Fixing brown murky waters if you don't know the cause

Hey there everyone

Firstly, hope you had a great Christmas.

Well, ok. We have a few tanks, and recently I upgraded from a 80 liter halfmoon tank, to a 250. During the crossover, we did the following to it:

1. start over with new water, but kept the biological elements in the filter.
2. been using the usual daily prime + stability doses
3. starting planting plants on day 2
4. gravel: flourite red used
5. added a piece of dirftwood, which was soaked (and rinsed daily) for days
6. no fish, even now, no fish yet

The water turned a deep brown, cloudy now, and we are worrying about the plants.
Firstly, I did a lot of reading, not sure how to diagnose diatom/algae bloom. And it doesn't make sense that driftwood tannins would make it muddy looking. Tea stained maybe, but cloudy,milky brown?
Secondly, we know the flourite red is (to be frank, crap to start with) almost impossible to actually rinse clean. It caused a lot of dust, and ever since never settled.

We did water changes, but after a few hours, brown milk again. Would the flourite gravel base really be able to keep reiterating like this? (one would think it would settle)

My best bet is, it's the flourite and/or algae

At the end, it's normal, and part of the process, and will eventually pass, but want to save the plants, and help where I can.

PS: we have been trying clarity, no change, at all

Regards
Marlon

 

@marlon: Diatom/algae bloom is usually green in colour (When it happens in our tanks) What I am figuring it is a mixture of fluorite gravel and the tanith leeching from your wood that is mixing and giving you a brown murky water colour. My suggestion stop with the water changes as it wont help you get the tank ready for your fish in the long run. Let it run for a couple of days and see what happens, I would suggest adding some filter wool to your filter it will help clean out all the finer particles in your tank.

 

Its the wood and probably an bacterial bloom. Diatom algae is brown also. Would say add filter wool and good quality carbon to help clear the water. And then just lots of patience. Good wood can leech tannins for months depending on what wood it is. If you didnt rinse the fourite it would cause the rank to be like mud water for days then get more flow in the tank and lots of filter wool and clean it as frequently as possible

 

I second Ryno's suggestion above about the tannins + bacterial bloom, had it in my tank last week. My water cleared up after doing the following.

1. Found the dead fish
2. Proper gravel vacuum
3. Water change (only to get rid of the reddish tannin colour, no use in clearing bacterial bloom)
4. Replaced activated carbon, helps to clear the tannins
5. Added Purigen

Water is now crystal clear. Most of these may not be relevant on your case as you have no fish in it, but maybe the list might help.

 

everything helps.

Thanks so far, I appreciate the inputs, once home, we will start with some of the ideas.
Suppose no use in running co2 while it's like this?

 

Nope just waisting co2 proper gravel vac will help with the flourite dust

 

i beleave seachem purigen can help with this aswell even take it away!

saw them using it in a discus tank with drifwood water was clear no brown steyns in tank!

 

WIll see if I can find some in the vicinity, thanks Rednox.
Had to laugh at steyns in my tank.

 

Lol

 

+1