Water > yellowish-brown coloration

[lemonshark]

Hi all,
I’m not new to the hobby, but I am new to some problems. I’m having a situation with the water, it seams more of yellowish-brown coloration and it isn’t visible with strong lighting. When I turn off the light it is visible from the side of the tank.
Any suggestion to what is causing this?
I appreciate your help

 

[tony detroit]

Are you using a skimmer?

 

[lemonshark]

Yes...
125g Tank
1 Yellow Tang
1 Blue Tang
1 Six Line
1 Cleaner Shrimp
4 Feather Dusters
2 Anenami
1 Royal Gramma
1 Percula die yesterday
1 Citron die yesterday
They die after my light went out for over 12 hours. I really don't understand how they could actually die after 12 hours in a 125g tank... but they did. They were doing find before and they started swimming funny after the light came back at about 8:30 PM.
I don't think my skimmer is all that good, but after running it for 24hrs it stops making bubles and the water still looks the same color.

 

[lemonshark]

Yes...
125g Tank
1 Yellow Tang
1 Blue Tang
1 Six Line
1 Cleaner Shrimp
4 Feather Dusters
2 Anemami
1 Royal Gramma
1 Percula die yesterday
1 Citron die yesterday
They die after my light went out for over 12 hours. I really don't understand how they could actually die after 12 hours in a 125g tank... but they did. They were doing find before and they started swimming funny after the light came back at about 8:30 PM.
I don't think my skimmer is all that good, but after running it for 24hrs it stops making bubles and the water still looks the same color.

 

[lemonshark]

no sump
a hang-on skimmer. Which I don't turn on every day. Once a week for 24hrs.
The hang on offeres Mechanical and chemical filtration.
I have a sump, but I'm not using it. I will as soon as I get a Kent Marine Nautilus Skimmer.
I don't have that many fish and I don't over feed.

 

[beaslbob]

the cloudiness is common when establishing new tanks and when there is more bioload than the system can handle. Hopefully, it will clear up in a week and probably in a couple of days. Have you checked your ph? New fish dieing rapidly is sometimes ph shock.
Adding plant life will reduce or elminiate the couldiness.

 

[lemonshark]

I didn't think pH could had cause the fish to die so fast. I didn't test it during the time the light went out.
What can cause the pH to go crazy? (Please list) I might know some ways pH can go crazy... but not all... and that might be causing fish to die.
I've had this coloration in my fish tank since I started the 125gl one year ago. I can't get rid of it. Do you think it’s the skimmer? If so... will the skimmer remove the food for the feather dusters and even calcium or other supplements from the water. This is the main reason I haven’t gotten a good skimmer.

 

[beaslbob]

Well I am not an expert but I did have a ph drop (7.4-7.2 range) after 3-4 months of operation in my 55g with a tetratec pf 500 filter. In a mature system like yours, you should not be getting an ammonia spike. Fish dieing in a day is a very strong indication of shock from parameters vastly different from the environment they have be acclimated too. I started checking the ph when new fish died in a day. From what I understand a ph drop is a more or less normal maturation of the system. small amounts of baking soda did help but what really helped was the addition of plant life. When I added macros the ph stabilized at 8.4. One explaination is the plants consumed the carbon dioxide. Carbon dioxide is used in calcium reactors to reduce the ph to the 6.5-7.0 range. So the plants reducing the carbon dioxide brought the ph up. This may apply to your system if you do not have sufficient plants or algae.
If your cloudiness has been very long term I highly suspect suspended algae and/or a phosphate problem. Either are again eliminated by sufficient plant life.
I have eliminated cloudiness by reducing feeding and turning off the lights. Turning off the lights killed out the suspended algae but the hardier plants/macros survived. In one case, I had a tank that had been coudy for weeks due to the receipt of a bad batch of macros. In two weeks of no lights, the water was completely clear. The clearing up actually only took a day but it took 2 weeks to get to that point. Meanwhile, the macros and plants had actually grown. Not recommended as a permanent solution because (obviously) as the plants did need the return to normal lighting to resume building up their strength and to grow normally.
Finally, I have used a canister filter with a water polisher insert. Also diatomous (spelling) earth filter can clear up water very quickly. Diatomous earth is becomming rare for aquariums because it is a lung irritant and even causes cancer. Unless you correct the reason the water was cloudy to begin with, the water will return to it's former cloudy state.
hope this helps and good luck. Hopefully in a couple of weeks this year long problem will be cleared up.

 

[broomer5]

Were the two fish that died just added to the tank that day - or had you had them for awhile ?
First - I would suggest you post a recent list of your tankwater test results.
pH, ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, specific gravity/salinity.
Second - yellowish brown water may be due to an accumulation of organic substances. These organic compounds are common in all of our tanks, and must be addressed. Running the skimmer 24/7 would be wise, as well as running some activate carbon filtration for a period of time.
Changing the carbon filter / media often is recommended my most.
Third - what is your water change routine ?
Fourth - describe in detail your tank set up, substrate, freshwater source, saltmix and any additives you use.
The more you can tell - the better chance people will be able to assist you.
IMO - for the most part - most problems, and especially problems that are causing fish to die - do not go away on their own.

 

[lemonshark]

OH MY GUSHHH !!!
pH = 8.4
Nitrite = 0
Ammonia = 0.50
NITRATE = 180ppm !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOW DO I BRING THIS DOWN! PLEASE HELP !
I'm waiting... my fish look a bit sad

 

[buzz]

Water changes...large and frequent...
Use RO water.
What kind of a hang on skimmer are you using? You have a 125g tank, and I don't know of too many HOB's that can handle that system.
How much have you been feeding? Do you have a large detritus build up on the substrate? Make sure you have enough circulation to keep things from building up. But that is more preventative going forward.
Right now, you need water changes. But make sure the temp, salinity, etc., is the same as the current tank water.
Ammonia at any level is toxic, and those nitrate readings are WAY too high.
And prior to anything, how old is your test kit? If you aren't sure if it is accurate, bring a sample to the LFS to test again.

 

[lemonshark]

Thank you...
I will change 60gls of water right now. The test kit is not old, couple of months or three.
The tank was setup three month ago and didn't have any living fish until one month later (cycle was completed).
I only added water wen it vaporated. I didn't change water because I didn't test the water and I didn't know how bad it was. Now that two of my fish sudently died, I tested the water after coming home from work.
My hang on skimmer can handle 90gls or so... I didn't want a good skimmer because it would remove planktem from the water.
Thank you for all your help

 

[lemonshark]

Well, my yellow tang is not doing to well and my other fish remain hidden but ok. My question is, how could the nitrate peek at 180ppm?
The only conclusion I can think of, power… before the power went out on December 6, 2003 at 9:10 AM, all the fish were doing fine. When the power went out for over 12 hours, I notice a strange swimming behavior with the Citron Gobby, when the power came back at almost 9:30 PM the citron died and the Percula Clown fish fallowed with the same strange swimming behavior. Eventually the clown perc died the same way 20 minutes apart from the Citron.
The next day I posted my question about the coloration of the water and I mentioned the death of my fish and some of you replied that it could have been a peek in one of my parameters. When I came home I tested the water and my parameters were doing fine until I tested the ammonia and nitrate.
Ammonia = 0.50
Nitrate = 180ppm
Yesterday, I changed 40% of the water and turned on my skimmer to remove as much nitrate as possible.
The death of my two fish was due to the lock of water circulation and filtration. Now my yellow tang is showing sings of weakness and red blood like stains on some of the fins. I still don’t know how is my blue tang since I haven’t seen him for two days. He hides when things are not right, he hides and it doesn’t like the dark.
Thank you all for you help!

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by LemonShark
Well, my yellow tang is not doing to well and my other fish remain hidden but ok. My question is, how could the nitrate peek at 180ppm?
...
Ammonia = 0.50
Nitrate = 180ppm
....
Thank you all for you help!
Your problem is the ammonia. Both ammonia and nitrate are consumed by plant life. Add as much plant life as you can get your hands on now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
This is not the time to worry about the plants looking ugly or whatever. You have got to get the ammonia down quickly. Water changes will not be as effective as plants and will disrupt your biological filtration and the entire system.

 

[buzz]

Listen to Kip...you did one water change. That's good. Do several more - similar in size. Unfortunately, the levels that you have may have irreversably affected the fish all ready, so yes, they may not make it. If that happens, I am sorry. However, you need to keep up this process, as it is pretty much THE ONLY thing (Bob... ) that will help you at this point.
Water changes will not be as effective as plants and will disrupt your biological filtration and the entire system.
Bob...you ought to be ashamed of yourself. How does a statement like this not embarrass you?
As Kip stated, it is a good idea to set up a refugium to assist with future control of the problem. However, it can take weeks or even months before you notice any change from this alone.

 

[beaslbob]

Lemon: first of all you might get a second opinion on the tests. Low reading ammonia and high nitrates are very common test kit errors. I suspect that with your losses the results are reasonable.
Second check to make sure you dont have anything dead still in the system. Even some uneaten food can create teh ammonia problem.
Third stop feeding the firsh for a couple of days until the ammonia goes down. Also check out nitrItes to see if they spike. Again the important thing is to get the ammonia and nitrItes recovered and in that order. Fish can survive in a high nitrAte environment.
Finally, and again add all the plant life you can get your hands on. Kip routinely removes pounds of plant life from his system every month. If you had to do that you ammonia and nitrates would not be a problem and you would not have lost your fish.
Buzz all I can say is experience. I had nitrAtes go from 160ppm to 0.0 in three weeks in a newly established tank with no circulation, no water changes, and a single baby molly in a 20g. Water changes would never have been that effective. An example of 10% changes is:

 

[lemonshark]

That's very interesting. For a 125gl tank, I would need Xgls tank for my refugium setup.
One think I really don't know, what plants am I to put into this tank?
I know how to build a sump and all of its plumbing... but not a refugum.

 

[buzz]

My fuge is an 8 gallon rubbermaid garbage can. I drilled a hole with a return going back to the sump, and made it closed loop with a small powerhead bringing water out of the sump into the fuge.
2 - 75w household bulbs over it, and voila...There are many different kinds of caulerpa that can be used.

 

[beaslbob]

lemmon: I recommend 30-40% of your display for a refugium. For this current problem you need to get the plants in there ASAP.
I suggest you ask around your local area and see some hobbiest would be able give some plants they are currently throwing away each month.
It is possible that the fish would eat them quickly so I recommend cultureing some in another container. That container could later even become your refugium.
Finally, I certainly hope your plants take over your system. That way your cloudiness, ammonia and nitrAe problems will be solved.

 

[tony detroit]

Put in some amquel to knock down the potency of the ammonia. Nitrate is a worry with a yellow tang. Some tang species will cease proper eating when nitrate ppm goes above 40.