Yellowish tint to water

[stan450z]

I added a picture with the light off so you can see the evident tint against my white shades.

I've in the last couple months noticed a yellowish tint to my water. Usually has been keeping very clear the many years I have the tank. I only have a hippo and 3 damsels now. Usually do water changes every 2 weeks or so. It's a 75g. Active for 6 years now.

Had some unfortunate events in my tank since September as well. Had an Emperor Angel get popeye. Dosed the tank with antibiotics making it quite yellow with a bad smell. Used some Chemiclean to make it crystal clear. It eventually recovered but did not eat so it died. Got a calico crab right after. That died too after a few months. Not sure why? Maybe bad food? Fed it silverslides and she enjoyed them a lot. Strange. Hippo Tang and damsels been acting just fine all throughout. May run the Chemiclean again.

Is my protein skimmer not sucking enough out? Maybe I can take it out of my sump and let it run from the main tank externally for a while.

Id like to resolve the issues and keep the water clear before I add more fish.

What is the problem and what can i do to fix this? Thx


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[Sniperhank]

The events you are describing are pointing towards parameter issues in the system. Issues with things like popeye and ich, to name a few, are a result of stress which normally comes with poor water conditions in the aquarium. You can treat with antibiotics or whatever, but unless the parameters in the tank is addressed these issues only change into different ones...like not eating.
Along with that, there is a very limited number of tangs that will do well in a tank that isn't 6ft long. I'm surprised that the hippo is doing as well as you claim through this as they are VERY prone to illness, especially ich. I would watch him to be safe.
I would suggest testing your tank water to find out what your ammonia/nitrites/nitrates are at. I'd suspect to see nitrates and suggest a water change to bring them down. Keep in mind that if the number is 40, a 50% water change would bring that number to 20. I also prefer weekly water changes, over bi-weekly, as in the long run it will keep the nitrate levels down lower.

Now, to address the 'yellow' water color, running some activated carbon in the system will polish that up and it will be crystal clear. Chemiclean shouldn't do anything towards clearing up the water as it is a 'quick' fix for cyanobacteria, which is also a sign of poor water quality.

 

[Bectan01]

Could also be your lighting? If you are using t5 when was the last time you changed bulbs?


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[mr_X]

I would also suggest carbon, and not in a bag in the sump, but in a filter/reactor. Unless you have starfire (low iron) glass it will not be 100% clear. Here is a photo of regular aquarium glass and low iron glass to see contrast-