Green - now Brown water

Question
QUESTION: Hmm...has the substrate been gravel vacced recently?

also what sort of state are the filter pads in?

cheers

Tom

 visit www.freewebs.com/thinkfish for all matters fish!
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Yes, just vacuumed the gravel....yesterday.

Filter pads - one is older - 2 -3 months, replaced the carbon yesterday and the other is new as of this morning.

Water is DEFINITELY getting clearer, and it is not at all green anymore.  The fish left are more active and the water in the tank now just looks like brown water....but not cloudy.

I'm thinking daily 20% water changes until the tank clears?  That perhaps this is "dirty" water now and that's why it is brown?

Any thoughts?



ANSWER: Fair play, is there any wood in the tank at all??

could be wood leaching tannin into the water.

Sorry this is taking so long to work out but I've never heard of this before so I'm kind of learning with you!

Tom

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: I hear you!  It's been an ordeal.  The guarami is doing well...the shark appears to be getting better, the little cory cats too.

I'm feeding a SMALL amount 1 x day now and the guarami gets most of it.  The shark who WAS swimming after food before he got sick, still sits in the oxygen flow and only eats when the food falls directly in front of him.

The water is still continuing to clear.  It's not perfect... Although I can completely see through it front to back but not from one side of the tank to the other.

When the tank was green - there was a rather large piece of driftwood.  I took it out a few days into this thinking it could be the cause of the bloom.  I also have a sizeable rock with caves in it too.  I have cleaned that out and replaced it as the fish like to hide in the caves.

As for the filter pads, I rinse them in tank water each day... they are brown each morning.  I am also moving the UV filter around in different area of the tank each day as well.

It's been quite the learning experience.  The most bothersome issue is that I STILL do not know what is causing the "bloom" and if I turned off the uv light if it would return to green.

I am somewhat weary of doing a complete filter washout as I had a bacterial outbreak once after doing a "complete" cleaning of the filter.

I think I'll continue to do daily changes for at least a week and see if it clears.  If it does, would you suggest pulling the entire filter system out and cleaning it but leaving the filter pads and gravel alone for another week and THEN doing a gravel vac?

Many thanks again,
Maryann

ANSWER: The UV steriliser should be causing the algae to swell into little balls so that they can be easily removed by the filter, so the pads will need regular maintenance.

This has completely baffled me because you seem to be doing everything correctly. Can you do a pH test for me??

If the filter is to blame then the pH should be steadily rising. I think your last result was something like 6.6, it shouldn't be allowed any higher than that.

Tom

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Hi Tom, the pH is still 6.6 - no change.  
The water is 95% clear. I can see from front to back and side to side, but NOT crystal clear. Slightly cloudy when looking side to side but clear front to back.

O Nitrates, 0 Nitrites, 0 Ammonia.  Filters still being cleaned daily.  I think I might just be sworn to the UV light in that tank.

I added a small pleco today.  

For the record, THANK YOU for ALL of your help through this.  You've been very patient and helpful!  

I am thinking the driftwood was the cause?

Answer
Hi Maryann,

I think it probably is just tannin lingering in the water, this would suggest that the driftwood is to blame. It would also explain why your water is coming out slightly acidic. Alternatively it could be a bacterial bloom brought about by the constant water changing, filter maintenance, general work on the tank. If it is a bloom it should settle within a couple of weeks.

Your nitrates, nitrites and ammonia readings are spot on and the pH is nothing to worry about so the fish aren't in any immediate danger.

Can I just thank you to you for giving me a bit of challenge. Usually I get goldfish/ betta questions so it's nice to actually have something to get my teeth into.

Good luck to the new plec and to all the other fish that have been involved in this drama.

Tom