I need help!!

rs18alpha

Subscriber
Feb 3, 2017
240
26
28
Pennsylvania
Ok here we go.
My new set up is 12 days old and I have what looks like brown cloudy water and the sand has some brown on it.
Here's my tank set up
Fluval 70 hob fikter
Twinstar 900S led
1 Hydor 180gph pump
A Chichiros Algae inhibitor This is the first time I've tried this.
CO2 injection
Fluval Stratum substrate
Caribsea Aqua sand
lights are on for 8 hours a day
The CO2 comes on 1 hour before the lights turn on
and it goes off 2 hours before the lights turn off. I was trying to start off slow with the CO2 at first.In my old tank the CO2 turned off 1 hour before the lights turned off.
I use liquid ferts
I don't really now how to describe the brown, it looks like brown cloudy water.
I use old Manzanita wood so no brown water from this.
Check out the pics I hope they help.
Cam pics 10-17 685.JPG
Cam pics 10-17 685.JPG


Cam pics 10-17 686.JPG


Cam pics 10-17 687.JPG
 

ForTheHalibut

Member
Oct 12, 2017
44
10
8
34
New York, NY
Can we see a picture of the manzanita? Age of driftwood does not preclude tannin release, particularly if it has recently been reintroduced to a tank. Wood stays preserved if kept fully wet or fully dry. Wood rots when it transitions between wet and dry. If your wood has recently made a transition, it might be decomposing a little.

That said, it might not be tannins. Is the discoloration on your sand something resting on top of it (ex: organics like mulm, plant waste)? I'm not familiar with the anti-algae treatment you recently began using, but if it was effective in killing a large quantity of algae, that might be the culprit. Algae doesn't just disappear - like all living things, including you and me, it eventually turns into a brown mush. With enough water current, that brown mush can stay suspended in the water column, leading to brown water.

My third guess would be decomposing aquasoil, though I don't have a lot of personal experience in that area.