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I talked my X wife out of her 55 gal aquarium last week. It’s been awhile sense I had an aquarium. She had it 7 or 8 years I think , her 2 big Jack Dempsey died. I sat it up last Sunday. Tuesday night when I got home with my first fish to put in to the tank it looked a little brown almost like tea but not as dark. I thought it would clear up in a few days but no luck. Saturday I put a few more African Cichlids in the tank. Does anyone know what cause the water to turn brown tint to it.?
The aquarium is going through it’s cycle I don’t want to change the water because I don’t want to prolong the cycle. I don’t want to change cartage on the filter because I’m afraid I will lose all the bacteria that turns in to Nitrate. I have an aqua clear that removes some of the Ammonia and Nitrites. Some of the pet store around town told me it may be the die in the drift wood , buy my X told me it is few years old. I doubt it has any die in it. I toke it out Sunday and no change s yet in the water. I know some tanks go through some cloudy water during its cycle but this look different.
The only other think I can think it might be is high Phosphate in the tap water. Does anyone know anything I can test for? Or anything I can do to fix it with out changing the water or filter cartage? Any info would be a very big help
aquarium is 9 days old
Nitrate 20
Nitrite 1.0 -3.0
Ammonia 1.0
Alkalinity 220
pH 7.5

The only thing that I can think of is tannins in the water from driftwood. Do you have any drift wood in there. If it is that , its harmless

-Vincent

yes I still have a small pice of drift wood in there. I toke the big one out. even if it is harmless it is ugly to look at the tea water. all my fish are doing real good soo far

Hi,
WELCOME TO FP!
Generally speaking, that browish color is due to the drift
wood leaching tannic acid into the tank. One of the
pieces must have been fresh and not cured. Normally we
would recommend that you simply do water changes to dilute
the color but as you say, with a cycling tank, any water
changes simply delay the cycling process.
Another way to remove the tannins is with the use of
charcoal (Carbon) in the filter. Since you are reluctant
to tear the filter apart, I would suggest that you purchase
an HOB filter (pretty good size for that tank) and fill it
only with carbon (charcoal), and nothing else, it
will lessen the intensity of the tea like color if
not remove it and not affect the cycling process.
I'd run the carbon for a week, and then replace
it with fresh carbon, and continue on a weekly basis until
the tank has cycled and you can do regular water changes
or the color is gone enough to not worry about it.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I have an aqua clear 70 hang on back filter. is it ok to change the cabon catage doring the cycle? thanks this site is a big help to me . I rad alot of post and have learn alot. i could sit here for days just reading. i love it

Hi,
I would leave your main filter as it is and not worry about
it. I would also add a second one, filled only with carbon
to the tank, and that one, I would change regularly. The
Carbon in each will adsorbe the tannins as well as some
of the fish uria and it may slow down the cycling process.
Your alternative is to live with the tea colored water,
which is harmless, until the tank has cycled.

Key on the fish. If they are "happy," eating, swimming
normally, and in general just being fish, then I would do
nothing. The time for intervention is when they are not
eating, lying listless on the bottom, or gasping at the
surface for air.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--