Slight Yellow Colour to the water

bradley22

Hi Guys,

I am having a few problems with my 10 Gallon tank. Its got Ammonia levels 0.1ppm Nitrite 0.1ppm and Nitrite 10ppm. PH of 7. Temperature of 27 degrees. I have currently have 3 mollies and 2 peppermint brittle noses in their. I was looking to put in a couple of guppies but i have noticed when i have been doing the last couple water changes the water has turned a slight yellow coloration to it once i have done my 15% water change it seems to be fine but i was wondering if that will cause any long term affects and what has caused it? Should i be alarmed? Any suggestions would be great thanks guys


Cheers

Bradley

Lupin

Yellow water is caused by either leaching of tannic acids by dead leaves, woods and other organic matter or the organic matter itself has simply accumulated too much in your tank due to insufficient tank maintenance.

How often do you change your water and gravel vacuum?

mHeinitz57

if you have any driftwood in there it very well could be due to tannins leaching into the water. This will eventually decline and adding more carbon to the filter will help remove it faster. The other possibility is algea formation. How long do you leave the lights on in the tank? If you feel it is not from driftwood, try doing a water change and keep the lights down to only a few hours a day and see if that helps.

caferacermike

I'm gathering from what you wrote that the problem occurs after the water change? If so I'd check your source water. If it comes right from the tap it could have discolorations from the pipes. My first guess is that the tank became very dirty a while back and each time you do a water change you stir up the detritus causing the bacteria to grow like heck quickly hazing the water.

mHeinitz57

Generally a bacteria bloom will cause a milky white cloudiness, not a yellow. I would try keeping the lights down and block any direct sunlight if there is any.

bradley22

yeah i do a weekly water change and gravel vacum but i do think i leave the lights on for about 8 hours a day maybe a little more. I do have a piece of driftwood with a plant growing on it in there and i have noticed it discinergrating with little pieces breaking off all the time and it being very soft different to my other tanks where it is still solid and very hard. Should leave the light off for longer periods of time and should i maybe replace the drift wood?

Lupin

Yep. Replaced it.

bradley22

yeah i removed the driftwood and have got another piece, also put some more carbon into the tank as well. i will watch the water colour over coming week see if it still occurs and i will let everyone know if it still happens


regards

Bradley

willow

hi
just a thought,
i don't think you need to leave the light on for more
than eight hours. :)

Amphitrite

Bradley, you also said that you have slight ammonia and nitrite readings. How long has the tank been up and running for, and have you recently added more fish? It sounds to me like the tank is still in the process of cycling.

Keep a close eye on the water parameters, and increase water changes if you still have ammonia and nitrite readings. Oh - and I wouldn't recommend adding any more fish at this time.