Yellow water

[ghlime]

This is less fish-related and more water-related. The city recently did stuff to my pipes, and ever since, my tap water has been yellow. I only realized when I went to get water to refill my fish tank during a water change. Letting the tap run doesn't really do much, and I've been drinking/washing with it and it's been fine. I don't really have an alternative to refilling my tank except bottled water (???). Has anyone had this sort of issue before, and do you think it'll be safe to put this water in my fish tank?

 

[mrsjoannh13]

This would happen to my tap water from time to time (before I kept fish). I wound up getting a filter off Amazon and installed it on my washroom sink. It removes chlorine, lead, etc. I still use a water conditioner to be on the safe side but I'd rather use the filtered water vs. the icky stuff out of the tap even with conditioner.

I am starting my 2nd 20 gallon tank and planning a larger (125?) in the future so bottled water or RO water from the LFS is not a viable option. The filter has been working really well so far and with my 2 tanks should last about 6 months doing 30% weekly water changes. When we get the bigger tank I might investigate another filtration option but depending on size and number of your tanks, this might be helpful.

this is a link to the one I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GABXWCK/?tag=ff0d01-20

With this filter you have the option to flip between filtered and non-filtered water so if I am just using the water to clean something around the house I don't have to waste the filtered water.

 

[ghlime]

This would happen to my tap water from time to time (before I kept fish). I wound up getting a filter off Amazon and installed it on my washroom sink. It removes chlorine, lead, etc. I still use a water conditioner to be on the safe side but I'd rather use the filtered water vs. the icky stuff out of the tap even with conditioner.

I am starting my 2nd 20 gallon tank and planning a larger (125?) in the future so bottled water or RO water from the LFS is not a viable option. The filter has been working really well so far and with my 2 tanks should last about 6 months doing 30% weekly water changes. When we get the bigger tank I might investigate another filtration option but depending on size and number of your tanks, this might be helpful.

this is a link to the one I bought:
https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B01GABXWCK/?tag=ff0d01-20

With this filter you have the option to flip between filtered and non-filtered water so if I am just using the water to clean something around the house I don't have to waste the filtered water.

I was doing a gallon water change, so although using bottled water is a huge waste, would it work? Would it alter the water chemistry in a negative way? As of now, I need a short term solution because my tank is sitting a quarter empty. Thank you for the link. If this issue with my water continues, I'll look into buying a filter.

 

[Kyle E.]

If you have hard tap water then using bottled water will cause a swing in water parameters because it has had all the minerals, the "hardness", removed out of it. I believe you can buy things to add to the water to fix this but I don't know what.

I don't really know what to do now that you have an empty tank. Is it at all possible to leave it for a bit? If they did work on the pipes the stuff in the water very well might be dirt that got into the pipes when they worked on them. If you leave it for a bit then it will probably be flushed out of the pipes in a few hours/a day/a few days/I don't really know.

Also be warned that when they do work on the pipes they usually add a bunch more chlorine/amine then normal so add A LOT more dechlorinator then normal. I don't know what dechlorinator you use but most, including Seachem Prime and I THINK Fritz Complete, say you can use up to 5 times the recommended dosage without it being harmful to the fish.

 

[Colin_T]

It's usually caused by dirt in the water but it also goes away pretty quickly (within a few hours). If the tap water is still coming out yellow several days later, I would contact the water company and find out what they are doing. If they won't help, get a sample tested by an independent lab and find out exactly what is in it. Drinking water should be clear, not yellow or brown.

 

[itiwhetu]

Agree with @Colin_T. There must have been some work done on your water main. If you don't pay for water run the tap until it clears.