yellow water

[cope]

anybody have any idea what would make my water turn yellow.... History...125 gallon tank.. plastic plants, external canister filter, and a wet dry filter with bio balls  changed water saturday 50% and cleaned all the glass.... no vacuum... this tank has been clear for 6 months and all of a sudden I have a yellowish tint to the water... no new fish.. same ones...

fish look OK.. not stressed.... no wood in tank..... just rock... and plastic....

[eklikewhoa]

Re: yellow water

Any kind of wood?
Filter media?
How often do you change water?
What kind of food do you use?
Substrate?

[supadave]

Re: yellow water

Is the tank close to a window where it gets alot of direct sunlight?
When you changed the water  did you use a dechlorinator?


This happened to me one time about 3 years ago. At the time, the only thing that I could remember that I had done wrong was forgetting to add dechlorinator to the new water. I ended up buying some stuff made by Tetra called "AquaSafe" (I think) at Walmart and it cleared the tank within a hour. I think that I either had an algae bloom or it was the chlorine. From that point on. I've been using Prime and have never had that problem again.

[rrocket2002]

Re: yellow water

Does the water look yellow when you take it out for a water change?

My first guess is that its your lights.  Could be an old bulb going out.  Standard shop bulbs will give your water a yellow hue.

That's my guess with the info offered.

[Nickintex]

Re: yellow water

Maybe something in the tapwater itself, or the beginning of an algal bloom. Try adding some fresh carbon to your filter or even better, a product like chemipure. You said no diftwood. Do you feed veggie/algea chips? I've seen some brands, like the HBH one, tint water green before.

[cope]

Re: yellow water

lights brand new.... bought last weekend.... food   tetra cichlid jumbo stick... and nutrafin max   marine complete food..... this last one I think is for saltwater.... picked it up by mistake.... think maybe that is doing it.... is near a window... but no direct sunlight ... this tank has been real clear since feb this year.... and I lost power for 2 weeks...huricane.... and after that I noticed the water changing.... so I did a 50% water change... I added some clarifier and It took out the foggyness... it is not bad looking... I just like it clear..... it does look like a tank that has wood in it.... that tint...... but more yellowish... and water changes weekly.....

[rrocket2002]

Re: yellow water

Well did you notice the water turning yellow before or after your new lights?  Switch lights.

[cope]

Re: yellow water

the water has been changing colors before I changed the lights... I thought maybe the lights were causing it... so I bought new ones... and no change..... I do not have any carbon filtration on this tank at all.... I can add it..

[rrocket2002]

Re: yellow water

Carbon filtration will definitely help along with a accelerated water change schedule for while.

[PhishPhreek]

Re: yellow water

Perhaps you should change the Kitty Litter.........  

[eklikewhoa]

Re: yellow water

There is something in the water causing it if it's not the water itself.

Seachem Purigen will work so much better then carbon will. I use it in all my tanks and it works wonders in a planted tank where peat/aquasoil/driftwood will leach.

[Nickintex]

Re: yellow water

I think Chemipure is better!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: yellow water

Chemipure is still a carbon. it will leach back into the water if not removed. Purigen is a synthetic and will not leach back and if one's heart desires it can also be recharged/reused.

[Nickintex]

Re: yellow water

REALLY? You think it's that much better, EK? :wink:

[eklikewhoa]

Re: yellow water

I use to use Chemipure Elite in my reef tank and prefer the outcome of purigen much more.  Then again the effects of saturated carbon is much more noticeable in a reef tank vs. freshwater tank.