driftwood with tannin?

E

eurostar

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Jun 5, 2006
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i recently added some driftwood to my tank and it turned my water a light yellowish color. i read the label and it says the wood releases tannin into the water and does this. is this bad for my fish or plants?
 
eurostar said:
i recently added some driftwood to my tank and it turned my water a light yellowish color. i read the label and it says the wood releases tannin into the water and does this. is this bad for my fish or plants?
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Nope just looks ugly. You can boil and reboil the driftwood to remove tannins. I boil each of my pieces for ten minutes at a time three times each. Gets rid of most!
 
No, it's not bad for fish or plants. Some fish even like it (reminds them of home) plus it lowers the PH of your water a little, which is good for fish like neons who like lower PH water.

I boil the driftwood until the water is visibly orangy-brown, then I dump the water out and replace with fresh water, then reboil again until the water colours up again. I keep doing this until the water doesn't (or barely) changes colour. This takes an hour or two (or more, depending on the size of your driftwood).

If, after boiling the driftwood you still find it is still colouring your tank water, you can run some carbon in your filter for a day or 2, and this usually removes the tannins for quite a long time.
 
yeah i stuck a bag of carbon in my filter but its not doin much, i'll have to boil that driftwood then

thanks
 
Tannins and off colored water are pretty normal..

I actually like the water to be a bit off colored..

I have sa cichlids and they don't seem to mind it at all..
 
The tannins make the water more natural looking for the fish. Fish from blackwater streams and the like are generally brighter, to make finding a mate easier in the dark colored water. Some people even add blackwater extract into their tanks for the effect. The fish show truer color the closer the conditions are to their natural environment.

-Robin
 
eurostar I need to edit my previous comment--there IS in fact one drawback to having driftwood tannins in a planted tank: dark water will cut down on the amount of light getting to your plants. If you have more light over your tank than is required for your plant species there won't be any problems, but if your lighting is only borderline adequate the light loss could be detrimental.
 
seachem make a product called purigen that will remove the tannins from the water better than carbon will, and it won't affect organic matter in the water... you can buy it in a little baggy to go in your filter, or in a jar to put in your own baggy.

Purigen
 
i have the very same problem, the wood has been in my tank about a week now and even with frequent water changes its still orangy, its hardly even that noticeable but its such a pain in the hole. gonna try boilin it! i guess some peopel like teh water slightly coloured, i want mine crystal clear like my bfs. he has a 4ft freshwater aquarium and to look through it lengthways it doesnt even look like theres any water in it its so clear!!
i also have carbon in my filter and it doesnt seem to do much, does it take a while to "activate " or something?
 
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