The tank is about 2 months old or so.

Is your skimmer working alright? When I was first cycling my tank the water was kind of yellowish green for a few days until I got my skimmer working, then it cleared up pretty fast.

Matt,

I echo Wes' advice of a water change and lights off. Did you do a water change after using the Red Slime Remover? Products like Red Slime Remover will remove the cyano but to solve the problem you have to address the underlying cause.

Can you tell us what your tank parameters numbers are? What is your water source? How much flow do you have in your tank? What is your lighting and how long are you running them? Is it possible that with the change of seasons your tank is being hit by sunlight?

Sometimes your water can turn yellow/green if you're overdue for a water change.

Hello everyone,
Thanks so much for your help. Went to the LFS and had my water tested and everything was normal except the phos. The lady gave me a phos remover to put in the filter. I did...so how long will it take to clear up? She also told me that I should do a 20% water change. I plan on doing this soon. Should I do more of a water change than that or what. Like I said thanks for all your help and I hope I can get the water back to clear asap.

Water changes are always a good idea. What kind of water are you using? There could be phosphate in the water if you are using tap water.

This might be a silly question...where else would i get water from?

RO/ DI water that is either produced by your own filter system, bought at the LFS or another store. It is purer than the tap water and you avoid contaminates like phosphates, nitrates and chloramine or whatever is uaed to make your water safe to drink.

OK...I have done a 4 gallon water change today. The water is still green. I was told at the LFS to do a 4 gallon water change every other day for two weeks. Will this help. I am considering taking the fish back to the LFS and starting over. I really do not want to do this, but it is an option. Please help. Thanks

How long have you had your tank?

I also would like to add a few questions. :)

What are the numbers of your levels?

What type of filter?

Have you tried turning your lights off for a few days?

What temperature is your tank?

Hey Matt, welcome to TR.

My post may come across as a rant but, it is meant to set you and other potential newbees on a course to success. It's a known industry fact that out of the thousands of people that get into the hobby every year, 90 % get out in six months to one year. Why? Because they fail. Why? Several reasons, they are not committed, they think they can do without some basic equipment, too expensive, you name it.

Before we can REALLY help you with your current problem, and any future problems that might occur, we need to know some basic information about your tank, water and inhabitants. You've given us a few things but we need more. One of the problems beginners run into is not knowing what equipment to spend their money on, the importance to put on each piece of equipment and in what order to buy them. You buy the tank, stand, hood, filter, heater, light, salt, etc, haul it home and set it up. Beginners inevitably forget about or ignore some basic requirements like education (books), water parameters (test kits) and other equipment necessary to "keep" a saltwater aquarium in balance. I've never met a beginner that understood the true cost of keeping a saltwater is not spending money on good and necessary equipment but on replacing dead animals that never had a chance to live a normal like cycle because of an inadequate set up. They, the animals, and the new hobbyist never stood a chance of success because the hobbyist was not committed to doing what is right. This is an easy hobby to have success with IF you follow the already established rules of success. One of those rules is to have a good set of test kits.

You can't rely on having your water tested at the LFS, although many people do it. But, it's usually those people that can't answer our questions when we need current basic water parameters. When we ask, "What are your water parameters?", we need to know what they are right now. Not last week or tomorrow from the LFS. If you don't know them, we're asking you to test them right now with your set of test kits because, that's the only way you can give us ACCURATE test results. When you remove water from your tank and transport it to the LFS it changes. Also, your LFS's test kits may be old, the employee may read or test it wrong giving you a false reading. It just isn't accurate enough to be considered reliable in my humble opinion and experience (60 years in the hobby). Every hobbyist needs to step up and take personal responsibility for every aspect of the hobby. It's the only way to get the results I know you are seeking.

Specifically, what are your readings for the following....

Ph =
Ammonia =
Nitrite =
Nitrate =
Salinity =
Temp =

There are other readings, such as,

Calcium
Alkilinity
Magnesium

These are important too, but, not to answer your current question.

We need these measurements to be current and accurate before we can truly answer your questions. Otherwise, our answer may be as inaccurate as your readings. It's all based on accurate information. The computer age ushered in a new phrase that applies here as well, "Garbage in, garbage out".

I really hope some of my rant makes sense to you.

Dick

No need to give up... some minor problems. Be patient, post accurate parameters, keep up with your water changes. It'll probably clear up pretty soon. It could simply be a phytoplankton bloom, but I don't know much about planktons, so that's not a really accurate diagnosis. If before you weren't doing a lot of water changes, then yes, it's probably going to take several small water changes to clear it up. Doing 4 gallons every other day will probably work. Seems like a less-stress method for the aquatic life. Most people do I believe around 25% water change, your doing about 13%, so you're being nice to your bacteria. If you're nice to your bacteria, they'll be nice to you. :)

Now, just take a deep breath, and chill out.

Well after many water changes my tank is finally clear and the fish are happy. I want to thank everyone for helping me through this. Now the live rock has red things growing on it. What is it. It looks like little plants. If any one can tell me what it is I would appreciate it.
Thanks

Do they look flexible or rigid?

I think they look flexable. But not for sure.

Does it look like this? Aquacultured Ogo, gracilaria (http://www.marinedepotlive.com/aquacultured-ogo-gracilaria.html) You can click on the pix for a larger image.

It might become that for now it just looks like red balls.

got a pic of them ??

Hmm, sponges?