Please call our toll free number to discuss ordering. 7:30 am - 10:00 pm CST Mon-Fri 8:00 am - 8:00 pm CST Sat-SunAquarium water is normally clear and colorless, but from time to time it can become cloudy or tinted. Unexpected yellow or brownish colored water is usually a sign of trouble, although there are cases when it is not a problem. To ensure that your aquarium habitat is safe for your fish, investigate yellow or brown water promptly to determine the root cause so you can correct it if needed.Bacteria overgrowth, often referred to as bacterial blossom or bloom, will cause cloudiness. In fact, the water may appear to be gray or milky, but the bacteria does not tint the water yellow, brown or even green. Anytime the water takes on a distinctly yellow or brown tint, the problem is dissolved organic material rather than bacteria, so you can rule out bacterial blossom as the root cause.Keep in mind that there can be multiple issues going on at the same time. If you have tinted water that is also very cloudy rather that clear, you may have a couple different issues to contend with.

You may have heard that tinted or cloudy water is caused by DOC, but what does that mean? DOC stands for dissolved organic compounds and it comprises any organic matter that has broken down in the water. It could be fish waste, uneaten food that has decayed, decaying plant parts or even a dead fish that has decomposed.All of these sources can result in organic compounds that dissolve in the water, thus changing its makeup. These compounds ultimately impact the health of your fish, because over time they will contribute to changes in the water chemistry that are harmful to its inhabitants. Dissolved organic compounds will also give rise to unpleasant odors and make the aquarium look less attractive.The presence of tannins is one cause of brown or yellow water that is usually not a problem. Tannins are present in driftwood, and over time they will leach into the aquarium water, staining it yellow to brown. Tannins lower the pH of the water and soften it. For some fish, this may be desirable and even recommended.

This is particularly true of fish from South America that require soft acidic water to thrive and promote spawning.The first step is to test the water and determine the pH, ammonia, nitrite and nitrate levels. Also examine the tank carefully. fish tank water keeps getting dirtyIs there a lot of debris? fish tank stands mackayDead plants, uneaten food on the substrate, perhaps even a missing fish that might be hidden somewhere and decomposing? fish tank stand dimensionsDo you have any driftwood in the tank? fish tanks half priceIs the filter running normally? fish tank water container

Does the water have foam on the surface? If you take some water and put it in a closed container and shake it, does it produce foam? All of these elements provide clues to sorting out the root cause and resolving the problem.cheap aquariums for sale onlineOnce you've completed your tests and observations, you can now determine the course of action. One red flag to keep in mind: If your tank is really dirty, don't clean everything on the same day. Stagger the cleaning regimen to give the fish a chance to adjust to the changes. It will also give your biological colonies a chance to recover as well. If you disrupt the filter and gravel bed at the same time, you could make things worse instead of better. Do one, then wait a week and do the other.It may take some time to clear up the water, but eventually it will resolve. Continue a regimen of regular maintenance and the problem is not likely to recur.

Friendly bacteria include the scavenging, decomposing bacteria digesting uneaten fish food, plant matter, dead algae, and basically everything that consist of organic matter. The nitrifying bacteria aka nitrifiers aka beneficial bacteria, convert ammonia (resulting from bacterial activity, fish waste etc.) into the less toxic compounds of nitrite and nitrate. On rare occasions, denitrifying bacteria can settle in oxygen free areas and transform nitrate into oxygen and nitrogen gas. Pathogenic bacteria are opportunistic, meaning as long as the fish is healthy, it will not be bothered. Some bacteria are present at all times and in a constant fight with the fishs’ immune system. A strong immune system allows the survival of the bacteria strain without harming the fish. Bacterial infections are secondary diseases, they can only prevail if the fish is weakened under stressful conditions (heat, ammonia, nitrite, high organics, low dissolved oxygen etc.), resulting in rapidly multiplying pathogens.

A stressed and weak fish with pathogenic bacteria present results in a bacterial infection, which will be fatal if left untreated. A bacterial infection can therefore be defined as by pathogens outgrowing the defending cells of the immune system. Antibiotics function by slowing down the pathogens thus increasing the immune systems efficiency. Nevertheless, it is the immune system that cures the disease not the antibiotic. To achieve a slowdown, antibiotics interfere with the reproductive mechanisms of the pathogen by interrupting its lifecycle. The two relating terms are antibiotics and antibacterial. While antibiotics are naturally produced by a microorganism to kill another microorganism, antibacterial substances such as sulfa and furans are manufactured artificially. (The term antibiotic is further used in this text referring to both, antibiotic and antibacterial). To apply the correct antibiotic to a given pathogen the pathogens cell wall is decisive for the determination.

Pathogens have either a thin or a thick cell wall. The method to differentiate between the two main types of bacterial cell walls is called the “Gram Staining Technique”. Developed by the Danish physician Hans Christian Gram, Gram stained bacteria samples with the coloring agent crystal violet then applied potassium iodide resulting in a water insoluble blue-purple discoloration of the bacteria. Adding ethanol-alcohol as a decolorizing compound, the bacteria either retained the blue-purple color or turned red following a treatment with Safranin a counter-stain used for visibility purposes. The blue-purple color indicates a thick cell wall and is called “gram positive”, while red indicates a thin cell wall and is referred to as “gram negative”. This is of importance because of the response towards certain antibiotics. Antibiotics against (thick wall) gram positive pathogens prevent the build up and repair of the cell wall whicheventually will lead to the cell content leaching out, consequently killing the pathogen.

Antibiotics against (thin wall) gram negative attack by interfering with the protein synthesis (metabolic process) therefore eliminating the cells ability to produce food. Gram positive antibiotics will not have any effect on gram negative bacteria nor will gram negative antibiotics have an effect on gram positive bacteria. The most common pathogen in the aquarium are the aeromonad species for freshwater and its counterpart vibrionaceae in marine and reefs. Both are gram negative and everywhere present in the aquarium as part of the bacterial flora. Aeromonads/vibrionaceae can be responsible for dropsy, abdominal swellings, skin ulcers, red patches, fin and tail rot and pop-eye. General indicators of bacterial diseases can be disformed frayed fins, open sores, red steaks on fins or along the fish body, grey film on eyes, swollen or bloated belly, lethargic behavior, loss of appetite to name a few. It is essential to determine the disease causing bacteria in order to apply the correct antibiotic.