# Other Aquarium Forums > Fish Care, Nutrition and Water Management >  Water turning brown WITHOUT the presence of any driftwood/bog-wood

## chinjaysquare

Recently my tank water started to turn a little brown, resembling aquariums with new tannin filed driftwood introduced. Here comes the funny part, there is no driftwood at all!  :Surprised:  The brown hue does fades off after a 50% water change but soon returns after 2 to about 3 days. 

I suspect is something that I have done that made the tank water change colour. However I have done so much that I have no idea which action of mine is possibly the trigger. So here is the list of the things I have done:
Introduced dwarf hair grassIntroduced 5 redish orange zebra danioIntroduced 4 bronze corydorasAdded 2 seachem flourish to the gravel bedDaily dose of 1 ml of Seachem's Flourish ExcelWeekly ~40% water change coupled with doses of Tetraplant's Florapride Red

As for the tank's specifications, they are as follow:
Tank Dimension: 29.5 by 14.5 by 19.5 (cm)General hardness: approx. 180ppm (10ºdGH)*Carbonate hardness: approx. 240ppm (13.4ºdKH)*pH: approx 6.5*Nitrite: approx 0.5ppm*Nitrate: approx 40ppm*
*Water test is done using API's 5 in 1 Aquarium Test Strips. I have heard that they are barely accurate and reliable

Nearly forget! Despite not having any driftwood present, my hang on back (HOB) filter frequently get clogged up by some woody debris. Well unless fish poops resembles wood, something is fishy...

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## chinjaysquare

If you are curious about how brown/yellowish the tank water is, please refer to the photo attached. It is coupled with a photo of the woody debris in my filter.

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## blurless

Can't view your photos...

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## chinjaysquare

Oh dear... So sorry. I had trouble with attaching the photos. Thought I had eventually done it but oh well  :Sad:  I guess I'll have to host it on Flickr. 

Sorry for the inconvenience caused.

The debris in the filter: http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/7758977970/

The brown water:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/[email protected]/7758978792/

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## Shadow

here your photo:

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## chinjaysquare

> here your photo:


Thank you very much Robert (Shadow)!  :Smile:

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## blurless

The brown color doesn't look like the tannins from driftwood or peat. You don't have peat in your filter right? Could that color be caused by algae...?

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## chtan23

What substrate are you using? It could be from the substrate.

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## chinjaysquare

> The brown color doesn't look like the tannins from driftwood or peat. You don't have peat in your filter right? Could that color be caused by algae...?


I highly suspect that algae is the cause. This possibility has been taken into consideration for I spot tiny specks starting to accumulate and form a thin film on my plants. However it's rather hard to deduce what type of algae it is because the specks are so tiny and my frequent water changes remove them before they can even grow to full bloom.





> What substrate are you using? It could be from the substrate.


I am very confident that the browning of the water is not caused by the substrate. The tank has in fact ran for about 3 years already. Yes I do have to agree that despite all this years, the tank has yet to mature for I had recently redone the planting etc. Nonetheless I am very sure that without a doubt the gravel I am using is causing the colouration of the tank.

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## gmrobert

I had this problem recently. Some kind of brown algae. I did some research but I don't have the link now. 

From the research that I did, I found that it is caused by high PO4 in the tank. I bought Rowaphos which controls the PO4. For me, it seems to work. You might want to do some research on that. If I do find the link, I will post it.

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## gmrobert

Hey. Guess what?

I found the link. http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.htm

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## chinjaysquare

> Hey. Guess what?
> 
> I found the link. http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.htm


Ah!!!! Thank you! Yup. I also highly suspect that it is brown algae I am facing here (brown water = brown algae, seems logical  :Grin:  ). 

I will first need to get a more accurate results of my water parameters. The results mentioned above are derived from API's 5 in 1 test strips which are highly inaccurate and unreliable. For example, when tested using Sera's KH test kit, my KH turns out to be about 6ºdKH (much more neutral and expected than the 13.4ºdKH I got from API). On top of that, the API test strips prove to be unreliable when the pH value derived was a low 6.5. Once again the more expected result was got from Waterlife's broad range pH test kit.
WP_000675.jpg

By the way, side track a little. What is the lamp you have featured in your signature photo? May I be enlightened with the specifications of the lamp and how much you got it for?

Thank you very much!

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## Shadow

As far as I know brown algae is stick on the surface (glass, leaf, etc) not in water column.

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## gmrobert

> By the way, side track a little. What is the lamp you have featured in your signature photo? May I be enlightened with the specifications of the lamp and how much you got it for?


I'm using a beamwork super bright LED. I got it at seaview.
Attachment 31990

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## gmrobert

By the way, chinjaysquare, I'm glad I could help.

I bought for my tank the Rowaphos to help with the brown algae problem that I have. I just put it in my filter yesterday morning and this morning I could see the difference.

If you like, you can come down and I can show it to you. My tank is in my office at Temasek Polytechnic. Just pm me.  :Smile:

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## chinjaysquare

> By the way, chinjaysquare, I'm glad I could help.
> 
> I bought for my tank the Rowaphos to help with the brown algae problem that I have. I just put it in my filter yesterday morning and this morning I could see the difference.
> 
> If you like, you can come down and I can show it to you. My tank is in my office at Temasek Polytechnic. Just pm me.


Oh LOL no thank you. So you are a lecturer at TP? Any ways, IT ISN'T BROWN ALGAE THAT IS THE CAUSE! The water is now slightly milky despite nothing has been done to the tank... WEIRD...

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## felix_fx2

Hi Chinajaysquare,

A good FYI. It may help.
http://www.aquariumcareblog.com/1043...quarium-water/

Judge it against your other thread
http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...bly?highlight=

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## gmrobert

I was thinking that you might be facing 2 different problems, one is the brown algae and the other is the water.

But after looking at felix_fx2 post, the first website has showed me that my research really paid off.
_Cloudy Brown Water_
_You may notice brown water in your tank. This is caused by brown algae overgrowth. This overgrowth is due to a lack of light in the tank._


Base on the picture of your tank, you might want to get a brighter light first. Take baby steps. 


Thanks felix_fx2 for your post.

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## chinjaysquare

> I was thinking that you might be facing 2 different problems, one is the brown algae and the other is the water.
> 
> But after looking at felix_fx2 post, the first website has showed me that my research really paid off.
> _Cloudy Brown Water_
> _You may notice brown water in your tank. This is caused by brown algae overgrowth. This overgrowth is due to a lack of light in the tank._
> 
> 
> Base on the picture of your tank, you might want to get a brighter light first. Take baby steps. 
> 
> ...



Hmm... The problem is that the brown algae is not exactly in the tank it self but in the filter. Unless I get a light for it too  :Laughing:  Yup. I am getting brighter lights too!

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## felix_fx2

Get some root supplements at the same time.  :Smile: 
Boost the growth like the way you wanted it to be.

OT: You two folks just reminded me 2 things... my roboled is gathering dust & it's high time i bought new T5 replacements.... My HC lawn... very slowly melting  :Sad: . My turn to say thanks LOL

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## chinjaysquare

I HAVE CHANGED MY LIGHTS PEOPLE! Well I decided to leverage on the extra Ikea lamp and the Philips 23W daylight tornado bulb I already have. Boy it is crazily bright. Hahaha. It is now 11.5W per gallon  :Grin:  

By the way, I realised that my tank water now changes colour everyday. Initially it was brown. Then it turned white. Now it is yellowish green  :Laughing:

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