Is colored gravel turning my water grey?

[TangoKitty]

The water in my aquarium is always grey, but not cloudy, or at least, not in the sense that I can see particulates floating around. I checked the water, it's 0ppm on ammonia and nitrite, and 40ppm for nitrate, which is kind of normal for my tank before the weekly water change. I've noticed this grey water persists even after I do a water change (like immediately, as soon as the water goes in). So I'm wondering if it could be the gravel?

I like color! and so I bought the black and neon color mix gravel (often sold for Glofish), but there's more black and purple than any other color in it. I'm wondering if this grey water could be the result of the dye used bleeding into the water? Does anyone have knowledge of that?

If it matters, I'm using two filters in this tank, a HOTB that has cut-to-fit white filter floss and some Fluval beads for bacteria to live on, and, I also have a medium size sponge filter because I thought it might help to have another bacteria house. Which does bring up a point - I have read about bacteria blooms, but I do not know what one looks like, yet I would think that the water would look nice and clean after a water change, since a large amount of free floating bacteria would be removed, but this water looks grey as soon as I put it in, so I doubted that was the reason.

Thanks in advance for suggestions!

[Guppysnail]

The grey Smokey water is the bacterial bloom it can take a month to go away. Bacteria replicates at amazing speeds. Water changes make it worse. Bacteria will multiply when there is more nutrients than the current load can handle. Unless you are using something like RODI water you are re adding more nutrients with each water change. Let it be and only water change when ammonia nitrite or nitrate dictates.  After a lifetime in this hobby I’m still “trying” to learn the patience this hobby insists on. 😆. Welcome to the forum. Ask lots of questions folks here are very kind and helpful. 

Also watch how much you are feeding go sparse until it clears if you have fish in. The food feeds the bacteria and the fish. The fish produce more waste with more food also feeding bacteria 

Edited September 28, 2021 by Guppysnail

[Bonzabar]

On 9/27/2021 at 10:09 PM, TangoKitty said:

I like color! and so I bought the black and neon color mix gravel (often sold for Glofish), but there's more black and purple than any other color in it. I'm wondering if this grey water could be the result of the dye used bleeding into the water? Does anyone have knowledge of that?

I've got a similar mix of gravel, black and purple GLO fish gravel, in my oldest tank and I've never had this problem. I wouldn't completely rule the gravel out but I'd look for other causes first.

[ARMYVET]

On 9/27/2021 at 11:09 PM, TangoKitty said:

neon color mix gravel (often sold for Glofish), but there's more black and purple than any other color in it

In my 20 gallon cube the only black gravel I could find was the Glow gravel in black.  It has been in the tank for a few months now and the water is crystal clear.  I am hoping you find the cause but not sure its the gravel.

[gardenman]

I bought some "black" gravel that was actually white gravel coated with a black paint/epoxy. My goldfish, being goldfish, would mouth the gravel and then spit it out and over time they ate/abraded the black off the gravel. The black gravel is now whitish with dark speckles. If you've got fish that mouth gravel on a regular basis (goldfish, geophagus, etc.) they could be creating colored gravel suspended pigments in the water. I suspect it's more of a bacterial bloom, but I wouldn't completely rule out the gravel.  

[mynameisnobody]

I’d say with quite certainty that this is a bacterial bloom. It has nothing to do with the gravel. 

[ARMYVET]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:35 AM, Manny said:

I’d say with quite certainty that this is a bacterial bloom. It has nothing to do with the gravel. 

My thoughts as well.  How long has the aquarium been set up is my question

[TangoKitty]

Sorry, there's too many people to quote - but if the consensus is that it's a bacterial bloom, I'll accept that as the answer. This tank is about 10 weeks old, and I knew from the start to try and wait out the NTS, but I thought I was beyond that because after a couple of weeks the water tests always showed 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite, and either 40 or 80ppm for nitrate (my eyes can't see any difference in the API color chart for 40 or 80ppm). The plethora of copy/paste articles I've found on the internet suggest that anything over 40ppm is dangerous and a "large" water change needs to be done, so I've been doing 50% water changes every week for the past 4 weeks. The water has always bounced back fairly quickly, in 2 days everything is back to 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite, and back up to 40 or 80ppm for nitrate.

So now I would ask, about how long does it take for a bacterial bloom to run its course if I have to do a 50% water change every week because of the nitrate? Or, do I really need to do a 50% water change every week for 40/80ppm nitrate?

[Odd Duck]

On 9/28/2021 at 11:32 PM, TangoKitty said:

Sorry, there's too many people to quote - but if the consensus is that it's a bacterial bloom, I'll accept that as the answer. This tank is about 10 weeks old, and I knew from the start to try and wait out the NTS, but I thought I was beyond that because after a couple of weeks the water tests always showed 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite, and either 40 or 80ppm for nitrate (my eyes can't see any difference in the API color chart for 40 or 80ppm). The plethora of copy/paste articles I've found on the internet suggest that anything over 40ppm is dangerous and a "large" water change needs to be done, so I've been doing 50% water changes every week for the past 4 weeks. The water has always bounced back fairly quickly, in 2 days everything is back to 0ppm for ammonia and nitrite, and back up to 40 or 80ppm for nitrate.

So now I would ask, about how long does it take for a bacterial bloom to run its course if I have to do a 50% water change every week because of the nitrate? Or, do I really need to do a 50% water change every week for 40/80ppm nitrate?

The real question is, “Why are my nitrates so high?”

Please tell us more about the tank.  What fish, if any, at this point?  How many, if present?  How much and what do you feed?  What live plants if any?  Pics can be very helpful.

Oh, and have you tested your source water?

[Guppysnail]

On 9/29/2021 at 12:36 AM, Odd Duck said:

The real question is, “Why are my nitrates so high?”

Please tell us more about the tank.  What fish, if any, at this point?  How many, if present?  How much and what do you feed?  What live plants if any?  Pics can be very helpful.

Oh, and have you tested your source water?

I agree here. I have 20 ppm source water nitrate and even with that my new tanks do not reach high nitrate levels that quickly because there is no detritus build up.  Fixing that issue will greatly decrease the bloom time. Times on these vary greatly I have had some for 2 days and some active substrate ones still slightly grey for two months at start. (Disclosure I have limited active substrate experience so these were my try something new attempts)

[Torrey]

On 9/28/2021 at 10:32 PM, TangoKitty said:

The plethora of copy/paste articles I've found on the internet suggest that anything over 40ppm is dangerous and a "large" water change needs to be done, so I've been doing 50% water changes every week for the past 4 weeks.

Those 50% water changes are responsible for your seemingly never ending bloom.

I have a year old tank with natural "river pebbles", a UGF, and it's the most lightly planted tank I have. If I do more than a 10% water change, or aggressively gravel vac + 10% water change, I get the same bacterial bloom. I can wait it out while bacteria balance (~ 4 days) or I can add a shot of beneficial bacteria and it will be clear by morning. 

I would recommend reading the Aquarium Science dot org research on nitrates. I also watched a talk from a forestry biologist who explained that nitrates are necessary for healthy plants, and nowhere near as damaging as we aquarists make them seem.

Which was a huge relief, because when my turtle gets hungry for aquatic greens, the turtle pond will spike nitrates over 120 ppm for a week, until the replacement plants start processing the load.

I used to worry about the fish in the pond if I am having a flare and couldn't change the water (turtle enclosure is on the bottom shelf. If my POTS is flaring badly, all I can safely do is drop in food)

Now, I am not as stressed. Plants keep the nitrates between 20 and 40 ppm..... until Karma decides to eat them all 🙄

Then the turtle waste shoots the nitrates up crazy high.

Turtle sludge beneficial bacteria keeps the filters well seeded and the turtle pond is the only water that goes through such extremes but never tests positive for ammonia. (I have grandkids who occasionally overfeed, and I use Prime to offset the temporary ammonia spike until bb catch up, and also siphon the extra food out. Lesson learned: food needs to be out of reach when grandboos visit).

Can't use Prime with the turtle, it can harm their lungs. So water changes are.... difficult. I really do depend on plants to deal with the nitrates. 

[TangoKitty]

Sorry it took me a minute to reply, but I did a little more research, and I think I have found a root cause. Sorry there's too many replies to quote, but to hit on the points: The tank is planted, there are 5 medium sized plants, and two small bunches of java moss, but in my research, I learned that with the exception of the java moss and a hornwort, my plants are all slow growing root feeders, which means they're not really capable of handling this kind of nitrate load. I will need to get some fast growing water column feeders, and an additional light bar so there's enough lumens to support faster plant growth.

I believe the culprit for my never-ending bacterial bloom (and high nitrates) is the water from my tap. It leaves the tap reading between 1.0 and 2.0 ppm ammonium. Using Prime doesn't help because one of its functions is to convert ammonia to the less toxic ammonium. Regardless, ammonia or ammonium, it's still eaten by the nitrifying bacterias, eventually converting it to nitrate. I think you can see what's coming...

Every time I'm doing a water change, I'm adding a huge hit to the bioload by adding a ton of ammonium and giving the bacteria a huge feast, and boom! in 2 days the bacteria have grown, and the nitrate levels are too high again, and I risk fish death or disease if I don't change the water and... well the wheel keeps on turning, so to speak.

I need to find a way to remove the ammonium from the water before I do a water change, and the solution is not an RO filter because that's not in the budget during covid economy. Any ideas on how to accomplish that?

[Torrey]

On 9/30/2021 at 10:15 PM, TangoKitty said:

Sorry it took me a minute to reply, but I did a little more research, and I think I have found a root cause. Sorry there's too many replies to quote, but to hit on the points: The tank is planted, there are 5 medium sized plants, and two small bunches of java moss, but in my research, I learned that with the exception of the java moss and a hornwort, my plants are all slow growing root feeders, which means they're not really capable of handling this kind of nitrate load. I will need to get some fast growing water column feeders, and an additional light bar so there's enough lumens to support faster plant growth.

I believe the culprit for my never-ending bacterial bloom (and high nitrates) is the water from my tap. It leaves the tap reading between 1.0 and 2.0 ppm ammonium. Using Prime doesn't help because one of its functions is to convert ammonia to the less toxic ammonium. Regardless, ammonia or ammonium, it's still eaten by the nitrifying bacterias, eventually converting it to nitrate. I think you can see what's coming...

Every time I'm doing a water change, I'm adding a huge hit to the bioload by adding a ton of ammonium and giving the bacteria a huge feast, and boom! in 2 days the bacteria have grown, and the nitrate levels are too high again, and I risk fish death or disease if I don't change the water and... well the wheel keeps on turning, so to speak.

I need to find a way to remove the ammonium from the water before I do a water change, and the solution is not an RO filter because that's not in the budget during covid economy. Any ideas on how to accomplish that?

Yes!

I do have a suggestion. Actually, 2 suggestions. 

 

1. You can buy 2 carbon filters for RV's, that screw onto a hose. Before each water change, test the water coming out of the first carbon filter, before screwing on the second carbon filter. As soon as you get ammonium coming through, throw away the first carbon filter, move the second carbon filter into the place of the first one, and replace the second carbon filter with a brand new one. (If your water is like mine, this can still get expensive).

2. Start a mini pond or a second tank as a phytoremediation tank.

Lots of plants, like pothos, hornwort (if you have hardwater, otherwise it's a pain in the batootie), reeds, water hyacinth, and other heavy feeders. Include pest snails, as they will eat any sludge that develops due to high ammonium and the subsequent nitrates. Plants will use the snail poop as fertilizer. 

Use a strong light for your plants.

If you need ideas, research grey water phytoremediation ponds, and select plants that you can find in nature, or easily acquire. 

I use this method for cleaning water, April through October. 

[Guppysnail]

Easy afford  suggestion for stem plants. Get one pennywort.  It grows faster than hornwort for me and doesn’t throw temper tantrums and make a mess. It is stem but grows roots from most nodes.  A new leaf every day is not unheard of for me. Stem plants are sometimes tricky but I have found pennywort to not be. From that one plant bunch you can replicate by cutting just below new root growth and have many plants. I have to untangle and trim about once a month. I just did mine a few days ago. This Christmas lights tangled mess is 3 stems intertwined.