23 replies to this topic

[JNo2]

My water in my reef tank has a yellowish tinge to it.
No idea what's causing it, all my levels are ok. Nitrates are a little high but everything else is ok.
I've been using distilled water recently in my water changes and I am pretty regular at it.
If anyone knows what could cause this then please help me out.
I'll post a photo tonight if I can get a descent one.

- Jimmy

[nicoff08]

Aren't you meant to be workin.
get some good carbon and that should get rid of it. its because your not running a skimmer.
i have cut your zoo's and acro. i have done some ordering on aussie aquarium corals which just came today.
am i workin with you or paul 2moro?
anyway get some carbon and i'll bring the corals in next weekend.

[aqua86]

Aren't you meant to be workin.
get some good carbon and that should get rid of it. its because your not running a skimmer.
i have cut your zoo's and acro. i have done some ordering on aussie aquarium corals which just came today.
am i workin with you or paul 2moro?
anyway get some carbon and i'll bring the corals in next weekend.

i dont think you should be looking at corals if you're not running a skimmer.

[Neakit]

dude many people keep corals with out skimmers but they have a very strict water changing regeim, how big is the tank, how much water are you changing at any one time, how often do you do water changes whats your stocking like....

Details please.

[Sazabi]

I've had a coral tank without a skimmer before, believe me... it was a lot of work, in the end I just got myself a skimmer. Although I have heard Zorb's biochem works well... although using compounds to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate isnt a good idea unless you are trying for a quick fix to try and keep the ANN (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) down so your filters can catch up.

Never did try carbon before... oh well, I dont have marine tanks any more, too much work and the salt causes my arms to have rashes

[aqua86]

I've had a coral tank without a skimmer before, believe me... it was a lot of work, in the end I just got myself a skimmer. Although I have heard Zorb's biochem works well... although using compounds to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate isnt a good idea unless you are trying for a quick fix to try and keep the ANN (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) down so your filters can catch up.

Never did try carbon before... oh well, I dont have marine tanks any more, too much work and the salt causes my arms to have rashes

"using compounds to reduce ammonia, nitrite and nitrate isnt a good idea unless you are trying for a quick fix to try and keep the ANN (ammonia, nitrite, nitrate) down so your filters can catch up."

basically my point, using a masking product, to mask a problem is no fix. you need a skimmer if you're looking at running a "successful" marine tank with corals. skimmers are not expensive and would easily out way products such as Zorb's biochem and purigen in the long run which are not actually fixing your problem, they will polish your water but are still not removing the essential proteins you need gone in order to provide a nutrient free environment to host corals in. i am unsure as to why you are overlooking one of the key elements to a successful reef tank, there is no alternative to running a skimmer!

neakit: "how much water are you changing at any one time, how often do you do water changes whats your stocking like...." the amount of water you would have to change to stay on top of it would be a waste of time, every time you will be water changing, you will have to double dose "expensive products" to get your ca,ka ect levels back up to optimum levels. i don't not see the point of frequent water changes in a reef tank. i wish people would not give these quick short term fixes. if you are planning on owning a mature reef tank, you are going to need a skimmer in the long run. a 50% water change every few months with NSW and ro/di evaporation top ups i believe is all you really need. and i am not changing the water due to poor water conditions.

on another note, filters have been mentioned in this topic. are you running a filter ? if so remove your filter. what is your water circulation like ? you should be aiming for 20-30x turn over an hour. with that much water turn over with an adequate amount of live rock you should not be running a canister filter, there is no place for one.

if you are serious about your reef tank and would like answers from some of the most experienced reefers in Australia, join www.masa.asn.au if you have not already, and ask you question here. im sure you will get different advice as to some of the advice you will be given here.

Ian

[dazzabozza]

Gday Ian

The skimmer debate has been done to death many times. Here's a mature reef tank that does not contain a skimmer - http://www.perthcich...showtopic=16738

Comments around the interval needed for water changes surely comes down to stocking levels and nitrate build-up. My 330L tank (skimmerless) I can get away with water changes every 6 weeks or so. A friend's 180L (with skimmer) tank requires weekly changes to keep the nitrates down. Keeping a closed system without regular water changes must also require more dosing of trace elements that get consumed?

I can tell that you've done a heap of research but you'd also have to agree that there's no one perfect way of running a reef tank.


Dazza

[Neakit]

Ian, I have had a marine tank alot longer than you think, If you do change water regularly with nsw why dose at all cause lets face it all your "optimum" levels are achieved cause you are using natural sea water, which corals already grow in............

[Tucunare]

carbon has phosphate in it that will be released into the water unless you use a high grade marine carbon.
have you used tri sulfa in there resently?? that turns your water yellow.
have you added any things like janator crabs, shrimps, sand sifter stars, gobies, goatfish or cucumbers lately that may be digging through your sand bed releasing detrites into the water colume?.
if you run a skimmer is it back flowing or overflowing into the sump/main display?
nsw or synthetic? i have used synthetic which had a yellowish tinge - cheap and nasty, never touched it again.
is it a bacterial bloom?
i do agree with alot of the above mentioned stuff like if you run cannisters (nitrate traps) that could be your problem. I run cannisters on a few of my systems, though i take out all the sponges and media and replace with things like phosphate removers and nitrate removers which work well provided you keep on top of it
steve

[JNo2]

Cheers for all the suggetions.
I do water changes once a fortnight and it's a 280Lt tank.
Not too many corals, more morphs than anything else.
Only 2 fish in it at the moment. Both have white spot probably due to the dodgey water.
I'm running two cannister filters with a UV filter. I have a skimmer nnow and it hasn't really helped the situation.
Might just do a big water change and see what happens.
On a side note... Anyone know of any good websites with white spot information?
It's getting a bit rediculous.
Cheers!

- Jimmy

[Neakit]

Have you been on http://www.masa.asn.au ?? If not the people there can give some good ideas, Now with the tank do some water changes over 2-3 days not all at once (that can shock the system and your fish don't need the extra stress concidering their predicament) How much live rock do you have?? if you have a reasonable amount just take the cannisters off for good. just a side note its up to you if you want to keep the uv going.

[JNo2]

Probably should have read the thread before I changed my water.
Took half out last night and put new stuff in but it's still yellow.
Here's a photo of what colour it is...



Not sure on the weight of my live rock but it's about one third to half the tank.
The white spot has cleared up on the fish now so that's one thing gone right.
Not really sure about whether I want to take the canister filters off. Might put a whole bunch of absorbant stuff in one of them and see what happens.
Any ideas on what stuff I should be putting in the canister?
Stoopid yellow water.

[Neakit]

if you wish to run the phosphate or nitrate sponges sure, just take them off and im sure your tank will improve by large amounts. another thought is you may want to change the water again soon.

[aqua86]

=/ that looks like the water from my local duck pond

whats your water circulation like in your tank ?
what are your water parameters ?

[Sazabi]

Here's a photo of what colour it is...

That is very yellow..... would indicate your filters have not caught up to match the amounts of waste being produced.

You've tried almost everything already, so why not get a skimmer... would cost less than buying purigen, zorbs etc in the long run

my 2cents

[JNo2]

Skimmer's back on.
Gonna take one of the canisters off next week and replace everything in the remaining one with nitrate absorder, phosphate eliminator and carbon.
The water is slowly clearing up though so that's a good sign.

another thought is you may want to change the water again soon.

Why?

[Neakit]

the yellow pigment is removed the easiest with waterchanges, carbon and ozone do this too but waterchanges are cheaper and faster.

[Gavin]

Your system is probably relying on those canisters ATM, you should slowly reduce the filter media over a few months before taking them off. That will allow bacteria levels on the rock to increase enough to cater for full bio-load.

[Sazabi]

Yeah, just do it nice and slowly, if the yellowish tinge is disappating, wait until there is a substantial change before you take one of your canisters off.

[Tucunare]

i find the best way to treat whitespot with corals in the tank is tri sulfa, it will stain your water but its already yellow so i wouldnt worry about it.
do as gavin said and adjust your cannisters down slowly so your rock and sand bed collonise as they have to.
what substraight are you using??? and this may seem like a stupid question but is there any wood in there???