Fish tank clarity problem?

Question

I have an approximately 1.75 gallon tank with an undergravel filter (one of the hexagonal walmart ones, can't remember the name). I've had this tank for two or three years now with not a single problem with water clarity. I'd do a full-clean every month or two, and the water never got cloudy!

Once I moved into the basement of our new house, my tank can't stay clean more than a week! The water itself is what's clouding up and turning bright green, with no algae accumulation on the sides due to the algae eater I purchased for the problem. It's still the same betta living in it! Even with the little algae eater, the tank is still turning so green within a week or two that I can't see the decorations. I've been keeping my betta and algae eater in a kritter keeper for a week or so now, and that hasn't clouded a bit.

I have changed nothing about this tank. The gravel's the same, the fake plant is the same, and the small decoration is the same. It's the same fish, with only an algae eater added after the fact. There is no natural light at all in my room, and there's a half white, half blue light bulb in the hood that I used for my old glo danios.

Answer 1

You may have a temperature issue.  In my experience, water temp. can cause even more problems than light where algae is concerned.  Please follow the directions for any chemicals you use for this problem closely, as some fish will not react well to a few of them.                     The light could also be your problem. As the bulbs age, they weaken, so the type of light they give off does change with time.  If the temp. has not changed in your new room or the tank, you may want to try a new bulb.

Answer 2

it depends how you do your 'full' clean, you could be killing off beneficial bacteria in your tank leading to a mini cycle

if you haven't already make sure you do your tests for ammonia/nitrites/nitrates straight away..  they should be 0/0/10-30ppm

if you need more information about the nitrogen cycle go to this site:

http://freshaquarium.about.com/cs/biolog...