HELP! Tank water has turned brown color for two weeks

[bcournoyer5]

Hello everyone,

My tank water turns a brown color every morning and lasts the full day. At night, the water is crystal clear. Has anyone had this problem? I know a bacteria Bloom is milk white while algae bloom is a green color. When I take my filter pads out, they come out a brown color. Nitrites zero, ammonia zero, nitrates are 20ppm. All coral and fish are fine. I am currently in a blackout since yesterday, and this morning I checked and it is still a brown cloudiness. Anything will help!

 

[Mical]

A couple of questions: Why the blackout? How long has tank been up and running? Lastly what are you dosing?

 

[bcournoyer5]

A couple of questions: Why the blackout? How long has tank been up and running? Lastly what are you dosing?

I’m attempting a blackout as a last ditch effort to see if I can kill off whatever is in the water. The tank has been up and running for over a year. I have attached a picture of what I dose. I’ve only dosed twice as I only have about 7 frags in the tank. And when I do dose, it is not a lot. I have not dosed for about 2 weeks too.

 

[Mical]

How about your params? SG, DKH, Cal & mag? Sorry with all the questions but trying to help you

 

[bcournoyer5]

How about your params? SG, DKH, Cal & mag? Sorry with all the questions but trying to help you

No worries, and I’ve never tested any of that since I barely dose anything

 

[Mastiffsrule]

Carbon in a reactor if you are able may help, unless you already are running it. Do you have a sand bed? Maybe a fish disturbing the bed in the AM?

That would be my first thoughts

 

[vetteguy53081]

water change and add carbon in a nylon sack or pouch in path of running water.

 

[Saltyreef]

No worries, and I’ve never tested any of that since I barely dose anything

You should be testing your water regardless of if you dose or not.
Do you mix your own water? Are you running GAC?
As mentioned above, water changes and GAC should fix that if your ammonia and nitrite are all good.
Other than that, this is the water that came from my tank after my last cleaning and removal of the sand bed.

What does yours look like?

 

[Salty Lemon]

How long has your tank been set up? Is it just a few months old?

 

[sean rand]

Try running a UV light

 

[IslandLifeReef]

No worries, and I’ve never tested any of that since I barely dose anything

What you are dosing is ALK and Calcium, so you should be testing for those if you are going to dose the 2 part. That has nothing to do with your problem however. What is your PO4? Any pictures of the cloudy water? How often do you do water changes? Do you vacuum the sand?