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Ive been soaking my drift wood for several days now and it was about time I needed to put it into my 29 gallon tank. The water is still turning yellow. Is this bad for the fish? How can I get rid of this problem? Thanks!

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thestooge,

If the yellowing is for sure from the driftwood then it is not dangerous for the fish at all. Several days of soaking is most of the time not enough, try several weeks .

I personally don’t mind the yellowing tint it gives at all as I know it will disappear over time, maybe within a month to two.

Did you give the wood a good scrub during the soaking?

Hope this helps,

Ingo

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Proud Member of the New Jersey Aquatic Gardeners Club

depending on the fish, it would be advisable to keep the tint.

I gave the DW a good scrubbing wish my "special" aquarium brush. I was planning on soaking it for a while, but I needed to get it out of my shower and into my tank. I was only able to soak it for 5 days before my mom made me take it out of the shower (I had it in a rubber made in the shower). I didnt have anyother place for it but the tank. About how long do you think the yellow tint will last?

Fish CAN fly!

it depends on what type of wood it is, some will leach for a very long time, but that is not a problem. I have about 25 peices of driftwood in my 125usg, which has been in there for a few months and is still leaching, but all you have to do is use some carbon in your filter and when the water starts to turn yellow at the end of the week just do your regular water change and poof, no more yellow.

chris

Thanks!

Fish CAN fly!

The tint wouldn't harm your fish & if you really want to remove it & leave the wood in the tank, you can add some Carbon, change the filter media as soon as it becomes yellow & do frequent water changes.



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The tint in the water occurs naturally in the habitats of quite a few of our fishes, that live in slow-flowing rainforest streams containing fallen pieces of tree. Such 'blackwater' habitats contain a fair percentage of humic acids from decaying leaves also. Consequently, if your fish species are among those that hail naturally from such waters, you won't have a problem, other than it possibly being unsightly to your eyes. But if you're ever planning on setting up an aquarium that faithfully reproduces those biotopes, you'll need those humic acids in your water.

I'd only worry about it if your fishes are those that like hard, alkaline water, and thus never encounter such additions to the water in their natural habitat. Otherwise, if you have the likes of Harlequin Rasboras, Cardinal Tetras, assorted Corydoras Catfishes or Botia Loaches, Apistogramma Cichlids or Anomalchromis thomasi, Danios, assorted Labyrinth Fishes (particularly some of the rarer ones), or any fishes whose natural habitats are similar to those of the aforementioned species, then your driftwood staining the water with humic acids could actually be a bonus and promote spawning activity among them


Last edited by Calilasseia at 08-Jan-2006 15:24

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Thanks for the VERY HELPFUL information!

Fish CAN fly!