Brew Green Water In A 2ft Tank Options

[sheringam]

Propose brew green water in 2ft tank project

1. 23.5" x 11.5" x 13" fiveplan brand tank
2. 51.81 litres of water (13.71 gallons of water), around 12.5" depth of water
3. 2ft DIY PL lights with 2 36W OSRAM tubes and e-ballast
4. Simple sponge filter to collect goldfish poos
5. Wooden air block for aeration
6. 2 4.5" to 6" ranchus

Is it possible to brew green water in 2ft tank rather than tub? I've all the equipment with me except the PL lights which I've yet to collect from a bro who help DIY PL lights. Will switch on the PL lights non-stop for 3-4 days or until the green water turn dark green?

[HappyBuddha]

Your setup is a very typical beginner's tank... so... better tell you what I know in case too many people follow it.

The main problem is the depth of the tank. PL lamp cannot penetrate that deep. With 2x36, at most you can have 6 inches of water. By the fifth day, the lamp already cannot penetrate beyond 1-2 inches!

Next, why is the a need for a sponge filter? Let the green water takes care of the poos. You risk cultivating BB if you don't wash the sponge with tap water to kill the bb on a weekly basis.

Does those wooden air-stone work in fresh water? I heard they don't. They're meant for marine tanks. A normal coarse stone works perfectly. Too fine a stone and erm... may be tricky to clear the clogged pores.

With only 6 inches of water (due to PL's limited penetration strength) .... you can at most keep one 2-3 inches baby goldfish. At 6 inches only... you're better getting one of those toyogo tub; easy to clean and cheap cheap too.

[HappyBuddha]

Just to give you an idea the penetration capability of PL lamp.



Above is a series of pics I took when I seeded just 3% of old green water to the newly cleaned tub filled with tap water. It's powered by one 55 watts R870 (about 7000 kelvin) PL lamp.

Normally I would seed about 5%. When you do so, skip day 1, and count day 2 and day 1... day 3 as day 2 and so on.

Look closely and you'll see that by day 6, the green water is just waiting to collapse! It's so intense, lights cannot penetrate at all to allow proper photosynthesis to take place.

[CyberET]

Propose brew green water in 2ft tank project

1. 23.5" x 11.5" x 13" fiveplan brand tank
2. 51.81 litres of water (13.71 gallons of water), around 12.5" depth of water
3. 2ft DIY PL lights with 2 36W OSRAM tubes and e-ballast
4. Simple sponge filter to collect goldfish poos
5. Wooden air block for aeration
6. 2 4.5" to 6" ranchus

Is it possible to brew green water in 2ft tank rather than tub? I've all the equipment with me except the PL lights which I've yet to collect from a bro who help DIY PL lights. Will switch on the PL lights non-stop for 3-4 days or until the green water turn dark green?

water volume is not sufficient for 2 ranchus of that size imho.. for 1 yes.. for 2, risky & not recommended..

not sure about PL lights, no experience with them, but based on what i observe from handsome's experiment, should be can?

no forms of filter at all, somemore BB can colonize a sponge filter very fast

no need wooden air block.. standard airstone is fine

don't switch on 24hrs, fish also need some rest.. 12hrs a day is fine, just follow normal sunlight hrs.. 6am-6pm

even if the water is dark green.. still maintain lighting intensity to continue removing ammonia.. its light with algae that removes ammonia, not just ammonia and algae.. although green is more intense, but don't forget, green more intense, light penetration is also lesser..

too much is no good.. better change your water every week without fail.. 90%

i'm may not be 100% right.. hehe.. bros shoot away..

[The Matrix]

Let see your questions ...

Is it possible to brew green water in 2ft tank rather than tub?

YES.

Will switch on the PL lights non-stop for 3-4 days or until the green water turn dark green?

Possible.

BUT ..... I shoot liao hor.

50L for 2 fish of that size ? U gotta be kidding. 1 3" fish at most. At least 50L min per fish and that's still a miserable little room to make some mistakes. Okay, it's up to you to try out. Anyway, I also using 2ft tank, but larger width, at 70L for 2 demekins. Close monitoring needed to prevent any problem faced as the water darkening.

Green water itself is already a natural filter, why add something to compete. No filter needed. Collect poo for wat ?

Wood type air block is for marine setup. Use normal ceramic or plastics type for freshwater lah.

[sheringam]

Have been switching on the PL lights for 3 days. But no sign of green water yet. See particles getting more in the water. How to startup for green water? Is there enough ammonia in the tank if add just one fish only?

[CyberET]

3 days non-stop?
i normally see hint of green on 3rd day, light green by 4th
erm.. how much and how often do u feed?
i actually feed alot when trying to start virgin green

erm, 1fish in 2ft should be enough wor.. i even managed to get the water to turn green on the 5th day using 2 2inch fish in 160litres

[sheringam]

3 days non-stop?
i normally see hint of green on 3rd day, light green by 4th
erm.. how much and how often do u feed?
i actually feed alot when trying to start virgin green

erm, 1fish in 2ft should be enough wor.. i even managed to get the water to turn green on the 5th day using 2 2inch fish in 160litres

i switch on the PL lights for 10-12hrs everyday. i feed the goldfish only once per day. i didn't feed a lot but see a lot of particles in the water when the PL lights are switched on. the water smell a bit smelly already. i think ammonia level has increased. should i start to feed the goldfish heavily?

how should i prepare for the green water?

[CyberET]

i dunno am i doing it right, but i feed 3 times a day between morning and afternoon
the water should stink badly, its ammonia, then the green will kick in after that

[sheringam]

i dunno am i doing it right, but i feed 3 times a day between morning and afternoon
the water should stink badly, its ammonia, then the green will kick in after that

yes the water stinks very badly with lots of particles and goldfish have difficulties breathing, i took it back to the main tank and let the PL lights on. going to switch it on continously for more than 24hrs. 4th day still no sign of green water. once there's sign of green water, will put the goldfish back into the tank.

[CyberET]

yes the water stinks very badly with lots of particles and goldfish have difficulties breathing, i took it back to the main tank and let the PL lights on. going to switch it on continously for more than 24hrs. 4th day still no sign of green water. once there's sign of green water, will put the goldfish back into the tank.

i'm not sure removing the goldfish will slow down the kicking in of green water or not, but when u say your goldfish have difficultly in breathing, how did u come to that conclusion? got blood streaks yet?

[sheringam]

i'm not sure removing the goldfish will slow down the kicking in of green water or not, but when u say your goldfish have difficultly in breathing, how did u come to that conclusion? got blood streaks yet?

no blood streaks but it seems that the ammonia level in the water is so high that it's grasping for air. see whether tommorow the water turns slightly green as it's becoming cloudy. i see the goldfish back to normal when i put it back into the main tank.

[CyberET]

gasping for air? at the surface u mean?
hmm...

[kingyoo]

Gasping at the surface is usually lack of oxygen or PH crash.

Given your description of the set up and you do have a airstone, I don't think it is lack of oxygen.

What is your PH and KH? If you have a low KH then having green water may cause a pH crash which will kill your fish.

Boost your KH (alkalinity) by adding baking soda (sodium bicarbonate) slowly to your tank so as not to stress the fish or the water cycle. Add half a teaspoon (sorry I am US so I use US measurment ) per 10 gallon ( 37 liters ) until the KH measures at least 100 ppm.

This post has been edited by kingyoo: Tue, 09 Dec 2003 8:42 am

[CyberET]

If you have a low KH then having green water may cause a pH crash which will kill your fish.

why a low KH may cause a pH crash when having green water?