Angel Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 Why does it turn the water brown? I'm sure the fishies wont mind as their native water can be muddy and stuff.. it sorta looks like really diluted tea.. what can I do to stop this from happening? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted December 31, 2005 Report Share Posted December 31, 2005 The brown is the result of the tannis leaking from the wood. This occurs with lots of wood types, even though they may look "sun baked" and been exposed to the weather for a long time. It can be a bit unsightly... plus.. in some cases it can alter the pH making your water more acidic. Boiling the wood will remove a lot of the tannis, but it is a long drawn out job that could take a few boilings to get the thing right. More frequent water changes will dilute the "tea looking" water It is "normally" not harmful to the fish... unless you keep Africans that need a high pH and Alkaline conditions.. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 Awesome thanks for that.. I might have to do a partial water change this afternoon sometime cuz it looks REAL dark today Stupid driftwood. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 I used to have a 1000L drum outside the garage where I put driftwood I might use one day. I diverted the drainpipe into it so it would get a waterchange any time it rained. Large driftwood can take 6 months to completely stop leaching tanins and to sink... I ended up giving all the wood away and dumping the container as it looked unsightly. It was a great resource to have though, - any time I wanted to remodel my tank there was sunk wood ready to go. Some of it was 1.6m long and over 250mm thick in places. I initially had to weight it down but after about 5 months it stayed down with no weight and stopped leaching. If your wood is quite small, it will probably only take a couple of months to stop the discolouration. It will be very dark to start with but will gradually reduce as the tanins diffuse out. Just watch your pH doesn't drop, some wood tanins can lower the pH as they are acidic. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 I have an old bath I use for soaking driftwood so I too always have plenty on hand when needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sancti_hag Posted January 1, 2006 Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 If you don't mind using chemicals in your tank, then bio chem zorb gets rid of it really well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Angel Posted January 1, 2006 Author Report Share Posted January 1, 2006 Doesnt worry me If it's better for the fish than constant water changes, then i'll go for it.. Edit: I just found a thing for it online in NZ.. $24.95 for a whole bunch of them and a pouch lasts for 3 months.. i dont want a whole bunch, maybe just a couple of pouches.. Does anyone have any they'd be willing to flick off ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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