Yellow water, and maybe not from organics?

[MartinM]

So, I’m having a big problem with yellow water. It’s not slightly yellow, it’s noticeably yellow. It’s an ~800L system with some messy eaters, but nitrates are 0 and phosphates are ~.05, probably due to lots of decent size clams) if that’s relevant. Organics must be low/consumed by something else, because I can go a week and barely get algae on the glass, but I feed heavily and everything (fish, clams, anemones, a few corals) are growing quickly.

I’m using quite a large amount of carbon (about half a liter by volume of Seachem’s Matrix carbon, replaced every week) that the entirety of the system flows directly through several times per hour. I’m also using 120mg/hour of ozone in a compression reactor. There’s no skimmer on the system. Water changes are twice a month of about 1/4the volume of the tank. I’ve even tried low dose H202 dosing (50mL 3x/day) for additional oxidation.

And…no luck. The water looks awful.

I’ve tested to make sure it’s not particulates of some kind using calcium carbonate and 5 micron socks. The amount of carbon also seems to have no impact, I tried a very large amount, small amounts, nothing seems to help.

I’m awaiting a new ozone generator when I’ll bump the ozone up to about 400mg/hour+ to see if that helps, but I’m not sure that it will.

I’m at a loss! Any suggestions? More ozone? Use a skimmer? I don’t usually use a skimmer because I don’t want them removing all the food I add, and other systems I have that are skimmer-less don’t have yellow water…thoughts are appreciated!

 

[Garf]

So, I’m having a big problem with yellow water. It’s not slightly yellow, it’s noticeably yellow. It’s an ~800L system with some messy eaters, but nitrates are 0 and phosphates are ~.05, probably due to lots of decent size clams) if that’s relevant. Organics must be low/consumed by something else, because I can go a week and barely get algae on the glass, but I feed heavily and everything (fish, clams, anemones, a few corals) are growing quickly.

I’m using quite a large amount of carbon (about half a liter by volume of Seachem’s Matrix carbon, replaced every week) that the entirety of the system flows directly through several times per hour. I’m also using 120mg/hour of ozone in a compression reactor. There’s no skimmer on the system. Water changes are twice a month of about 1/4the volume of the tank. I’ve even tried low dose H202 dosing (50mL 3x/day) for additional oxidation.

And…no luck. The water looks awful.

I’ve tested to make sure it’s not particulates of some kind using calcium carbonate and 5 micron socks. The amount of carbon also seems to have no impact, I tried a very large amount, small amounts, nothing seems to help.

I’m awaiting a new ozone generator when I’ll bump the ozone up to about 400mg/hour+ to see if that helps, but I’m not sure that it will.

I’m at a loss! Any suggestions? More ozone? Use a skimmer? I don’t usually use a skimmer because I don’t want them removing all the food I add, and other systems I have that are skimmer-less don’t have yellow water…thoughts are appreciated!

Sounds like a phyto bloom, but that’s a bit odd. Do you dose phyto at all?

 

[MartinM]

I do, but not live. Also I’ve been having the problem for months. I thought ozone would solve it, but after a week of ozone, no luck - and it’s been getting worse, not better, over time.

 

[homer1475]

More then likely a bacterial bloom.

Do you run a UV?

 

[Garf]

More then likely a bacterial bloom.

Do you run a UV?

A bit odd to be yellow though. Saying that, I had one where whatever it was looked far too big to be bacteria, they looked like fine sand particles in the right light. UV cleared it right up. I’m guessing the OP would need an enormous one.

I do, but not live. Also I’ve been having the problem for months. I thought ozone would solve it, but after a week of ozone, no luck - and it’s been getting worse, not better, over time.

I would throw the skimmer on, see what it pulls out, you never know.

 

[Mark Gray]

So, I’m having a big problem with yellow water. It’s not slightly yellow, it’s noticeably yellow. It’s an ~800L system with some messy eaters, but nitrates are 0 and phosphates are ~.05, probably due to lots of decent size clams) if that’s relevant. Organics must be low/consumed by something else, because I can go a week and barely get algae on the glass, but I feed heavily and everything (fish, clams, anemones, a few corals) are growing quickly.

I’m using quite a large amount of carbon (about half a liter by volume of Seachem’s Matrix carbon, replaced every week) that the entirety of the system flows directly through several times per hour. I’m also using 120mg/hour of ozone in a compression reactor. There’s no skimmer on the system. Water changes are twice a month of about 1/4the volume of the tank. I’ve even tried low dose H202 dosing (50mL 3x/day) for additional oxidation.

And…no luck. The water looks awful.

I’ve tested to make sure it’s not particulates of some kind using calcium carbonate and 5 micron socks. The amount of carbon also seems to have no impact, I tried a very large amount, small amounts, nothing seems to help.

I’m awaiting a new ozone generator when I’ll bump the ozone up to about 400mg/hour+ to see if that helps, but I’m not sure that it will.

I’m at a loss! Any suggestions? More ozone? Use a skimmer? I don’t usually use a skimmer because I don’t want them removing all the food I add, and other systems I have that are skimmer-less don’t have yellow water…thoughts are appreciated!

I was running Ozone through my skimmer, I upgraded to an Avast Marine Ozone reactor. It improved my water clarity greatly and no ozone smell at all anymore. Good luck

 

[MartinM]

Yep I’m using Ozone, in a pressure reactor nonetheless, but it’s a low dose until I get in a new generator which I’m waiting for.

I can give UV a try, I know it pairs well with H2O2. But I dont’ think it’s bacterial, blooms don’t last that long, and usually cloud the water some, but aren’t yellow. This is as though there’s some yellow food coloring in the water, not a bacterial bloom cloudiness or haze as if it was particulates.

 

[homer1475]

Out of curiosity, how are you running the carbon? In a reactor or just passively in a media bag in the sump?

 

[MartinM]

The overflows drain into mesh socks full of carbon, and the tank is turned over several times per hour (dual Vectra L2’s). There’s also a carbon reactor attached to the exit of the ozone reactor and then that drains into one of the socks full of carbon also.

 

[Randy Holmes-Farley Verified Community Expert]

Can you get a picture of the tank?

Just as a science point, the yellow color is almost certainly from organics, whether dissolved or perhaps particulate. If it was from inorganics (the only other choice), then some trace elements such as iron would be incredibly high. If you just added some very dusty GFO, that might be it, but otherwise I expect it is organic.

I do not think there's necessarily any correlation between organics present in sufficient quantity to yellow the water, and algae.

When was the last time you changed the GAC?

 

[homer1475]

Could it be carbon dust? Would think it would tint the water grey, but it might just be yellowish.

With the water just crashing into it from your overflow, I'm sure some is getting ground up into dust.

 

[Mr. Mojo Rising]

yes, pics please. In 20 years of reefing, I never had yellow water. Don't see yellow water issue on this forum either, so something very peculiar is going on.

 

[MartinM]

Can you get a picture of the tank?

Just as a science point, the yellow color is almost certainly from organics, whether dissolved or perhaps particulate. If it was from inorganics (the only other choice), then some trace elements such as iron would be incredibly high. If you just added some very dusty GFO, that might be it, but otherwise I expect it is organic.

I do not think there's necessarily any correlation between organics present in sufficient quantity to yellow the water, and algae.

When was the last time you changed the GAC?

I’ll post photos soon. I don’t use GFO, so that wouldn’t be it. The GAC was changed a week ago.

I’ve been reefing for over 20 years as well, and I’ve definitely seen plenty of yellow-tinted water in tanks (mine and others), but GAC/Ozone could/did solve the problem. This is the first time I’ve seen it fail to do so. (If I saw this water in someone else’s tank I would just suggest they do a water change and run carbon, and consider ozone.)

 

[vetteguy53081]

Often referred to as tea water is caused by organics and while carbon addresses it , having water fall onto a carbon bag may be ineffective. While everyone has a method of running carbon with no reactor, Best in the path of water flowing - in my case, the sump area as water goes to next chamber before the skimmer

 

[Mjl714]

I suspect you’re process is not effectively applying gac.

 

[taricha]

My water has had visible color, and gac brought it to colorless.

I'd take out bottles of the water, bubble one with an airstone and GAC, run one through a micron filter, and compare to an untreated bottle.

Dumb question, does your water still have notable color outside of the aquarium, or might you be dealing with yellow on/of the tank walls?

 

[MartinM]

Often referred to as tea water is caused by organics and while carbon addresses it , having water fall onto a carbon bag may be ineffective. While everyone has a method of running carbon with no reactor, Best in the path of water flowing - in my case, the sump area as water goes to next chamber before the skimmer

Yep, tea water, yellow water, etc.

100% of overflow water goes through the GAC, some of it even getting recirculated through the GAC (see description above) - it isn’t water falling onto bags of it, it’s falling into coarse mesh socks filled with it (not in bags), and I’m also using a media reactor of GAC also (and don’t forget the ozone). Plus, GAC isn’t *that* finicky. For example, take a jar of water and add food coloring and throw some carbon in the bottom - you’ll have a clear jar of water in a day or so, with zero circulation.

You can see why I’m stumped

 

[Garf]

Yep, tea water, yellow water, etc.

100% of overflow water goes through the GAC, some of it even getting recirculated through the GAC (see description above) - it isn’t water falling onto bags of it, it’s falling into coarse mesh socks filled with it (not in bags), and I’m also using a media reactor of GAC also (and don’t forget the ozone). Plus, GAC isn’t *that* finicky. For example, take a jar of water and add food coloring and throw some carbon in the bottom - you’ll have a clear jar of water in a day or so, with zero circulation.

You can see why I’m stumped

Don’t suppose all your lights have gone yellow, lol. Notice from your build your a freshwater fan, is any bog wood accounted for. That’s one heck of a tank

 

[Dan_P]

Try taking a sample of aquarium water and stirring it with fresh GAC overnight. This will tell you whether GAC can remove the color. If it can, the problem might be in the amount of GAC used or in the method of exposing GAC to the aquarium water.

 

[MartinM]

I can try the yellow water test, but I just don’t think that it will be noticeable either way in a small sample of water.

Here’s a photo from the far end, 200 cm tank, you can see it gets progressively yellower.

I don’t currently have any fresh water systems and no wood in there

Just swapped in new bulbs, new T5 and new halide bulbs (14K from Geisemann).

btw the the tank is always slightly hazy from sand, because I used very fine sand and then put in some sleepee gobies. That was a mistake, but there’s no way I can catch them now…