Need Help - What Is Green Water Options

[goldfish82]

halo to all lao jiao members here. i am a sin jiao in keeping goldfish. i saw some posting stating green water. can anyone tell me what is green water??
thanks.

[white horse T1]

halo to all lao jiao members here. i am a sin jiao in keeping goldfish. i saw some posting stating green water. can anyone tell me what is green water??
thanks.

sin jiao

if u so sin jiao, should stick ad learn from normal water first lah and slowly upgrade to green water

since i also sin jiao. quick quick see this 1st b4 liao jio come and suan u

Green water

[Seacucumber]

harlo!
i am also a sin jiao......
welcome to RG!

[cktan]

Hi,

My first post and like to seek some advice from u ppl. I hv started using green water 3 weeks ago. The green water will usually become deep green within 3-4 days time. I read from previous post that green water will absorb ammonia and there is no other by-products e.g: nitrite and nitrate. However, i do notice there is some slight presence of ammonia (abt 0.1ppm) and quite high nitrite value (abt 0.5ppm) on the 3rd day. The green water sh hv matured by now. Im using a 150W MH onto a 40L Toyogo tub with three 1.5 inch (body length) goldfish inside.

Did anyone here actually measure nitrite value in yr green water? I know most ppl here make the assumption there is little or no BB and hence zero or low nitrite.

[CyberET]

woah, 150W onto a 40L tub? thats overkill (which partly explains y it turns deep green in 3-4 days)
whats your MH temperature? 6500K?
whats your highest recorded water temperature?
i would suggest u upgrade to a half filled 3ft guppy tub and raise the water level as the fish grows

[HappyBuddha]

... However, i do notice there is some slight presence of ammonia (abt 0.1ppm) and quite high nitrite value (abt 0.5ppm) on the 3rd day...

Did anyone here actually measure nitrite value in yr green water? I know most ppl here make the assumption there is little or no BB and hence zero or low nitrite.

Welcome to RG.

Did you use the right testkit to test for ammonia and nitrite? Most test kits on sale are not suitable since the water is tinted green affecting the result. You'll need to use the JBL kit which works for coloured water (green, black, medicated etc.) Also, make sure it hasn't expired.

[cktan]

yes, 150W onto 40 L of water looks too much. But the light is shine more to the right side of the tub and not at the center. I have also started using a cover to mask off some light. The 150W MH bulb (Osram delux white) is a <4000K lum. I hv a 10,000K lum but felt its really too bright and the goldfish didnt really like it.

I do have a 3ft tub set aside in my store room and will intend to use it when the goldfish grow bigger.

As for test kits, im using Aquarium Pharmaceticals brand. Not as accurate as tetra but i think still quite alright. I dont doubt the test kit results as the "color" of the nitrite gets darker each day and the test kits are new.

Happy Budda, did u ever test yr green water for nitrite say 3-4 days later after a water change? I believe small amt of BB still exist in green water in a suspended state and that explains the presence of nitrite?

[HappyBuddha]

As for test kits, im using Aquarium Pharmaceticals brand. Not as accurate as tetra but i think still quite alright. I dont doubt the test kit results as the "color" of the nitrite gets darker each day and the test kits are new.

I can't offer any explanation on your finding. I think other bros may understand it better and tell you... but as far as I know, nitrite is produced by nitrosomanas bacteria, their presence of which takes weeks to cultivate. Assuming you started off cultivating your green water from scratch, ie, you didn't use some old water from your bio-filtered tank, then there shouldn't be any nitrosomanas bacteria. Without them... where did your nitrites come from? 0.5ppm is not a small amount (that can normally be in our tap water.) I still think you can't use single colour kit to test tinted water.

Happy Budda, did u ever test yr green water for nitrite say 3-4 days later after a water change? I believe small amt of BB still exist in green water in a suspended state and that explains the presence of nitrite?

I have not done that on my green water but did recorded the results of my bio-green water, which don't apply here..

[cktan]

Hi HB,

The water is 100% new when i started out cultivating green water. My tap water has 0.01ppm ammonia and 0ppm nitrite. This is the 2nd time im trying green water. Both register the same results. It took abt 10 days for the water to become green. And that is also the time when nitrite is very high. Unfortunately, i read from previous post that members here did not measure nitrite, only measure ammonia. Its true that at 10 days, when water became green, ammonia is starting to become close to 0. But surprisingly, nitrite peaks under the assumption that BB did not manage to cultivate. Looks like the assumpton that BB didnt exist in green water cannot hold.

Maybe i sh do the test again a month ot two later, hoping the water changes and green water will eventually cause the BB to die off.

[CyberET]

so dark green in 3-4 days is seeded? and 10days is without seeding? hmm.. HB's bio-green results also quite similar le..

the sun seems very bright to me..

[cktan]

Yes, 3-4 days to become dark green. I seed back 10% of green water. Why did HB use bio with green? Is it because green water cannot effectly remove ammonia to zero?

[square_guy]

too little water lah....

therefore
1. green water can't remove ammonia at the rate it is produced at.
2. bb present due to too much ammonia, or maybe light color temp not optimal for green water. hence nitrite.

[cktan]

So i guess i am correct. green water is not as efficient as BB on a sponge filter. I hv tried both using same GFs and same amt of water. Using green water sometimes register very small amt of ammonia but with BB, ammonia is always zero.

[The Matrix]

So i guess i am correct. green water is not as efficient as BB on a sponge filter. I hv tried both using same GFs and same amt of water. Using green water sometimes register very small amt of ammonia but with BB, ammonia is always zero.

anyone interested to see tanks rolling into tiananmen ?

ck, before u make that conclusion, could you tell us, your setup, photo period, when u took the measurement, number of fish in the water, size of fish, feeding period, type of food, how much u feed, amount of water change .... every single detail of your "experiment" with the green water. you are comparing green water with sponge filter with respect to only ammonia readings.

I believe you are an engineering man. So where is the DOE/DEE ? How many unknowns, how many assumptions, how many predictions.

[HappyBuddha]

Maybe i sh do the test again a month ot two later, hoping the water changes and green water will eventually cause the BB to die off.

Kekeke. You don't have to wait until then; drop a few crystals (weighing less then 0.01 grams) of Japan Yellow Powder into the water and the BB will be killed instantly while leaving your fishes unhurt.