Why does my 10 gal fish tank keep turning green? The water?

I have had this tank up and running with two filters on the top for about 6 months or so. I have 3 neons, 3 zebras, a china alge eater and a plecostomus. I have been doing a 20-30% water change once a week and i cant get it to stay clear. I feed my fish once a day and only a little pinch (sometimes i don't think that enough food for them). I have add gravel from my other tank to it thinking that would help but it has not. Please help!!

Why does my 10 gal fish tank keep turning green? The water?
DO keep up with weekly water changes.





Anyway, it is probably your photoperiod (the amount of time the light is one) - reduce it to 8-9 hours per day. Is your tank near a window? Sunlight is great for algae, so move your tank or cover one side of it if it's directly facing a window.





Your problem is certainly being exacerbated by the fact that you have two oversized fish. Chinese algae eaters reach 6+ inches, and eventually they turn into mean buggers who don't eat algae; they turn into carnivores and chase your fish, instead.


Common plecos can grow to 18-24", and they are poop machines. Bushy-nosed plecos only grow to 4-5" but they are still a tight squeeze for a 10 gal.


Consider bringing your pleco and chinese algae eater into your petstore. You could get some more neons and zebras instead, or something else like a dwarf gourami or a male betta.
Reply:You probably have a chemical imbalance in the water. It took a year to figure out my fish tank chemical levels. Now it is PERFECTION due to the wonderful help of my local pet shop employee. So go to a place that sells fish and ask for their help. Goood luck.
Reply:make sure that there isnt any clorine in the water there is some stuff u can by that will get rid of it
Reply:Too much light sounds like the problem place the tank in a shady part of the room away from direct sun light, and only have the light on for 10 to 12 hours. it is tempting to turn the light on in the morning and off at bed time, if you think of a normal day you are probably exceeding natural day light time. your diy store will sell you an electric timer plug for a few pounds that you can set and forget, this will remove the temptation to "just put the light on".





Also check in your pet store as it may sell a water conditioner / filter boost that will help clump together any water particles making it easier for your filter to trap them.
Reply:dont leave lights on so much
Reply:i would say too much light, could be too much nitrite in the water also, how often do you change your filters??
Reply:Probably has too much algae, which can be caused by:


* Overfeeding (which doesn't sound like the problem)


* Infrequent filter changes


* Infrequent water changes (probably not the problem either)


* Excessive light
Reply:DO NOT do a water change that often, we do ours only once a month %26amp; have had no problems





( the tank can't build an enviroment when you change the water that often, it should clear up in 2 wks. , if not call the pet store )





good luck
Reply:Your PH isn't working right,or you have a chemical problem.
Reply:If your tank is in the sun light that will cause it to turn green. I had that problem when my tank was in the sun light so I moved it out of the sun light and now I have no problems.
Reply:Your water can go green for many reasons - commonly to much UV exposure can create a surge of green algae that is difficult to control (the algae eater couldn't cope and chemicals have minimum effect)- this could mean you need to change the timings on you lights or your tank maybe in direct sunlight for much of the day so a change of position would be required - Hope this helps.
Reply:If you are getting too much algae in your tank cut down on the lighting. Algae cannot grow without light.
Reply:kay. one: you need to clean the inside of the tank. just ues a rough sponge to rub algae off of the tank walls. don not use any cleanser just rubb it off.


two: keep teh lights only duringthe day! light will cause the algae growth to perk up.
Reply:Green water is a water born algae outbreak.





This is almost always a result of poor water quality from over feeding. It's possible that your tap water has high nitrates and phosphates which are also used as food sources for the algae.





I would get your tap water checked for those chemicals ASAP. If they are high then you'll need to look into another source of water for your changes.





If they aren't high then you need to figure out why the water has enough food source for the algae to bloom.





Other things that are contributors to this problem are direct sunlight, or having too much light on the tank for too long a period.
Reply:too much light, try turning the light off during the day and when you go to bed at night


also if near window cover the back of the tank or pull the curtains
Reply:lights on only daylight hours or 12 hours a day





what is the temperature of your water? perhaps too warm?