How To Make Green Water Culture For Fish
Green water is a great source of micro food for small fry and an excellent feeder for cultures like daphnia.
Here I will explain to you different methods to make green water at home without using a starter culture. I will also include some tips as well as discuss a dedicated green water fish tank with nearly no maintenance that supply you with green water all year round.
Methods For Making Green Water
Bacterial Overload Method is the faster method and additional beneficial bacteria is added to speed up the process. Luckily making beneficial bacteria can also easily be done at home or can be purchased from your local pet store.
For this method you need a clear plastic bucket or other clear glass container. Next you will need tank water removed from your fish tank during your water change to fill the bucket. I also like to squeeze my fish tank filter sponge into the mix for extra nutrients but isn’t a necessary step at all.
Next, to boost the water in the bucket with some additional beneficial bacteria or any nutritional boost you have available to you. You can’t overdose this dosage. Once everything has been added you can leave your clear bucket outside in sunlight for a few days.
I prefer using aquarium or LED lights and leaving them on 24-hours over the bucket for about 3 days. This works better for me as I don’t have to carry a bucket around. When your green water is ready the water will be a solid green pigment like a darkish-green colour.
Fresh Nitrified Water Method is a method you can use to make green water but it is a long process with more steps required, which isn’t always something everyone wants to do. To use this method you need a clear plastic bucket, small glass container, strainer, aquarium plant cutoffs and a blender.
Nitrified water can be made by using aquarium plant cut offs and excess plants. You will have to blend the aquarium plants with some dechlorinated water in a blender, making a green smoothy. You will then pour your smoothy through a strainer. The fresh filtered green water you will then add to your small glass container. This will act as your starter that will be added to your bucket once ready.
Your small glass container will have to be placed under light or direct sunlight for a few days for it to become a thicker and greener consistency. Once it has become a thicker green water, you will add it to your bigger clear bucket. You will then fill your bucket with tap water, adding dechlorination drops and mixing in your nitrified water or starter you just added.
After you have incorporated your starter, you will place your clear bucket in the sun or under lights for a few days (just like with Bacterial Overload Method) until it is ready.
The Mature Tank Water Method is the third way and definitely takes the longest to do. Here you will need a plastic clear bucket and old water from your fish tank. The old water can be gathered from when you do water changes. You will then place this clear bucket of dirty fish water in the sun. Choose an area on your property that gets a lot of sun for the longest period as sunlight needs to penetrate the water for this to work.
Depending on the concentration of nitrates in your fish tank water this may take up to a few weeks to become usable as green water.
Dedicated Green Water Tank
If you are breeding fish or need consistent access to green water, you can easily setup a dedicated green water tank to avoid having to constantly make new green water starter cultures.
Starter cultures can take long to produce and can fail at times, but by having a dedicated green water tank you will have little to no maintenance to keep it going and have your own supply all year round.
Setting Up A Dedicated Green Water Tank At Home
What you will need is a fish tank, light and green water. An optional extra is to include substrate into your tank to add more beneficial bacteria catching materials to your tank.
You can have a dedicated green water tank with livestock or without, but if you do choose to have fish or snails in your green water tank you will have to add aeration (air stone or sponge filter) as oxygen levels will go down when the tank lights are switched off. The algae in the tank absorbs oxygen during periods of no light and adding aeration combats the lower oxygen levels.
To start you can add your chosen substrate into your tank and fill with green water (use one of the three methods to make your own). Your light should be on 6 to 8 hours per day and you can harvest green water anytime you need.
Green Water Tank Maintenance
To maintain your dedicated green water tank you will have to add nutrients back as you harvest. To add nutrients back, all you have to do is top up the water of your tank with dechlorinated water and add fertilizer or dose your tank with homemade beneficial bacteria.
Adding livestock to your green water tank will also contribute to adding nutrients back as you will be feeding the livestock and the uneaten food would settle in the substrate.
