I have 3 large size pieces of Malasian driftwood in my tank that have started to leach tannins into my water. I boiled them first but obviously couldn't get it all out. It's making my water a bit yellow which I don't want. If you read my thread a few days back titled "To those who have crystal clear water", I asked about water clarity and the effects of tannins.
Either I have a permanent bacterial bloom or the tannins are making my water look slightly cloudy. During the day, the tank appears to be crystal clear (with a slight tint) but at night with my tank lights on it dosen't look right. You'd have to see it, but when looking at the fish, driftwood and plants (fake) they all appear to be in perfect "focus". However, the water, especially near the top of the tank looks kind of cloudy. In my other thread I talked about the "cone" of light than can be seen from the side. If you read it, this cloudiness is what I'm referring to. Something has to be reflecting the light in the water causing the "cone" to become excessively visible. There is nothing that could be causing a bacterial bloom, or at least one that has lasted this long.
Anyway, I need to put a bunch of carbon in my XP-3 to take these tannins out. Currently, I have a 4"x10" mesh bag with carbon in it. The problem is it dosen't fit the filter basket very well and I'm sure there's a lot of bypass. There probably isn't more than 3 cups of carbon in the bag. So far, the rate the driftwood is leaching tannins is greater than the absorption rate of the carbon.
Is there an easier way I could be doing this? I'm going to go through quite a bit of carbon in the next few months so using the perfectly fitting Rena carbon pouch will be too expensive. How much should I have in there? How often should I change it?
....What is the problem here?
Either I have a permanent bacterial bloom or the tannins are making my water look slightly cloudy. During the day, the tank appears to be crystal clear (with a slight tint) but at night with my tank lights on it dosen't look right. You'd have to see it, but when looking at the fish, driftwood and plants (fake) they all appear to be in perfect "focus". However, the water, especially near the top of the tank looks kind of cloudy. In my other thread I talked about the "cone" of light than can be seen from the side. If you read it, this cloudiness is what I'm referring to. Something has to be reflecting the light in the water causing the "cone" to become excessively visible. There is nothing that could be causing a bacterial bloom, or at least one that has lasted this long.
Anyway, I need to put a bunch of carbon in my XP-3 to take these tannins out. Currently, I have a 4"x10" mesh bag with carbon in it. The problem is it dosen't fit the filter basket very well and I'm sure there's a lot of bypass. There probably isn't more than 3 cups of carbon in the bag. So far, the rate the driftwood is leaching tannins is greater than the absorption rate of the carbon.
Is there an easier way I could be doing this? I'm going to go through quite a bit of carbon in the next few months so using the perfectly fitting Rena carbon pouch will be too expensive. How much should I have in there? How often should I change it?
....What is the problem here?