Cloudy yellowish water….

[Maximus146]

What’s up guys? So after a while of feeding (frozen shrimp) my pH drops and I’m adding pH up but after a few days, the water starts to get a little yellowish (like tanins are being released) and will get cloudy. Any advice on what to do? Fish are acting normal and eating as usual. Tank is located near a door with small indows at the top of the door
Thanks,
Chris

 

[nzafi]

Did you check your water parameters? Cloudy water is often an indication of an ammonia spike or the tank going through a cycle. Hard to tell without know your parameters. Also, I would not mess with your ph via chemicals. Test the water hardness. If you have crazy soft water that can be the cause of a ph crash or spike. I would add something in the tank like crushed coral to make the water harder instead of chemicals.

 

[Deadeye]

Water change will help to clean it up.
How long has the wood been in there? That could be the culprit.
Just curious, what is the pH at. Piranhas like it relatively low.

 

[Maximus146]

So for reference, it’s a 125L and a little over a month ago, I moved. So I kept roughly 30 gallons of the old water and added 95 gallons of new water. The pH usually sits around 7.0 until it starts dropping after a while of feeding. Would adding crushed coral prevent the pH from dropping? The driftwood has been in there for about 3 months or so and I soaked it in hot water for about two weeks before putting it in the tank. I changed the hot water everyday when I was letting it soak.

 

[Deadeye]

Crushed coral acts as a buffer which keeps ph from dropping too much.
Is there a lot of uneaten food?

 

[Maximus146]

Crushed coral acts as a buffer which keeps ph from dropping too much.
Is there a lot of uneaten food?

No I only feed them enough that they eat it all. I’d anything is leftover, it’s really small stuff I can’t see. But I never see anything sitting around uneaten

 

[Deadeye]

Sounds like it might just still be due to the wood.
What’s the lowest the pH gets?

Also, how is the filtration?

 

[Maximus146]

Sounds like it might just still be due to the wood.
What’s the lowest the pH gets?

Also, how is the filtration?

Filtration should be good as I just recently cleaned it out. When I moved in a little over a month ago, the water was clear up until now. Would the driftwood being in the tank this long still be affecting the water color?

 

[Caveden]

Filtration should be good as I just recently cleaned it out. When I moved in a little over a month ago, the water was clear up until now. Would the driftwood being in the tank this long still be affecting the water color?

Bro if you moved in just little over a month ago and started the tank im certain your tank just isnt cycled yet

 

[Deadeye]

Bro if you moved in just little over a month ago and started the tank im certain your tank just isnt cycled yet

The setup is likely carried over and still has media from a previous tank, keeping it cycled.

Filtration should be good as I just recently cleaned it out. When I moved in a little over a month ago, the water was clear up until now. Would the driftwood being in the tank this long still be affecting the water color?

Wood pretty much continuously leeches into the water so it would have a lasting effect.