Water has turned brown in days

[CincyGida]

I've had my 65g tank for about three years now and never had a severe algae issue. The tank goes through phases where the green hair algae would grow, then die off then grow more brown on the rocks, then die off, repeat. I have never lost a fish due to my water conditions.

Early last week I noticed that my water was turning brown only after 3 weeks from my last water change (with distilled water) and canister filter cleansing. My water usually stays clear for months but not this time.

I then cleaned the canister filter out again and did a 20g water change with RO/DI water from the local fish store. Now the water is already getting worse and more brown. These pics were taken today and I think I'm experiencing an algae bloom for the first time:

http://gida.tzo.net/images/marine/Tank_Brown1.jpg

http://gida.tzo.net/images/marine/Tank_Brown2.jpg

Notice that it's almost impossible to see the back of the tank in these pics - it's usually crystal clear.

Thanks for any advice - I'd hate to lose fish for the first time due to water conditions.

[bertoni]

You might be seeing a phytoplankton bloom or a bacterial bloom, or perhaps decay components. I'd watch carefully for signs of gasping from the fish, a sign of low oxygen levels. If you could borrow a UV unit for a few days, that might be useful.

I'm not sure what exactly is causing your problems, but likely there are more nutrients going into the tank than the filtration can remove. This article has a lot of ideas that might help, although it's written in terms of a nitrate problem:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/august2003/chem.htm

Better skimming or growing and harvesting a macroalga would be two of the more common approaches. A phosphate reactor might be appropriate as well.

[WaterKeeper]

I'd also consider running a micron filter cartridge in the canister. It too will help control algae and bacteria blooms, often better than a UV as they handle much more flow.

[CincyGida]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9545255#post9545255 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by WaterKeeper
I'd also consider running a micron filter cartridge in the canister. It too will help control algae and bacteria blooms, often better than a UV as they handle much more flow.

Thank you both for the replies. I found a micro filter for my Fluval 305 canister filter today and the water is about 80%-90% back to normal only after 5-6 hours - thanks!

I will keep cleaning the canister and filter pads out daily this week to keep the cleansing process going and to help avoid another bloom. I am a little surprised that the micro filter was so effective and so fast that I'm not fully sold on it yet, though, this could be best and cheapest solution to brown water that I've seen.

Thanks again!

[WaterKeeper]

Well there is brown water and brown (yellow) water. When the water is turbid like yours it is often a diatom/brown algae/bacteria outbreak that the filter can remove mechanically. On the other hand there are humic acids that color the water yellowish-brown but the water is clear in other respects. A carbon filter removes this coloration, gelbstof, but a micron filter won't touch it. In your case, judging by the picture, it was the former.

[CincyGida]

My problem came back about two days after the micro filter cleared it up and now it's back for good. I change out the contents of the my canister filter every few days, including changing the active carbon every week and changed the micro filters twice now. I did two more water changes since my last post and now the water is as brown as ever.

You can see the brown misty particles flowing with the water currents. It's a swarm of brown with each wave. I'm afraid my tank will soon crash.

One other thing of interest... there's no "goo" on anything anymore - no hair algae, no brown slime. All of the tank components are squeaky clean - I've never seen that before.

I'm not experienced enough to fix this, nor know why it happened in the first place. It's been three years and running with no issues. There are some major chemical changes going on.

Do these symptoms sound familiar to anyone? I'm at the point where I need an experienced professional to come over or something...

[Billybeau1]

Can you tell us your current numbers ?

[CincyGida]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=9708237#post9708237 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Billybeau1
Can you tell us your current numbers ?

Ok, just took these:

pH - just less than 8.4
Ammonia - 0
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Phosphate - 0.5 (this seems to be a problem but is it THEE problem?)

I do have a can of phosphate sponge to pour into a micron bag. I'm going to try this to try to bring the level down.

Sp does excessive phosphate kill green algae and explode brown?

[Billybeau1]

In my experience, as Po4 levels increase, algae turns from green to brown to red as it gets higher. I don't think phosphates are your problem right now.

Personally, at this point , if it were my tank, I would do a 50% water change (I know 30 gallons is a lot) and renew all of your carbon and filter pads.

I'm not sure what caused this all of a sudden, but it looks like you are having a major bacteria bloom.

The fact that your ammonia is 0 is a good sign.

[Icefire]

Which salt mix? some one had a brown tank with red sea salts

[CincyGida]

IceFire -
I use Instant Ocean salt.

Billy -
I will keep the phosphate sponge going for several days and I will begin doing major water changes until I see a reduction.

Thanks for the tips - I will report back in a few days!

[Billybeau1]

:thumbsup: good luck :)

[GMFett]

I'd Chemiclean it. It will clear that right up with no harmful side effects.

[GMFett]

I'd Chemiclean it. It will clear that right up with no harmful side effects.

[CincyGida]

I did a 35g water change and replaced filter media about 4 days ago - water was crystal clean. After two days a lot of the brown came back but I did another 30g water change - water was clean again. Then I did another 30g water change yesterday just in case the bloom was building up.

The water seems ok today but I do not trust it to be in rhythm yet.

I also did get rid of the phosphate issue - it's now < 0.03 - so perhaps that will help out the general well-being of the tank.

I will not be able to change the water for the rest of the week so this will be interesting to see what happens...

Thanks all for your input - I will post back again.

[Billybeau1]

Good news I hope :thumbsup:

[jdieck]

Well so far I think you have been battling the symptoms but not the cause. If it is a bacterial or algae bloom what is creating it?
What are you feeding, what are you using as Calcium and Alkalinity supplements, Any product containing gluconates?
Also I did not see you posting anything regarding your calcium and alkalinity. Can you post the levels and let us know what are you supplementing? This might be a long shot but by the level of PH you could possibly be seeing some abiotic precipitation if your supplementation is too high.