cloudy water

rotting barley hay or just 5 strands of hay stringed together (aquarium)and left to rot will stop that or in full sunlight in a pond a sack filled with a few hand full of hay left to rot will stop the green stuff.

Another way is to use 1-2 year old willow branches, cut about 40 inches off the branch and place it in the aquarium, the branches just need to be about 1/2 inch thick, within about 3-5 days the branch will start to grow lots of aeriel roots under water, as the branch grows more roots the water will clear up, it takes about 8 days to be totally clear, with this method the green water never comes back, this method is safe for fish as well, its been tried on fry tanks with no ill effects on the fish. You remove the branch after the treatment.

The theory is that the willow can consume nutrients quicker than the aquatic plants and we know algae is also a plant so it outcompetes these for the nutrients.

Excellent tip.

rotting barley hay or just 5 strands of hay stringed together (aquarium)and left to rot will stop that or in full sunlight in a pond a sack filled with a few hand full of hay left to rot will stop the green stuff.

Another way is to use 1-2 year old willow branches, cut about 40 inches off the branch and place it in the aquarium, the branches just need to be about 1/2 inch thick, within about 3-5 days the branch will start to grow lots of aeriel roots under water, as the branch grows more roots the water will clear up, it takes about 8 days to be totally clear, with this method the green water never comes back, this method is safe for fish as well, its been tried on fry tanks with no ill effects on the fish. You remove the branch after the treatment.

The theory is that the willow can consume nutrients quicker than the aquatic plants and we know algae is also a plant so it outcompetes these for the nutrients.

Yes but ther is a time delay for the roots etc, the rotting hay works on the principle that the chemicals produces as it rots stop the algae, if you have some grass in a compost heap its instant, again max 5 leaves for a small aquarium. Half a sack for a pond, plus its a little bit more practical than adding a triffid to your tank.

Thanks Anthony.....don't think I made that clear though, the branch needs to be taken from a living tree not something you have lying around for a year or two although finding a Willow tree is not that hard, I could probably find one around here if I needed too, local park, river bank etc.

Fr Jack do you mean any rotting type grass will do, or do you specifically need to use hay?

remember this


well look at it now.


1 week blackout, and stopped everything going into the tank c02 etc.
added 12 plants on friday and by sat eve started to clear, also did 2 1/3 water changes during the week.
tank is messy as i havnt placed the plants in yet.

happy days

Looks fantastic!Im really thinking of starting a small planted tank!!

will look even better when i get it sorted and replanted
most will say a small tank is harder to look after than a large, although i had a few probs at the start the 60 is flying along now.