# Yellow water caused by Aquasoil



## zeldar (Aug 12, 2009)

I started a new planted tank a couple weeks ago. Its my first time using aquasoil as a substrate. Since the first day it turned my water a murky yellow. I had been doing daily 50% water changes so I could at least see the back wall and so some light could reach the plants. I went out of town for 4 days this weekend and came back to a completely yellow tank, almost an orange tint. I couldn't even see an inch through the water. So I did a 100% water change and its back to its usual yellow color. 

I figured it was the ammonia leeching from the AS but its now been 2 weeks and still just as yellow as the first day. The ammonia is reading 1ppm and nitrite is up to 4ppm. Almost all my HC has wilted away, probably from lack of light. However, the Riccia, HM, and dwarf hairgrass seem to be surviving. 

Is this just the usual cycle or should I be doing something to take the yellow away? Will the color go away once the cycle completes? I have some purigen i intend on using once the cycle completes.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

How many bags did you put in and how many gallons is your tank.

AquaSoli will do that at times. It's a pretty long time before the water clears up completely. Many months. Activated carbon and small frequent water changes help.

Your plants will thrive for sure, as soon as the heavy tint is gone.

Tank with the exact same problem. Never really cleared up. Plants absolutely exploded:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ddasega/DaveS#

--Nikolay


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

I did water changes almost daily for 10 days and the yellow barely went away. Then I popped a pouch of Seachem Purigen into the filter and the next morning, GONE. Crystal clear and has been ever since. In fact I was SO used to seeing it yellow that my eyes first saaw BLUE. It was simply clear. Great stuff. I use it in all my tanks. (and no I do not work for Seachem).


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Just out of curiosity, did you add any new wood to the tank?

I've got AAS running in 4 tanks, only one that went yellow had a very few small pieces of manzanita, which seems to be the true problem.

Purigen, charcoal, etc. would be great if it's a one time use fix. Personally, I don't like to see my ferts go in to an ion exchange resin or microsive shortly after adding them as a long term thing.

-Philosophos


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## zeldar (Aug 12, 2009)

i used about 3/4 of a bag of aquasoil for a 10gallon tank. No wood in the tank just the plants and DIY co2. Yea I was kinda concerned about the ferts with the purigen, has anyone noticed a difference using this combo.

I plan to use the purigen as soon as I get some new HC planted. I'm gonna drain the tank to make it easier to plant and if the water is still yellow Ill add the purigen


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## armedbiggiet (May 6, 2006)

Sometime AS can not mix and use with seachem's product I think... so now these day I try not to mixed them on brands. I don't know why sometime I use acid buffer everying thing would go wrong in a aqua soil tank.


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

zeldar said:


> i used about 3/4 of a bag of aquasoil for a 10gallon tank. No wood in the tank just the plants and DIY co2. Yea I was kinda concerned about the ferts with the purigen, has anyone noticed a difference using this combo.
> 
> I plan to use the purigen as soon as I get some new HC planted. I'm gonna drain the tank to make it easier to plant and if the water is still yellow Ill add the purigen


Purigen will not affect your ferts. I use a pouch in all 3 of my canisters in 2 different tanks and I dose EI. And it's fine with AS. No issues. There's no reason to wait. Just use the purigen. Unless you like the yellow water...


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## zeldar (Aug 12, 2009)

well i was gonna wait on the purigen because Im going to drain the tank so i can plant the HC. 

Actually the ammonia is going down and is at .25ppm and nitrite is down to about 2ppm. So hopefully in the next couple days the cycle will complete. Will the yellow water go away after ammonia is gone?


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## Felf808 (Mar 21, 2006)

AS naturally releases tannins because of the organics in it just like wood so it will continue to release them but it will subside after a few weeks to a few months(this is how it lowers your ph). As far as I know, ammonia doesn't have an effect on the tannin release however, temperature does. If you do have wood in your tank, be sure to soak it in hot water to open the pores then soak it in cold water to close the pores again. Depending on the size, wood can release tannins for months or years. Do lots of water changes and/or use purigen to keep your tank clear as everyone else suggested


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## zeldar (Aug 12, 2009)

Well water is stilllllll yellow. Does everybody not have this problem. Is it just based on the citys water or the particular batch of aquasoil? I have seen several peoples new tanks on here started with aquasoil and their water is clear from day 1.

Also, I took the purigen pouch out of the filter. I noticed that the pH had gone up to 7.4 and before the purigen it was 6.5. Did the purigen cause this? I did bleach it once but I let is sit in water w/ seachem pH natural regulator for a day. Will the pH eventually go back down? I removed the purigen like 5 days ago but still get a pH reading of 7.4.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Which Aqua Soil did you buy?


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## zeldar (Aug 12, 2009)

As I


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Both AS I and II have issues under certain conditions that ADA doesn't feel like being very specific on disclosing. I run ADA AAS I in some pretty hard water without trouble, others with lower hardness values wind up with a murky mess.

Given your location, I'm betting you bought your aquasoil from aquaforest aquarium in SF? Why not go down there and ask, or post on their sponsor board here on APC? I found the staff there to be pretty willing to answer questions, and they definitely know how to use the products that they stock.

-Philosophos


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## zeldar (Aug 12, 2009)

actually i live in houston and i got my AS from ADG shop here in Houston. Our water has high pH but not sure about hardness.


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## Philosophos (Mar 1, 2009)

Ooops confused you with someone else who's having some AS problems living over in the bay area. Still, it might be better to talk to the supplier about it; they may have experience dealing with the problem. I've found very little information online as to the precise reasons for various AS problems.

-Philosophos


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