Cleaner Water

[ceaster1986]

i have had my tank running for about a month now and the water is a dirty yellow colour. i do frequent water changes and change the filter media but after a day the water always goes back a yellow colour

 

[Christine1014]

Hi! A bunch of questions/comments for you...

1. how big's your tank?
2. What's in it? (what fish? what plants? any wood?)
3. Did you cycle it?
4. you shouldn't actually replace your filter media ... I know in the instructions it probably tells you to, but the filter company's just trying to make you give them more $$! When you replace a filter media, you're throwing out all the beneficial bacteria, so each time you do this, you're tank is going to go through its cycle again.
5. What kind of light does your tank get? (what kind of lights do you have on the tank, how often are they turned on, and does any direct sunlight hit the tank?)
6. What kind of substrate do you have? (gravel? colored gravel? soil? sand? etc., etc...)

If you can give us that info, I bet we can figure out what's wrong.

 

[steelhealr]

Also..is there driftwood in the tank? SH

 

[vinylman]

All you need to do with your filter media is to squeeze it out into a bucket of old tank water during a water change. You can use it until it's falling apart. But when you do need to change it, only change half at a time.

 

[ceaster1986]

thanks for replies. went to fish shop today and was told that it could possibly be the bogwood in the tank as when i bought it i never left it in boiling water so the die will run in the tank. ive took out the bog wood and will change tank water tomorow. fingers crossed. also does anybody know if paradise fish have a tendancy to bully smaller fish or fin nip?

 

[steelhealr]

Activated carbon may also help in this situation. See that...driftwood...we mods know a LITTLE something. LOL. SH

 

[K.J.]

Driftwood leach tannins into the water for a few months. These aren't harmful and may even serve as a bit more of a natural habitat for the fish, but the water will look awful.

 

[dwarfgourami]

Driftwood leach tannins into the water for a few months. These aren't harmful and may even serve as a bit more of a natural habitat for the fish, but the water will look awful.

Or nice and natural, depending on your viewpoint.

As for the paradise fish, they are highly territorial so will defend their territory. And yes, they can be fin-nippers.

 

[ceaster1986]

After i have left the bogwood in boiling water for 24 hrs when i put it back in the tank will the water not turn a funny colour anymore?

 

[vinylman]

It varies, but if you boil a piece before it goes in the tank, you can get rid of most of the tannins. Put fresh boiling water into the container every couple of hours, you should see the difference.