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Hi, I brought a piece of drift wood from my LFS about 4 months ago and it has been dicoloring my 60gal since I put the piece of wood in, I dont want to remove the wood because my BN needs/enjoys it. Ive added carbon and did a 70% water change at the same time about a month ago but still the water is yellow, I also do water changes regulary but the discoloration returns overnight, so is there any other way to remove this stupid yellow color from my water?

Are all your fishes in that aquarium South American?

Because if they are, at least some of them might actually welcome some tannins from the wood ...

Does your water take on a dark aspect (so-called 'blackwater') or does it look as though someone has peed in the tank?

If the latter is the case, then it might be a good idea to remove the wood temporarily and boil it. Put it back after boiling. Then see if the colour it produces is more a brownish colour.

I usually make sure that any wood that goes in has been soaked for a minimum of 3 months before I pop it in an aquarium. I don't have discolouration problems after that.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

If you don't like the look of the colored water try getting some purigen. It's a carbon alternative made by seachem which is stronger than carbon but supposedly doesn't remove nutrients needed by plants and doesn't release anything back into the water if you leave it too long. It can also be recharged many times just by soaking in bleach and then in a dechlorinator(preferably one made by seachem since some can make the purigen toxic after recharge).

My tank was nearly black from the 3 pieces of wood and the clown plecs that were chewing on it. I tried packing all the media baskets in my 2 penguin filters with carbon and it made no difference but 1 little bag of purigen completely cleared the water. I run it on all my tanks now and recharge the 4 bags about every 3-4months.

It's easiest to just get it already in the 100ml bags that are made for that size particle and survive soaking in bleach.
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/Product/Prod_Display.cfm?pcatid=4190&N=2004+113805

Calilasseia; apart from about 3 white clouds and 3 zebra danios, all the rest are south american.

Ive seen pictures of south american biotope's with really dark 'blackwater', my water is much lighter like someone has peed in the tank

I might give the boiling a try,but i think my large BN will ruin anything that i do to the wood.

Sham; Ive seen purigen at my LFS and considered buying it but $40 for just a 100ml bag seems crazy considering the wood was cheaper, but since you can keep re-using it I might go and buy one of these, Ive also seen purigen in Bottles how is that used?

Thanks

You can probably buy smaller amounts but then you have to find a fine enough mesh bag to contain it which also can be put in bleach for recharging or take it out of the bag everytime you recharge. I found the already bagged purigen very useful. 100ml will treat tanks up to 100g but I also have one running on my 5g shrimp tank and 20g marine without any problems. It just lasts longer. You might not even have to recharge it for 6-8months and it lasts for at least 10 recharges. I just find it easier to recharge all of them at the same time or I'd forget one tank.