Yellow water in tank

Degsy

I recently started a tank with a couple of oscars and a pleco,the fish seem to be doing well and are growing nicely.
However when i got the tank first i had in some large pieces of bogwood that stained the water and made the fish,especially the brown oscars difficult to see.

During my last water change i took the wood out but even with a 40% change there's still a noticiable tinge to the water and it looks pretty crappy if i'm honest.

So whats the best thing to do?

I have a much smaller tank that i'm currently cycling for some other fish,should i remove the oscars to that and empty the large one completely,or will this cause a problem with bacteria levels etc?

godtabh

bog wood can take a long time to leak all its tannis.

Did you boil it and soak it for a while before hand

Degsy

godtabh wrote: »

bog wood can take a long time to leak all its tannis.

Did you boil it and soak it for a while before hand

Soaked it for ages but its gone now and i wont be putting it back.

godtabh

I dont use bog wood any more but took a long time for it clear up when i did use it

fred funk }{

Simple thing to do. Get a packet of charcoal from your petshop. Get a piece of ladies tights and make a small pouch with the charcoal in it, small enough to squeeze into your filter. Tie a knot in the top.
Within about an hour your water will be crystal clear.

Degsy

Bloody water has gone cloudy now..i think it might be something to do with the way those oscars eat..they chew everything and get crumbs everywhere! I'm at the stage that i'm afraid to do too many water changes in case i upset the balance.

fred funk }{

Yeah, they're messy eaters alright. You could be feeding them too much and with Oscars it's easy to do as they tend to put on a bit of a show when eating.

I feed my fish every two to three days, that's all they need as the fish food is so concentrated with vitamins etc.

Over feeding is one of the biggest causes of failed aquariums and people dump tons of the stuff in. Try think of fish keeping as water keeping, if the water is healthy the fish will be healthy too.

Degsy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

Yeah, they're messy eaters alright. You could be feeding them too much and with Oscars it's easy to do as they tend to put on a bit of a show when eating.

I feed my fish every two to three days, that's all they need as the fish food is so concentrated with vitamins etc.

Over feeding is one of the biggest causes of failed aquariums and people dump tons of the stuff in. Try think of fish keeping as water keeping, if the water is healthy the fish will be healthy too.

I do tend to feed the a couple or more times a day but only when they're pretty much jumping out of the tank..they are VERY insistent when they're hungry!

I put in a couple of pinches of pellets per fish but they do tend to crunch the pellets up and make a mess...i'll cut back a bit on the feeding and see how it goes..meantime i've installed another pump to see if it helps clear the water.

Cameron Poe

Too many water changes is never a bad thing really. Lots of small regular water changes and regular testing and you can't go wrong. Between the Oscars and the plecs you have some of the messiest fish going so as they grow you'll need to over filtrate the tank big time.

fred funk }{

Degsy wrote: »

I do tend to feed the a couple or more times a day but only when they're pretty much jumping out of the tank..they are VERY insistent when they're hungry!

I put in a couple of pinches of pellets per fish but they do tend to crunch the pellets up and make a mess...i'll cut back a bit on the feeding and see how it goes..meantime i've installed another pump to see if it helps clear the water.

There's your problem Degsy. Your filter must be filthy too with all that sh1t
You should try the charcoal, it really makes a difference to the water. It'll be crystal clear in no time.

Degsy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

There's your problem Degsy. Your filter must be filthy too with all that sh1t
You should try the charcoal, it really makes a difference to the water. It'll be crystal clear in no time.

I have a charcoal filter sponge from another set-up..would a piece of that work?

Silverfish

Do you hoover the gravel with a gravel cleaner when you're siphoning out the water? They get an awful lot of crap out, helps keep the water clear.

Degsy

Silverfish wrote: »

Do you hoover the gravel with a gravel cleaner when you're siphoning out the water? They get an awful lot of crap out, helps keep the water clear.

Yep..and the water that comes from the bottom of the tank is manky..a mixture of fish poo and chewed pellets..actually would a few snails help?

Cameron Poe

Degsy wrote: »

I have a charcoal filter sponge from another set-up..would a piece of that work?

Yes but they have a limited lifespan before they can start leeching ammonia back in to the tank so if it's been used in another set up it's best to get a new one. Also the sponges tend to be a complete rip off so I'd go for the likes of this http://www.theaquariumsolution.com/rowa-carbon-500ml

Silverfish

Degsy wrote: »

Yep..and the water that comes from the bottom of the tank is manky..a mixture of fish poo and chewed pellets..actually would a few snails help?

If there's leftover pellets at the bottom then I'd say you're definitely feeding them too much!

Snails aren't much use for stuff like that really, I'd say use them less and try the carbon.

fred funk }{

Degsy wrote: »

I have a charcoal filter sponge from another set-up..would a piece of that work?

No not really Degsy. You want stuff like the link below, it comes in a big tub and you use it as you need it. It purifies the water and as I said earlier I used bits of ripped up tights, works perfect.

http://www.sourcingmap.com/black-fish-tank-aquarium-carbon-filter-filtration-p-53575.html

Degsy

fred funk }{ wrote: »

No not really Degsy. You want stuff like the link below, it comes in a big tub and you use it as you need it. It purifies the water and as I said earlier I used bits of ripped up tights, works perfect.

http://www.sourcingmap.com/black-fish-tank-aquarium-carbon-filter-filtration-p-53575.html

Great..thanks for all that..must steal a pair of tights from the neighbours washing line now lol

Degsy

Rightey..i did that thingy with teh charcoal,vacuumed the gravel and did a 20% water change,hoping for the best.

I've decided to get rid of the pleco,he's getting big and doesnt actually do anything..if anybody wants him PM me.