Green water in my freshwater tank

Question
Hello Richard,

I am a fairly new owner of a 60 gallon freshwater tank and have not had problems with it for the year I have owned it.  Recently, the water has been very cloudy and green.  I have the light on no more than 1 hour/day and it does not get direct sunlight.  I currently have about 10 fish in the tank, all small.  They do not seem to be affected by the water, but it is not pretty to look at!  I have done water changes about every 3-4 weeks and did one again yesterday.  The water, of course, looks better for a short time but a day later is quite green again.  I feed them once a day.  I have a Rena filter and changed the charcoal recently in case that may have made a difference.  If you have any suggestions of what I may be doing incorrectly or ways to correct it, I would appreciate it.  I love to just look at the aquarium when it is clear, but not as it is.  Thank you for any help you can give me.

ML

Answer
Hi Muriel

This is an algae bloom caused by poor water conditions. All aquariums need 25% water changes weekly, not monthly. Doing a few extra water changes with a gravel cleaner should fix this problem. Change about 10% of the water everyday and clean the gravel. This will remove excess nutrients that the algae feeds on. Do this everyday for a week and don't turn the lights on in the tank at all for a week. Replace the carbon in the filter every 2 weeks and rinse the media in dirty aquarium water that you siphon out at your water changes. Keeping up with weekly water changes is necessary not only to control algae, but to keep your fish healthy by providing them with fresh clean water.

Hope this helps, good luck!

Richard