My tank turned brown!!

[Kraff813]

5 days ago I changed out the only filter sock and the GFO media.

I pumped fresh tap water through the media reactor to get the dust out of the GFO. I forgot to empty the tap out of the media canister. 2 days later my tank turned to brown soup.

I’m assuming this is a diatom bloom or brown bacteria bloom. I have a UV sterilizer on the tank - although brand new, the bulb filament looks weird and I don’t think it’s working properly.

Parameters are normal. Phosphate 0.075 and nitrate 0.6. I aim for the 10x rule.

Do I sit and let it burn itself out? It’s killing me to not do like a 50% water change.

 

[stE25wy14]

wait, did the tap water go into the tank?
r u using ro or rodi water?
is there anuything in there? if u r cycling, what r u using to cycle?

 

[Kraff813]

wait, did the tap water go into the tank?
r u using ro or rodi water?
is there anuything in there? if u r cycling, what r u using to cycle?

I always use RODI. But when I cleaned the media reactor and changed the GFO. I pumped tap water through the media reactor to get the dust out. Only like ~1 gallon of tap water may have entered the tank.

Yes, lol it’s a fully stocked reef tank. Been up for about a year.

Would you let it burn itself out or water change?

 

[stE25wy14]

test ammonia plz
I honestly dont know what I would do
wat r u using for filtration?

 

[LOZReefer]

I would do a water change asap. Maybe save some of the old water to test if you feel inclined to do so

 

[Kraff813]

I would do a water change asap. Maybe save some of the old water to test if you feel inclined to do so

Thanks. I needed someone else to say change the water because this is what I want to do lol.

 

[sgdnycct]

5 days ago I changed out the only filter sock and the GFO media.

I pumped fresh tap water through the media reactor to get the dust out of the GFO. I forgot to empty the tap out of the media canister. 2 days later my tank turned to brown soup.

I’m assuming this is a diatom bloom or brown bacteria bloom. I have a UV sterilizer on the tank - although brand new, the bulb filament looks weird and I don’t think it’s working properly.

Parameters are normal. Phosphate 0.075 and nitrate 0.6. I aim for the 10x rule.

Do I sit and let it burn itself out? It’s killing me to not do like a 50% water change.

That looks pretty bad. Do you have livestock? If so how are they doing? I’d start doing some water changes if they are showing signs of distress. If you have an extra filter you could add on to help clear that out.

UV’s are helpful insurance- yes you want to make sure it’s working- but you don’t want to rely on it to maintain a healthy tank.

I don’t see how that small amount of tap water could cause such a big problem. Maybe provide more information on the tank (age, volume, livestock, additives, feeding schedule, etc.)

 

[Ziggy17]

I just think it’s the dust from the GFO media. I’ve used rowaphos and I imagine if I didn’t rinse it, that brown water would be the result. A bag of carbon in the filter sock would help out a lot with the colour. Also some floss in the sock to help pull it out. It will clear on its own, but a few small water changes if you want. I don’t think it’s a panic situation where you need to remove a lot of water.

 

[Kraff813]

I don’t think that diatoms, I just think it’s the dust from the reactor media. I’ve used rowaphos and I imagine if I didn’t rinse it, that brown water would be the result. A bag of carbon in the filter sock would help out a lot with the colour.

That was also a fear.

 

[Kraff813]

That looks pretty bad. Do you have livestock? If so how are they doing? I’d start doing some water changes if they are showing signs of distress. If you have an extra filter you could add on to help clear that out.

UV’s are helpful insurance- yes you want to make sure it’s working- but you don’t want to rely on it to maintain a healthy tank.

I don’t see how that small amount of tap water could cause such a big problem. Maybe provide more information on the tank (age, volume, livestock, additives, feeding schedule, etc.)

Tank is like a fully stocked reef. It’s a 50g with like 8-10g in sump.

Someone suggested it’s GFO media. I’m going to kill that and hit a major water change.

 

[Ziggy17]

Tank is like a fully stocked reef. It’s a 50g with like 8-10g in sump.

Someone suggested it’s GFO media. I’m going to kill that and hit a major water change.

I wouldn’t panic. It will clear itself with your filtration. Put some floss and carbon the the sock. WC won’t hurt.

 

[sgdnycct]

You had rinsed the media right? I can’t imagine it would cloud up that much without just leftover residue. Could be.

 

[Ziggy17]

You had rinsed the media right? I can’t imagine it would cloud up that much without just leftover residue. Could be.

My take on it is that he forgot to rinse out the rinse water for the media, so it all when in the tank when he ran the system.

 

[Ziggy17]

You can also increase the flow in your power heads to get it into the sock more efficiently.

 

[Naso180!]

Its the GFO in the water. It is all easily broken down even if rinsed it essentially becomes dust. Especially if the water flow through the bag or reactor is too fast. Definitely change water ASAP and use a mechanical filter to remove the rest. Its literally rust water right now. ;)

 

[Kraff813]

You had rinsed the media right? I can’t imagine it would cloud up that much without just leftover residue. Could be.

Yeah, I rinsed it. I just replaced the sock with a finer one to catch it if it is media. Adjusted the skimmer to more of a wet skim and help pull it out too.

 

[sgdnycct]

You had rinsed the media right? I can’t imagine it would cloud up that much without just leftover residue. Could be.

Yeah, I rinsed it. I just replaced the sock with a finer one to catch it if it is media. Adjusted the skimmer to more of a wet skim and help pull it out too.

Ok hope it works out! Keep us posted as I’d love to know.

 

[Ziggy17]

What was your PO4 that you started using a GFo reactor?

 

[Kraff813]

Thanks for everyone’s thoughts and opinions. I’ve had this tank for about 5 years.

Photo with the Hippo was my first run at a reef. Had kids, life got busy, and I shut it down. I hit the restart button about a year ago. The other photo is from the summer - no idea why I don’t take more photos of the tank.

Thanks again,

Kevin

 

[Kraff813]

What was your PO4 that you started using a GFo reactor?

The reactor has been on for about 6 months. I just cleaned it/changed media this go around.