i just came home for a minute... one of my tanks has yellowish-green water in it... it was crystal clear last night.. i haven't added anything to it at all....i can't find anything dead..all fish are accounted for..i can't see my crab, but he is always hiding..there could be a dead snail...also, without having the caulerpa ploice after me, i do have caulerpa and chaeto in the tank...could this be the problem... i have never had water color problems..what could it be???
Green water Problem
- Thread starter ronj
- Start date
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Beckmola24
Hawkfish
Your caulerpa could account for this. Caulerpa goes "sexual" and causes the water to become green.
gloo
Well-known member
What triggers them to go sexual? I read somewhere that size has something to do with it, where people say keeping them trimmed down helps to prevent this, but I am not sure how that's possible ( what's the exact mechanism that triggers this...). If that is the case, at what length should you trim?
Herefishyfishy
Smart Bass
Some caulerpa is more prone than others. I have kept prolifera and peltata plus razer? caulerpa for years with no sexual reproduction, but Mexicana (fern) can be pretty well counted on to do it. Conditions determine when or if. I have never had a problem in a crouded refugium or when harvesting, but when in a well lit and lot of room tank with a lot of nutrients, BLAM! And it all dies off afterward. Prolifera is the safest in my experience.
Krish
RF STAFF
Ron...How has the lighting been over the caulerpa? I've never kept caulerpa, but I've read that if there is any disturbance with the lighting over them, it will trigger them to go "sexual"...
it is on a timer...i have not messed with it.. the caulerpa in that tank was blade?? caulerpa, i think.....i t was tangled in the chaeto and was underneath it..it was all white..i removed it....i also removed my feather caulerpa from my display tank just in case
Krish
RF STAFF
Oh...Yeah, i don't know much at all about caulerpa, but have read people keep lighting over them 24/7 to prevent them from going "sexual". Hopefully some caulerpa expert will chime in soon
Krish
RF STAFF
Yeah...The carbon and a water change should clear things up
shallowreef
Well-known member
i just run carbon to clear up the water in my tank.
james734
Well-known member
Ronj, See what happens when you turn off that green lamp. LOL..
That is weird though. Maybe the skimmer skimmed it out..
That is weird though. Maybe the skimmer skimmed it out..
the green lamp!!!! why didn't i think of that????
..the weird thing is, i don't have a skimmer or even filter pads in my power filter..i have no idea where it wentClamLubber
Active member
Never do tank mantainence naked. Makes the caulerpa go sexual every time. The lion fish could be a problem too. I have some in the refuge at the moment that I'm going to take out as soon as I can find some Chaeto (on-line stores I've checked lately are all out of stock). About half of it blanched last week even with lights on 24/7. Skimmer and carbon cleared it quick but if it had been a full growth rather than just a few shoots it could have been bad.
i don't have a lionfish......i try to only do one or two things naked, just for the record!!!!LOL THANK YOU, THANK YOU..I'LL BE HERE ALL NIGHT!!!!!!!! j/k..i have a ton of chaeto in that tank..i only had a tiny bit of caulerpa..it is gone now....i still haven't done a water change and you would never even know it happened..it is clear now!!!! that's really weird!!!!
I hope one of the two things isn't cooking spaghetti!!!! That boiling water splashes!!
Electrokate
Well-known member
You are still doing the water change right? I had this happen once in several years, it really will foul the tank.
Have you any tests for alkalinity and calcium? Just curious.
Kate
Have you any tests for alkalinity and calcium? Just curious.
Kate
burning2nd
Well-known member
caulerpa,
what kinda of caulerpa.
I think i know what you mean about it turning white.
as my plant grows, i cut it every week or so, with a razor. as soon as i cut it , it bleed's white stuff. but if i let it grow 2 much its like it doesnt have enough 2 feed on, and it turns white and clear. (dead cells) bad
what kinda of caulerpa.
I think i know what you mean about it turning white.
as my plant grows, i cut it every week or so, with a razor. as soon as i cut it , it bleed's white stuff. but if i let it grow 2 much its like it doesnt have enough 2 feed on, and it turns white and clear. (dead cells) bad
Electrokate
Well-known member
It is supposed to be better if you can take out a whole piece of caulerpa rather than cutting it, as the stuff it bleeds is supposed to be toxic. I find whole strings of it to pull out rather than cutting. I then feed them to the tang which hasn't read about them being toxic. I suppose that is just as bad as cutting it with a razor as the tang snips it over and over into tiny pieces...
When the caulerpa turns white/clear and releases the inside liquid into the tank that is called "Going sexual" in the aquarium hobby. It is supposed to allow it to reproduce, but in an aquarium all those cells die instead of being spread out all over the ocean. Then they rot and foul the tank, plus it is suspected they are toxic. Thus you are right. Bad indeed!
I am guilty of rarely removing the stuff, not giving it regular light and it doesn't go out on me. It makes me wonder if there is a trigger involving alkalinity since I focus on maintaining that with daily dosing because I also want to keep my xenia happy and have mostly soft corals that don't need super high calcium. Calcium gets dosed, but I don't push it high. I try and keep the alk around 9. I also dose iodine. Could help, I don't know.
Kate
When the caulerpa turns white/clear and releases the inside liquid into the tank that is called "Going sexual" in the aquarium hobby. It is supposed to allow it to reproduce, but in an aquarium all those cells die instead of being spread out all over the ocean. Then they rot and foul the tank, plus it is suspected they are toxic. Thus you are right. Bad indeed!
I am guilty of rarely removing the stuff, not giving it regular light and it doesn't go out on me. It makes me wonder if there is a trigger involving alkalinity since I focus on maintaining that with daily dosing because I also want to keep my xenia happy and have mostly soft corals that don't need super high calcium. Calcium gets dosed, but I don't push it high. I try and keep the alk around 9. I also dose iodine. Could help, I don't know.
Kate
