Green Water Fish Tank Help

Why is my fish tank green when all my levels are perfect?

I just started this tank about 3 weeks ago now. I just moved so I started all over, fresh clean everything. Treated the water and waited the alotted time by the box to bring the fish in. I have had the water test 2 times now and both times they tell me my water is at perfect levels but the water itself is so green you can hardly see thru it. I just don’t know what to do. If it was the levels I could fix that. And the funny thing is it’s the water, everything is is not “covered” w/ algea. I so don’t want to rip this tank down and start again. But I just can’t figure it out. Before I moved I kept this taknk for 2 years without any problems. Please help if you can, By the way it’s a 55 gallon tank.

this exact same thing happened to me. and the problem was the goldfish i had in it. my filter wasn’t strong enough to keep the filthy things from making the water green. first, i removed the fish at fault. next i did semi-water changes instead of full ones. since you’re starting over, your tank may need some time to become “established”. that’s what you call it when your aquarium+water has built up enough “good” bacteria in it. if you dont have any fish that are dirtying it up, you might want to do semi-water changes, not frequent ones. you need to establish the aquarium by leaving at least 1/3 of the old water in the tank. also, make sure you’re not feeding the fish too much. the leftover food at the bottom could build up bacteria and waste that you’re not testing for. speaking of that, what exactly are you testing for? if you’re not using the test strips that check 6-7 different things, you need to get some.
other than that, just wait it out. maybe itll just take some time for the aquarium to become established. or maybe your filter isn’t big enough for your tank. a 55gal. is huge so you may need to add an extra filter. you could also get an air pump, some hose, and a carbon thing for the end. bubbles in the tank are pretty, plus they add extra aeration to the water.
good luck!

Goldfish (3weeks in green water) – Part 1