My fish tank has a yellow tint to it, why?

[Redfishbluefish]

Why does my fish tank have a yellow tint to it?
I just got the fish tank yesterday and set up the gravel with some bigger rocks, a little fish hideaway thing, a terrace I bought from PetCo and I put a live plant in there. I bought these iron tablets to help your plants have good roots and hardy leave, then I put three bulbs in there. It's a 20 gallon tank and right now I only have a 2 fish and 2 shrimp in there. I don't understand why the water has a yellow tint to it. Maybe it's the iron Tablets? There were also some orange areas on the gravel, none of the tablets were in that spit though.

 

[jlk]

Hi Redfish & welcome to AA!!!! This post should probably be in the 'Getting Started' section of this forum but lets address what you have right now. The iron tabs probably have something to do with the yellow/orange coloring you see but considering you just set up this tank, we need to address a few other things. Do you have a freshwater test kit? This is going to be necessary to test your levels of ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, & ph. Your tank is not cycled yet. Please read up on the nitrogen cycle & fish-in cycling you can understand what is going on in your tank & what you are going to encounter. What type of fish do you presently have? As tempting as it may be, do not purchase anymore fish until your tank is properly cycled. We will help you through this! If you dont understand anything, please do not hesitate to ask!

 

[librarygirl]

HI and welcome!

The yellow water could be from the iron tabs; I'd stop using them for now if you can. Do you know what plants you got? PetCo is notorious for selling plants that aren't fully aquatic so it's good to know what plants you bought to ensure they'll be safe in your tank long-term.

Also your bigger issue, s JLK said, your tank isn't properly cycled. The fish stores tell you to run your tank for a week or so before adding fish but this doesn't properly prepare it for fish. Cycling means growing the needed bacteria in your filter to remove the ammonia your fish put out through waste; this can take some time. In the meantime your fish are going to be swimming in toxins so it's going to be up to you to get them through the cycle.

What fish did you get, do you know?

If you don't have a good liquid test kit you're going to need one ASAP. The API Master liquid kit is best; most pet/fish stores should have it. Do you have a water dechlorinator? Which one? Prime is best if you can get it but whatever you have on-hand for now is fine.

With your new test kit your'e going to need to test the water daily for ammonia, nitrite and nitrate. Any time ammonia and/or nitrite rise over .25 you're going to need to do water changes to get those levels down. Eventually the tank will keep them at 0 on their own (which means the tank will then be fully cycled) but this will take a good couple of months. So dedication on your part is going to be needed for a while.

First thing I'd do is a 50% water change with dechlorinator and remove the iron tabs.
Then let us know what fish you have and what plants you bought.
Also go get that test kit!

There's a link in my signature called: new tank with fish. It'll guide you through the cycling process and tell you what you'll need to do to get your fish through the cycle (pretty much what I said above only in more detail).

If you can get some seeded media (which is filter media from an established tank which will have the needed bacteria on it) and add it to your filter that will help the cycle go faster. You can buy a seeded (active) sponge filter online from here if you don't have access to any: Sponge Filters for aquariums Make sure it says "active" next to it if you get one otherwise you'll just be buying a plain filter.


Good luck and let us know if you have any questions.

 

[Redfishbluefish]

Thanks for the help. I have one albino barb, one black loach, and one ghost shrimp. I don't have a test kit, yet. I was planning on getting it today. As for my plants I bought one that I'm not sure what it's called. I believe it's a peacock something. Along with that I bought a packet of bulbs with onion, waterliliy, and aponogeton. I believe I put one of each in there. For the dechlorinator I have API Stress Coat+ it came with the starter kit I got. I also bought Aqueon Water Conditioner. The only thing I put in the water this tine was the Stress Coat and I also put Stress Zyme+ from API. the starter kit also cane with a trial size of AquaSafe water conditioner by TetraAqua. I haven't used it, yet.

 

[librarygirl]

Thanks for the help. I have one albino barb, one black loach, and one ghost shrimp. I don't have a test kit, yet. I was planning on getting it today. As for my plants I bought one that I'm not sure what it's called. I believe it's a peacock something. Along with that I bought a packet of bulbs with onion, waterliliy, and aponogeton. I believe I put one of each in there. For the dechlorinator I have API Stress Coat+ it came with the starter kit I got. I also bought Aqueon Water Conditioner. The only thing I put in the water this tine was the Stress Coat and I also put Stress Zyme+ from API. the starter kit also cane with a trial size of AquaSafe water conditioner by TetraAqua. I haven't used it, yet.

Great! The Albino Barb (Albino Tiger Barb probably) should be fine in a 20 gal. After the tank cycles you should add more since they prefer groups but don't do that yet. Same with the Black Khulis.

The plant is probably a Peacock Fern which isn't fully aquatic. Eventually it'll die in the aquarium and foul up your water. I'd return it if you can. I think the others should be OK.

I believe the Stress Coat and Aqueon Water Conditioner (and AquaSafe) all do the same thing (dechlorinate tap water) so just use one when doing water changes. When you run out, invest in some Prime. It's good at helping to detoxify toxins in the water between water changes and it's very concentrated so you'll need to use less and it'll last longer. The Stress Zyme stuff can be hit or miss; most bacteria in a bottle products don't work as it's very hard to keep live bacteria viable without the right conditions. You can use it if you want but it isn't needed in my opinion.

 

[Redfishbluefish]

I got a Ph detector and an ammonia one that you just put on the side of the tank and it tells you for about three months. The Ph is too high at 8.2 how do I lower it? I saw some Ph down at PetsMart. Would I be able to put that in with the fish in the tank or would I need to take them out?

 

[jlk]

Dont touch your ph or add any chemicals-its fine where its at. Without a test kit, we dont know what the level of your tap water ph is but its probably similar to what your tank is. Your fish will be fine & will adjust to most ph levels as long as it stays stable (no big jumps or drops).

 

[Mumma.of.two]

Dont touch your ph or add any chemicals-its fine where its at. Without a test kit, we dont know what the level of your tap water ph is but its probably similar to what your tank is. Your fish will be fine & will adjust to most ph levels as long as it stays stable (no big jumps or drops).

+1
A slightly high or low pH is better than a chemically altered one.
Oh and welcome!