Yellow Water

The Blue Gils are part on my daily bag limit. Kept in my live well? As
long as I keep a current Fishing License I am OK. In Wisconsin, as long as
I purchase it from a Fish Farm, or from a Native American It is OK. I have
applied for an Educational Permit, you wouldn't believe how many of my
customers don't know the difference between a Muskie and a Northern Pike.

JOhn :-)


"Racf" wrote in message
ink.net...
"[NOAH] John Lange" wrote in
message ...
I have a 120g FW tank that I keep FW Game fish in. I have 3 - 6" to
8" Blue
Gils, 1 - 9" Tiger Muskie and assorted bait fish(food). Totaling 50 -
60
inches of fish. Should be within the capacity of the tank.

Undergravel filter powered by 4 risers with airstones & charcoal
2 - Tetra-Tec PF500
30 - 50% water changes weekly with gravel vac
0 Ammonia, and nitrates, hardness all within tolerable ranges.
40 watts lighting on 12 hours a day

After about 3 days the water turns YELLOW and makes the whole tank
look
terrible. I vacuum the gravel with the water changes and remove a
large
amount of stuff each week. Also a brown scum(algae?) forming on most
surfaces.

Any ideas "How To" keep the water cleaner?

Thanks
JOhn :-)



A hang-on power filter would help a lot. I suggest you buy 2 or 3
Emperor 400s on-line somewhere. Activated charcoal will keep the DOCs
down and remove the tannin coloring from the water. I suggest changing
it out weekly. It won't belong and all you will have is one Musky.
Its a bit hard to believe your Nitrate level is zero with that load of
fish. That brown scum algae is a Diatomaceous film. There are many
types of algae eaters that could deal with it, but they would not last
long with a Musky. Wipe it away. In many states its not legal to raise
game fish without arrangements. Weird really......people have game fish
from everywhere else on the planet and natives are forbidden....Would
make more sense in the reverse.

Perhaps in other parts of the world they highly prize our blue gills,
sunfish, perch, shad, basses, northerns, carp, catfish, shiners,
bullheads, sturgeon, crappy, alligator gars, musky, and minnows but I
never hear about them on here.

The Tetra-Tec PF500's ARE hang on Power Filters with 4 activated charcoal
filters in each.

That's the weird part, I have plenty of filtration going on. The only
difference between this tank and the 120g Tropical I keep at home is, that
one has Power Heads on the undergravel filter.

JOhn :-)



"Racf" wrote in message
ink.net...
"[NOAH] John Lange" wrote in
message ...
I have a 120g FW tank that I keep FW Game fish in. I have 3 - 6" to
8" Blue
Gils, 1 - 9" Tiger Muskie and assorted bait fish(food). Totaling 50 -
60
inches of fish. Should be within the capacity of the tank.

Undergravel filter powered by 4 risers with airstones & charcoal
2 - Tetra-Tec PF500
30 - 50% water changes weekly with gravel vac
0 Ammonia, and nitrates, hardness all within tolerable ranges.
40 watts lighting on 12 hours a day

After about 3 days the water turns YELLOW and makes the whole tank
look
terrible. I vacuum the gravel with the water changes and remove a
large
amount of stuff each week. Also a brown scum(algae?) forming on most
surfaces.

Any ideas "How To" keep the water cleaner?

Thanks
JOhn :-)



A hang-on power filter would help a lot. I suggest you buy 2 or 3
Emperor 400s on-line somewhere. Activated charcoal will keep the DOCs
down and remove the tannin coloring from the water. I suggest changing
it out weekly. It won't belong and all you will have is one Musky.
Its a bit hard to believe your Nitrate level is zero with that load of
fish. That brown scum algae is a Diatomaceous film. There are many
types of algae eaters that could deal with it, but they would not last
long with a Musky. Wipe it away. In many states its not legal to raise
game fish without arrangements. Weird really......people have game fish
from everywhere else on the planet and natives are forbidden....Would
make more sense in the reverse.

Perhaps in other parts of the world they highly prize our blue gills,
sunfish, perch, shad, basses, northerns, carp, catfish, shiners,
bullheads, sturgeon, crappy, alligator gars, musky, and minnows but I
never hear about them on here.

"[NOAH] John Lange" wrote in
message ...
The Tetra-Tec PF500's ARE hang on Power Filters with 4 activated
charcoal
filters in each.

That's the weird part, I have plenty of filtration going on. The only
difference between this tank and the 120g Tropical I keep at home is,
that
one has Power Heads on the undergravel filter.

JOhn :-)

I didn't snap to those being box filters. Just change the Activated
Carbon more.

"(((\" John Lange (((\""
wrote in message . net...
snip
Any ideas "How To" keep the water cleaner?

Reduce the food supply, change to cleaner foods, decrease the amount
of
fish or increase the water changes.

cheers
NetMax

Thanks
JOhn :-)

I DO get a large amount of (fecal matter?) black dirt and scales out of
the
gravel each water change.

The water still turns an amber shade of yellow in about three to five
days.
JOhn :-)

If the fish are eating each other, then this is more food which they must
process and create waste. It just sounds like it's heavily loaded. What
substrate are you using and how clean is it?

NetMax

If you are doing weekly w/cs and still have high nitrates, then that is a
sign that there is a lot of biological action happening. Nitrates
themselves are colourless, and reasonably non-toxic if levels are not
changed drastically. What is high nitrates (over 80ppm?). You might be
at the biological capacity of your UGF (an impressive feat), so adding
external filters (which I think you already have) might help. A planted
sump, carbon and changing their diet would all be possibilities. There
is also a chance that the UGF has been overloaded and deep down it's
choked up. Another possibility is that you have not measured both NH3
and NH4, though this is less likely as you are alkaline and have high
nitrates. Post your pH, NH3/4 and NO3 numbers. Just ideas for you.

NetMax

"(((\" John Lange (((\""
wrote in message . net...
1/8" to 1/2" gravel with a UGF powered by 4 stand pipes with airstones.
I
vac every week with water change.

I don't have numbers but the water is slightly alkali, Hard even though
it
is softened by the city water works. City uses chlorine gas to treat
the
water. Ammonia is Zero, Nitrite is almost zero, Nitrates are HIGH.
Working
on that by increasing water changes. Is it possible that the Nitrate
is
causing this problem?

JOhn :-)



"NetMax" wrote in message
. ..

"(((\" John Lange (((\""

wrote in message
. net...
snip
Any ideas "How To" keep the water cleaner?

Reduce the food supply, change to cleaner foods, decrease the
amount
of
fish or increase the water changes.

cheers
NetMax

Thanks
JOhn :-)

I DO get a large amount of (fecal matter?) black dirt and scales
out of
the
gravel each water change.

The water still turns an amber shade of yellow in about three to
five
days.
JOhn :-)

If the fish are eating each other, then this is more food which they
must
process and create waste. It just sounds like it's heavily loaded.
What
substrate are you using and how clean is it?

NetMax