Water has weird tint

[Dlee13]

Hey so I'm about 17 into my fishless cycle and I have noticed my water has this weird tint to it. My ammonia has been sitting at 4ppm daily and Nitrites got to 0.25 at one stage but have been 0 since. Should I do a PWC or just leave it like this?

This is what the water looks like! I agitated the waters surface so you can see how it looks.

 

[phin9009]

Do you have any driftwood in the tank? That gives off tannins which tint the water

 

[Dlee13]

Do you have any driftwood in the tank? That gives off tannins which tint the water

Hey na no driftwood! All I have in there is my gravel and a few ornaments but the water has been like this for a week or so think.

 

[phin9009]

Did you wash the gravel before putting it in the tank?
What color is the tint in the water? (Can't quite tell in the picture)

 

[Dlee13]

Did you wash the gravel before putting it in the tank?
What color is the tint in the water? (Can't quite tell in the picture)

Yeah I rinsed it. The water was fine before and over a period of 3-4 days it was dropping 1ppm of ammonia over 24 hours and some nitrites where showing up then one day it just didn't drop anymore and has been the same for about a week now. PH level is 7.4 so not too low. Should I do a PWC or is this something that's just common with new cycling tanks?

Thanks for the help btw!

Edit: oh and the tint of the water is slightly white I think!

 

[Rivercats]

Are you talking about the oily looking scum on the water surface? That is a protein layer which will go away if you increase surface movement. If you are using a HOB filter just drop your water level so the water falls onto the surface not just runs into it. If your using a canister you need to aim the outflow upwards more.

 

[Dlee13]

Are you talking about the oily looking scum on the water surface? That is a protein layer which will go away if you increase surface movement. If you are using a HOB filter just drop your water level so the water falls onto the surface not just runs into it. If your using a canister you need to aim the outflow upwards more.

Oh so that's what it is! I have a Blue Planet aquarium and since it's cycling I have has the filter turned down so I will increasing its frequency and hopefully that's enough to clear it up!

 

[phin9009]

What I've read for cycling, you want the filter going at it's highest capacity to help speed up the cycle (I'm currently fishless cycling a 46 gallon bowfront and am running an Aquaclear 110 powerfilter at full capacity)

 

[Dlee13]

What I've read for cycling, you want the filter going at it's highest capacity to help speed up the cycle (I'm currently fishless cycling a 46 gallon bowfront and am running an Aquaclear 110 powerfilter at full capacity)

I have put my filter up to full capacity and the water surface seems to move quite a lot but the protein film doesn't seem to be going away =/ would a small PWC hurt or stall my cycle?

I may try to use my air pump to create more surface agitation as well, but I need a different air stone since the bubbles mine create is REALLY loud.

 

[Fresh2o]

I have put my filter up to full capacity and the water surface seems to move quite a lot but the protein film doesn't seem to be going away =/ would a small PWC hurt or stall my cycle?

I may try to use my air pump to create more surface agitation as well, but I need a different air stone since the bubbles mine create is REALLY loud.

You could try shutting off the filter for a moment while taking a sheet or two of paper towels and dragging them across the surface. The protein film should cling to the paper towels. Might not remove all of it but it should reduce most of it.

Yes, the air pump should help. You might look for an air stone that produces larger bubbles rather than finer bubbles; I believe the finer bubbles require higher pressure and that might cause the pump to run noisier. I have not run one in a long time.

 

[Dlee13]

You could try shutting off the filter for a moment while taking a sheet or two of paper towels and dragging them across the surface. The protein film should cling to the paper towels. Might not remove all of it but it should reduce most of it.

Yes, the air pump should help. You might look for an air stone that produces larger bubbles rather than finer bubbles; I believe the finer bubbles require higher pressure and that might cause the pump to run noisier. I have not run one in a long time.

So using the gravel vacuum to suck it up wouldn't be a good alternative? If not I'll just use the paper towels!

Yes my air stone is just like a hose with a very small hole at the end so I will try purchase a starfish one or something lol. Surprisingly the actually bubbles in the tank are what's loud, I've wrapped the pump in a shirt which manages to reduce the noise/vibration quite a bit!

 

[Fresh2o]

So using the gravel vacuum to suck it up wouldn't be a good alternative? If not I'll just use the paper towels!

Yes my air stone is just like a hose with a very small hole at the end so I will try purchase a starfish one or something lol. Surprisingly the actually bubbles in the tank are what's loud, I've wrapped the pump in a shirt which manages to reduce the noise/vibration quite a bit!

Actually the gravel vac works as well for removing surface film.

I have also used a tall clear plastic cup and siphon hose in the same manner; cup is about an inch below the water level and the hose draws water out of the cup and into a bucket. This draws water from the surface into the cup; of course you need to adjust the depth of the cup so that it draws surface water and not too much air (to break the siphon).

 

[Dlee13]

Actually the gravel vac works as well for removing surface film.

I have also used a tall clear plastic cup and siphon hose in the same manner; cup is about an inch below the water level and the hose draws water out of the cup and into a bucket. This draws water from the surface into the cup; of course you need to adjust the depth of the cup so that it draws surface water and not too much air (to break the siphon).

Ok I will possibly give the siphon a try in the morning. I stopped my filter just before and quite a bit of water came out when I opened it up and once
I started it up again it seems to be working better like before, so I'm hoping by the morning the film will be gone. I noticed I have carbon in the filter media so I think I should try get rid of that too from what I read.