I have a fish aquarium which is quite big.within a month the water turn yellowish and becomes turbid .?

Question

I clean the filter everyday and i have even tried various kinds of fish food still it doesn't seem to work. I have a total of 13 fishes and even their colour becomes dull after sometime. Please tell me the reason . I feed the fishes twice a day and i feed them with Dephnia.

Answer 1

It sounds to me as if the tank is under filtered or over stocked. The yellowish color is mostly likely due to protein build up in the water. The daphnia would be my first guess as to the source. Turbidity can be from one of two causes.

If it's greenish you have an aglae bloom, if the turbidity is more of a milky apperance it's a bacterial bloom. Neither will harm the tank but both are obviously unattractive. AS for fising the problem there are a few suggestions.

I would suggest you clean the filter less often, once a week is better. Replace the carbon in the filter at each cleaning. You don't mention doing water changes, so if you aren't I would suggest changing about 25% of the water once a week. Use a gravel siphon from the pet store to clean the gravel as you do this.

Also be very careful you aren't over feeding. Feed only as much food as the fish will eat in 3-4 minutes twice a day.

If these steps don't clear up the problem within 2-3 weeks I would recommend you purchase a larger filter.

MM

Answer 2

Do you have driftwood in the tank - especially something you've collected yourself? If this is leaching tannins, it will turn your water yellow-brown - this can go on for almost 2 years with submerged wood. It may also be affecting your pH and stressing the fish, making them change their color. Some types of stone (sandstone in paticular) can make your water colored (and acidic) as well.

How often are you doing water changes? And how much volume are you changing each time? A 20-30% water change every 1-2 weeks is usually sufficient to remove organics that will color the water, but not always. Are you waiting a month between your water changes? Try doing them a little more often. I'd also consider varying their diet a little more - it's not good to rely on one food all the time, two or more foods will provide a better balance of nutrients. And only feed what they will eat in 2-3 minutes, so they don't get too much.

Answer 3

Now.. what do you consider "big"? I used to deal with a lot of people who would say it was big.. and I would ask them how big.. and they'd say 30 gallons... which is NOT big. You should also specify what kind of fish you have. A fishes color becomes dull whenever it is feeling stressed. Something is wrong in the tank.... You may also have an algae bloom from too much sunlight... turn the light off half the day for a week and get it out of direct sunlight. Get some fish-safe algae killer. Depending on the size of your tank you may have too many fish and there is simply just too much waste that is not being cleaned out fast enough.

Answer 4

Cleaning or replacing the filter means you lose all the bacteria in it that break down the waste. You should never replace the filter unless it is clogged. Most can be rinsed clean and replace the carbon and used many times. There's three types of filtration, mechanical (the removal of debris) biological (the breaking down of waste) and carbon (the removal of ammonia). The only way to achieve biological filtration is to leave it in and let the bacteria grow.

Answer 5

Listen to Danielle, she has the best advice. It sounds like algae or algae bloom due to over feeding.

Answer 6

its a natural thing after some times the water become oily smelly and yellow for this we cant do anything but to purchace a big external filter to over come these problem

Answer 7

I agree with mm here however there could be other problems going on with your tank, especially if you have made attempts to correct it. Sometimes not always will the Dephnia turn the tank yellow.

Algae right now is what your tank seems to be suffering from. Although green water is a more common problem, Yellow algae is just another form of "Green" algae. If you are using live dephnia to feed your fish chances are they are not eating the algae quickly enough.


More on algae:
Algae are mostly-photosynthetic organisms that sometimes resemble plants but are not plants, having no true roots, stems or leaves. Algae grow in freshwater and saltwater. Saltwater algae are sometimes referred to as "seaweed." Like plants, algae require light and nutrients to grow. We supply plenty of both in our aquariums, with several hours of aquarium lighting a day and nutrients like nitrates and phosphates from fish waste.

Algae come in many forms. There are microscopic, one-celled algae, filamentous algae that resemble hair, algae that grow in sheets, and macroalgae that look like plants. There are even algae that live inside the outer integument ("skin") or calcium shell of some corals, anemones, and other sessile invertebrates called zooxanthellae. There are slimy-looking algae that are often not algae at all, but a colony of primitive photosynthetic organisms known as cyanobacteria. There are also very hard-to-remove little dots of green that sometimes grow on aquarium panels which also are not algae, but diatom or radiolarian colonies (microscopic, one-celled, animals with hard shells) with algae incorporated in their matrix. With all that said, let us answer some common questions right up front:

Algae growth is inevitable in an aquarium.
Algae consume nutrients in the aquarium that if allowed to accumulate, are harmful to fish. Algae can be a good thing.
The presence of green algae in an aquarium indicates a healthy environment for fish.
There is absolutely no way to completely prevent algae from growing in an aquarium, without killing the other life in the tank.
Chemicals should never be used to control the growth of true algae in an aquarium, and should only be used in rare circumstances to control cyanobacteria.
Correcting a severe algae problem requires time and patience.
Natural methods of controlling algae are the best and most effective.

Algae removal from the tank panels can be done on an as-needed basis, but no more than once a week. Removing algae involves either correcting negative water conditions to control or slow excessive algae growth, or an age-old process known as "elbow grease" (scrubbing it off!). Algae removal in an aquarium should be done only when necessary. We have seen many aquariums where daily removal of algae resulted in fish that were so stressed, most had diseases and were dying. You should never remove all of the algae from your tank. Allowing some algae to grow in the aquarium can be beneficial to the aquatic environment. When algae is removed from aquarium side panels, care should be taken to select an algae scrubber that will not hurt the finish of an aquarium. Be careful not to get gravel caught in an algae scrubbing pad where it can scratch the aquarium. Never use household cleaning pads to remove algae. They contain fungicides that kill fish.

Your first mistake is boiling the water. Boiling water consentrates the nitrates in it causing algae to grow even faster. However, I've never heard of it growing within an hour Wow!

First, test the water you are filling up your tank with. Many public water supplies (our homes) have a concentration of nitrates at around 7ppm or higher. (Bottled water is no better).

This could be the start of your problem.
Be sure your tank is not within direct or indirect lighting such as a window or in a room where the lights are on constantly. Is you tank near a heat source. Sometimes we do not take into consideration a fishtank is near a heat register which can and does add additional temperature changes to your tank.

Did you clean the filter as well? Be sure the entire filter is cleaned and free of algae.

Use a razor or scraper and gently scrape all sides of your tank. Clean your gravel and return it to the tank as well. DO NOT wash the gravel in the tank. The residues of the algae will remain.

Since you have NO FISH I am assuming, use cold water to start your tank. Algae likes heat and light. Using cold water will prohibit growth. Allow your tank to run bringing it to room temperature. Then you can plug in your heater allowing your tank to run.

If you have a stick on thermometer, get yourself a floating one. The stick on thermometers pick up ambient air temperatures from OUTSIDE the tank and can be up to 10 degrees off. DON"T trust them. Try keeping your tank at 72 for a couple of days.

You can also purchase phosphorus pads for around $2.00 at your local pet store. These can be cut to fit with your filter and remove large amounts of phosphorus. These can be reused over and over just remember to rinse them out well when you clean your tank.

Test your water. Since you have not gone thru the cycle process allow your tank to run. This should really help with the algae. If you find your water quality is all your tank isn't near a heat or light source, ok but still getting algae turn the temperature down or off and let it run. You will want to scrape the sides of the tank and do a water change no more than 20% every other day. This should only be done if the algae returns in a heavy form.

Avoid using chemicals to clear the water. I hate this way since most the flocculents stick to the gills of fish, while not killing them it does compromise their gill function for quite a while leaving them open for other maladies. again though not a method I recommend.

your water becoming turbid can result in the same. However be sure you are not over feeding your fish. This is the major cause.

As always, if you need more info, feel free to im or email me any time.

Answer 8

how much gravel do you have in it? not enough will not keep your bacteria down