I don't know if it really is as easy as lugging a tub of tank water outside and letting it bake in the sun but I was wondering how exactly do I cultivate it?

I'm ready to try it but I live in a area where all kinds of nasty animals get into things (we lost a huge foot long Common last summer to a raccoon).. And wouldn't birds come and poop in it and leaves and sticks and JUNK from the trees fall in it and mess it up or worse render it unusable?

How long must it sit outside?

And I've read that TOO green Greenwater can kill your fish and that they have to compete for oxygen at night... Or is that if you have an outdoor pond? Could I cultivate Greenwater INSIDE with a strategically placed tub under a window? Or could I make it with a grow light?

So, can I have a crash course in Greenwater?

check it out..

http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/...showtopic=39607

my greenwater tanks are simply powered by sunlight filtering in from the windows (they're placed right next to them). There's also minimal filtration so as to avoid competition for nitrogenous wastes between the greenwater and the bio-bugs.

I do employ two powerheads to keep the water movement sufficient to compensate for oxygen needs of the fish though.

Than you so much! That's a lot of information, I do believe it's enough for me AND my mother.

Just a quick question. Once you have can you maintain it? Or is it better to just reseed fresh water and start over every so often?

it's easy to maintain. just siphon half of the water out (taking care to take out the collected poop at the bottom) once a week if your tank is largish. A good rule of thumb to know when it's about time to make a change is when you look at the tank from above, the fish are already little more than vague moving patches of color when they swim about six inches below the surface.

You also have to regularly wipe off any wall algae since they'll compete for nutrients with the greenwater

Great, thanks!

I went to my closest lfs store to ask about lighting for the tank I want to use to cultivate my Greenwater and the guy was EXTREMELY surprised to hear I wanted to put my fish IN the Greenwater. He said it was incredibly UNhealthy and it could kill my fish!! Now I read that Greenwater thread found in the link above and it seems that their fish did extremely well in Greenwater. How is there such differing opinions? Is Greenwater safe for someone like me (a noob in this case) to make and use with my fish?

I ended up with greenwater in my tank with no natural sunlight (tank was in the basement). I bought a Coralife light for my tank and had an explosion of hair algae for about a month, then that calmed down and turned to a mix of brown and green algae which one day unexpectedly turned to greenwater! I can only attribute this to the Coralife light because the light I had on the tank before never produced these algae stages. I'm not sure if the fact that I had a sump filter on it had any bearing on the greenwater result.

Angela

Halloween: I guess GW is a way to go if you want to have a healthy fish. SOME people in LFS don't know what they are talking about. So just be careful with them.

Angela: what is the size of your tank? and wattage of your lighting? I believe you have more than 10x filteration, right?

Hi Small Ranchu,

Believe it or not it is a 90 gallon tank with only 800 gallon per hour filtration, but the sump filter provides a huge amount of biological filtration. The Coralife light is rated for the 90 gallon: I'm not sure of the wattage. I'm not sure if you've read other threads but I gave my setup to Katalyst. She has told me that the water is VERY green now. I think it must be a combination of the sump filtration and the light. She has actually tried to introduce some of the greenwater into her 150 without much success. Maybe greenwater is dependent on the amount of biological filtration available. Incidentally, I have noticed a similar progression of algae in my betta tank which is exposed to natural sunlight. Maybe I'll get greenwater in that one too! I have a very old Victorian house with very large windows. I'm hoping the same thing happens in my 7.5 gallon tank!

Angela

Hi Angela,
Thanks for information. I have last question.. How many hour did you turn on the light for a day? Thanks again.

Sorry, I got another question. When you bought Coralife, how much did it cost? In this way, I can find out the wattage on the light. Thanks.

Well I paid $160.00 Canadian, but even with the exchange you would probably pay alot less. Aquarium supplies apparently are quite the rip-off in Canada. I'm finding out by just how much from talking to Katalyst. She used to live in New York and supplies in the States are about half the cost of what they are here. I may just have to make a road trip to Buffalo if I need something pricey! As for your other question, I had the light on a timer, 12 hours on, 12 hours off.

Angela

Thanks Angela,
That will be great if Kat know the wattage of the light.

Whoops sorry I didn't see this thread sooner...

Here's a link so you can see what it looks like...

http://www.marineandreef.com/products/aqua...esh36Single.jpg

It has 130 watts (2 65 watts) and apparently can also house 2 96 watt bulbs. It'd be interesting to try but I'd never see the fish. I had the light on for the 12 hours but had to stop, the tank is in my front picture window and between the light and the natural sunlight it was getting pretty green in there and it freaked me out a bit.. Now I'm testing out the light 8 hours a day this week and I just did a water change two days ago and its already turning green again!

As far as things being cheaper in the States...I went to get the legs for the light, $25...They have em back in the States for $12! I have a feeling I'll be stocking up when I go home to NY for a visit in June.

Thanks Kat.

Most welcome Fred! Good luck with the greenwater, I'd send you some if I could!