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Okay here is the deal. I bought two pieces of driftwood i soaked them for about a week, they have been in my tank for about 2 weeks maybe a lil more. It turned my water the color of a light iced tea. I did about a 26 gallon water change and it cleared up a little. but i think its getting darker again! what do i do? another water change? take the drift wood and fling it out the freakin window? Oh and i did add nylon bags of carbon that you put in your filter, not much help. any tips?

Your driftwood is leaching tannins into the water. It looks bad (well, some people think so. Personally, I like it), but it's completely harmless, so I wouldn't go flinging anything yet.

You did good with the carbon. That will absorb the tannins, but you'll need to replace it weekly (or even a bit more often). If this is on your new 265 (I'm assuming it is), you're going to need a heck of a lot of carbon. Are there fish in the tank, yet? If you're fishless cycling, you can do a 20-30% water change every third day or so, but just take out water -- don't vacuum the gravel. That would slow down the cycle to a crawl. If there are cycling with fish keep your water change regimen normal; do the same if your tank is fully cycled, or else you'll throw it into a mini-cycle. Sorry I don't know more about your tank, I really haven't been keeping track of your threads.

Unfortunately, it can take a long time for the water to clear up with certain types of wood. I had a piece that took about 6 weeks in the tank to stop giving off tannins, and I had even soaked it for a month before that.

I had the same problem then read a really helpful hint on the web that really made the difference. The source basically we into detail about the benifit of boiling freshwater decor including drift wood. So i got a huge pot and filled it to the top, brought it to a boil and cooked it for about 2-3 hours more if its really leaking. the wood pores will leak out all the tanin. Boil it a second time with clean water and you it should be enough to not tint your water when you put it back.
tip.. for really large piece you might have to boil it in sections.i.e top half and then bottom half.
p.s work well with coconut shells too

sorry for not saying it in the previous post but you should let the piece cool slowly and it should be fully cooled before you return it to your tank

Yes a hell of a lot of carbon....i didnt know about changing it weekly...thanks for the tip. I do have 3 tin foils and 2 gouramis. They are just loving life. I am gonna do another water change on Saturday. A lil' more than i did the other day. Boiling the Driftwood sounds like a really great idea. The two pieces i have now are way to big to fit in any pot, even to do in sections. ( which by the way a another very good suggestion.) but when i add smaller pieces i will def. try it! thanks keep em' comming.

I agree with Kantank with the Boiling. It worked perfectly and I have tons of DW in my tank and no discoloration.
I boiled the wood for a few hours, then changed water and boiled abit more, then changed water and soaked overnight and then into the tank. No tint! I love the wood.

So, get cookin! LOL

really thats it i am trying it tonight! i will keep u posted.

I have boiled driftwood in a metal trashcan on cinder blocks before. It completely ruined the cinder blocks and turned the trashcan black, but my 4 foot piece of driftwood is doing fine.

We scavenged a local lake for good pieces of wood and dragged them about 2 miles up and down a ravine. We also had a pile of scrap wood we needed to get rid of so we bought a trashcan and had fun. Here's a pic of the setup http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/spooke03/trashcan.jpg. Sorry it's dark, but the only pic I managed to take. It did manage to stick out of the top and had to turn it after a couple hours. I also used a wire brush attachment for a drill to take off the outer layer and remove any back/loose pieces. It took a whole afternoon, so some cold beverages would help .

Here's the final product, a little over a year later in a 72 gallon: http://i57.photobucket.com/albums/g230/spooke03/0823071537a1.jpg

P.S. it did leach tannin in the water for about 6 months.

What does that mean, Bob? "Till the cows come home." Where have the cows been?

agent orange THAT WAS AN AMAZING STORY u could be the most dedicated person to their fish tank that i have ever heard of! i wish i had that those types of resources! and your tank is super! What kinda plants do you have in there? when you find wood, outside is there anything you should watch out for?

So i tried boiling my wood and right before i was about to put the wood in the pot my mom came into my apartment and freaked out that i was using her good pasta pot for my freakin fish. She then yelled about the water bill and told me if she catches me using anything that comes outta her kitchen for my fish again she will beat me in the head with it! i think at this point regular water changes...changing the carbon bags...and a little patience is my best bet.

lol thats is soo funny..
um. kids get your parents permission before your do anything that involves fire.. any hoo..
when you pick wood from outside it important to boil..it really helps with bugs, bacteria, and other wiggly's. also you might search for types of woods that work best. i read somewhere pine shouldnt be used especially if it hasn't be water logged.. i think it the sap or something..
many that can fire is extreme i would have never thought of that.. still the moral of the story is boiling helpt but tanins arent such big deal if you change the water often and use lots of Carbon. Good luck

That is a huge piece of wood and a hell of a trash can fire, but hey, it looks great!!!

The pottery that growls!

This will stop right? Even if it takes a year my tank will be crystal clear?

Yep. The wood is not producing any more tannins, so once its internal supply is exhausted, no more leaching.

Hi there,
being one of the odd ones I suppose, I really liked how my water turned tea colored when I added wood.
I thought it looked natural - like a slice out of the river.
My big peice of driftwood was soaked for 4 weeks, but because its a type of hemlock tree, it never will sink, so I had to fasten it to slate.
The tannins leached for about 1 year. I miss the tea color.


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I soaked the piece of DW I have for over a week, changing the water as it got dark and I have a slight darkness to my tank, but not so bad. I kinda like the tinge of tea as it looks quite natural...

Side note,
For those that do like the tannin color in their water, you can purchase peat inserts for your filter that would lower the ph and darken the water. Obviouly cannot be used with carbon, but they're good for amazonian tanks that need the tannins.

As for boiling. Don't do too much of it, it will weaken the wood as it destroys the cell structure of the wood. I'd suggest only boiling for a few moments (depending on the size of the piece) to get rid of any nasties. Soak it the rest of the time in warm water to leech the tannins faster being sure to switch the water as necessary.

^_^

the tea color is kinda growing on me. it is much lighter now and i can finally see through my tank. i held off on the water change cause it cleared up so much.

Tannic acid is actually what iced tea is made of.