Water has a slight brown coloring... could just be cloudy though...

[HopefulHobbiest]

i'm about 3 weeks into my initial water cycle on my 55G tank and the water has a slight brown coloring to it but its only like that with the tank lights off.
when the lights are on its almost crystal clear.

did a 50% water change last night and its a fish in cycle using:

1 eclipse catfish
6 cory cats (3 peppered, 3 albino
4 sunburst platy
2 live plants as well(if it matters in the equasion)

now this is my first tank in years(5+) and i dont remember my last tank doing this. this could also be from the water becoming cloudy as part of the initial cycle but i'm curious to know if anyone has any ideas.

also i have a batt operated gravel vac that i use once a day Every day just to make sure the gravel is clean... usually after the feeding when i get home from work.

is this normal?

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Did you put driftwood in there?

 

[Samzter]

Did you put driftwood in there?

Or any type of wood. If so it's probably just tannins . They can go or they can stay and leave a red tinge to the water.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

no not drift wood, but i bought some fake log decor from petsmart. its black but it's been boiled, soaked and boiled again before it was put into the tank.

 

[Samzter]

no not drift wood, but i bought some fake log decor from petsmart. its black but it's been boiled, soaked and boiled again before it was put into the tank.

Yes, even after boiling it will still have tannins in it. I'm surprised though because that's probably what caused it. Sometimes it can take weeks before the tannins are out of wood, and there's still probably some left.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

but why is the water brown if the log is black and its not real wood?

and will it hurt my fish?

 

[Samzter]

but why is the water brown if the log is black and its not real wood?

and will it hurt my fish?

No, if it's tannins it's actually considered good for the fish, I can't really think of what else it could be.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

i'll have to google tannins to read more about it, but i think you're right cause i can't think of anything else that would cause this, i mean i've heard the water gets cloudy as part of the water cycle and that part will subside with time but other than that i keep the gravel as close to 100% clean as i possible can...

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

so according to what i read tannins lower ph levels, which helps with the FW tank and the only real downside i saw was the water have a "tea-like" color to it but its not harmful which is good, and it can be removed with water changes and time.

thanks for you help Samzter

 

[Samzter]

Anytime. !

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Not to rain on the parade, you won't be getting tannins if it's not real wood. Plastic doesn't release tannins.

What else is in the tank? What color is your walls? What color is the substrate? Most likely there isn't a problem, especially if it's clear when the lights are on.

 

[Samzter]

Not to rain on the parade, you won't be getting tannins if it's not real wood. Plastic doesn't release tannins.

What else is in the tank? What color is your walls? What color is the substrate? Most likely there isn't a problem, especially if it's clear when the lights are on.

Unless the paint has leaked.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

Unless the paint has leaked.

That would be a whole different problem then tannins. Paint does not release tannins either.

Most likely culprit is your water from its source. Tannins can naturally occur from your water.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

walls are clear glass with clear suction cups holding black silocone(sp) air lines. substrate is black gravel washed three times before being put in the tank.

i also have
Top Fin® Dark Driftwood Ornament - Fish - Sale - PetSmart

Top Fin® Rock Cave with Plants - Specialty Pet Month - Featured Products - PetSmart

Top Fin&#0174 Pirate Treasure Cave Bubbler - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Top Fin® Tropical Wooden House with Airstone Aquarium Ornament - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

Amazon Sword Plant - Decorations - Fish - PetSmart

and Blue Ribbon Fiesta Aqua Atlantis Plastic Aquarium Plant at PETCO

sorry its a lot of stuff to read but its exactly whats in my tank...

EDIT- i also have another live plant but its not listed on the petsmart website

 

[Samzter]

That would be a whole different problem then tannins. Paint does not release tannins either.

Most likely culprit is your water from its source. Tannins can naturally occur from your water.

I know it can, I was just saying maybe the painted a leaked. I know it can't release tannins but that was my first though as to what caused it.

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

I meant walls as in house walls. They can cast a shadow on your water causing it to look brown. Unless you have a glass house too

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

haha as cool as it would be to have a glass house my walls are a white or kinda eggshell white...

but you can tell the water looks different then the color of the walls behind the tank

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

I know it can, I was just saying maybe the painted a leaked. I know it can't release tannins but that was my first though as to what caused it.

And that was a good thought. I think you just may have missed when the OP said it wasn't real wood, that's all. It still may be the case of tannins, just not from the plastic wood.

 

[HopefulHobbiest]

And that was a good thought. I think you just may have missed when the OP said it wasn't real wood, that's all. It still may be the case of tannins, just not from the plastic wood.

i may be wrong, when i looked at the piece of "wood" on petsmarts website it says "driftwood" but i'm not sure its legit wood...

 

[Aquatic_Adam]

haha as cool as it would be to have a glass house my walls are a white or kinda eggshell white...

but you can tell the water looks different then the color of the walls behind the tank

I honestly don't think you have anything to worry about. Water isn't perfectly clear, especially when you have living things in it. At worst, like stated, the paint could be coming off. But decor like that is made for aquariums so that chance is minimal at best.