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If I don't change the water in my 75 weekly, it significantly turns the classic tea color. I have 20-30 lbs of mopani wood in the tank and I always assumed it was from that. I was thinking about it and I realized that the wood has been in the tank for 18 months. Could it possibly still be leaching tannins? Could a rock have iron or other minerals that could do this?

Hi,
My first inclination would be to blame it on the wood.
Over time, wood is "supposed" to slow the leaching process
down as it forms a "weathering rind." As the tannins
leach out of the wood they form an area, close to the
surface that is depleted of tannins all around the
circumference of the wood. The normal levels of tannins
are still further into the wood but they have to migrate
through the depleted area and out into the water.

Anything that breaks the surface and penetrates through
the depleted area, will allow the inner sections of the
wood to secrete the acids directly into the water.

This could be from scrubbing the wood energetically to
remove algae or bacteria growth (cottony fluff) or, it
could also be caused by some of the catfish that love
to chew on the outer surfaces of the wood.

I don't believe I've ever seen a tank with enough iron
in it to turn the water to a tea like color.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Unless I am wrong Mopani is a very hard wood and does not usually leach out tannins. Did you boil it first if so this would break down the structure of the outer layers of the wood causing it to break down,

I would like to exactly what else is in your tank and filter and any thing you add to the tank.

Have a look in [link=My Profile] http://www.fishprofiles.com/forums/member.aspx?id=1935[/link] for my tank info
Look here for my
Betta 11Gal Desktop & Placidity 5ft Community Tank Photos

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
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Nothing but mopani, natural rocks and artificial plants (and a golf ball but that's a long story - nothing to do with scale for photos). It's just a simple low maintenance community tank. I didn't boil the mopani. I soaked it for 48 hrs in my bath tub and scrubbed it.

Params are good and stable and the fish are doing well. I really don't mind the water color as I like a more natural look but it stands out compared to my other tanks. I'm just curious.

Here's a quick pic of what's in the tank.

http://i171.photobucket.com/albums/u305/Krash7172/Aquarium/2-0975gal.jpg

And I know golf balls aren't natural

Is it possible for you to take one piece of DW out at a time and scrub it clean dry it in the sun for a few days then soak it and see what happens.

I would also try live plants these are always beneficial to any tank unless you have plant eating fish.

Keith

Near enough is not good enough, therefore good enough is not near enough, and only your best will do.
I VOTE DO YOU if not WHY NOT?
VOTE NOW VOTE NOW

Again, this post was purely out of curiosity. I could remove the items in question if I chose.

I've had natural plants but low maintenance is a must for me these days. I even replaced my T5 hood with standard lighting to cut down on algae. I'd love a fully planted aquarium but I think it's equally important to have an aquarium that fits the owners schedule as it is to create an appropriate environment for the fish. If either are wrong, it will not go well. I say this but I'm now up to three tanks!

I don't believe I've ever seen a tank with enough iron
in it to turn the water to a tea like color.

Plus you'd probably need some kind of oxidizer in the tank to make the iron brown, which seems unlikely.

I'd agree that it is probably the wood, especially if you have a Panaque or similar type of pleco. These guys just love rasping wood and they would constantly be exposing new wood to the water, even with something as hard as mopani wood.

If you do want it gone, my first instinct would be to throw some activated carbon into the filter and see what that does. If it does remove the tea-colored water, it almost certainly caused by leeched tannins. At that point, you can either take the wood out and boil it or just keep replacing the carbon every two weeks or so. I'd probably go with the carbon -- in a non-planted tank, I've always felt more comfortable continuously keeping fresh carbon in the filter.

Ah. I didn't think about my Bristle Nose exposing new wood. I have noticed it more lately and my carbon is getting pretty old. I'll change it and see.

Thanks!