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I added a piece of drift wood yesterday ..well a BIG piece ...... and now the water's ALL brown the light can hardly break through to my plants ....HELP....

Water changes, water changes, and some activated carbon. Carbon removes tannic acid coloring to a point. If you pack your filter with concentrated peat pellets and add 2 chunks of driftwood it doesn't work so well It will help though. If you can take the wood back out I'd do that and let it soak in a bucket for awhile and also boiling it some will help. Don't boil too long or the wood will start to break down. I spray my larger pieces with really hot water in the bathtub then soak them in a rubbermaid tub until the water doesn't turn colors as fast.

if you don't mind the colour, it will slowly (and i mean, SLOWLY) fade, and there are absolutely no side effects on the fish. in fact, if you keep south american fish, they actually really like the tannins.

voodoo_Doll

Solution easy
Remove the wood soak it in a seperate container change the water regually. Before each change give it a good cleaning with a stiff brush then place it into clean water again. Keek this up until the water is clean. Some woods have lots of tannins while others have very little.

Tank can be cleaned with a good filter and adding carbon providing there are no medications in the tank. If so clean the filter every second day and do a 10% change the water every 3-4 days until it cleans up.

Keith

Last edited by keithgh at 28-Mar-2005 03:06

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well thanx .. .but would active carbon affect my plants and would the tea-brown water lower light levels ?

Activated carbon would not unduly affect plants. It has been used in aquarium filtration systems for years. In some cases, with certain sensitive and delicate fishes, use of activated carbon in the filter to help maintain water quality is considered de rigeur, although it is equally possible to manage without it if you know the water parameters that you are aiming for, as there are other methods of maintaining water quality that do not use activated carbon.

As for the tea-coloured water, as has been stated above, there are rivers in South America that are like this naturally, the water heavily stained by tannic and humic acids resulting from wood and leaf decay. Cardinal Tetras are one species that live in such waters in the wild (specifically, the Rio Negro). These rivers are known as 'blackwater' rivers because from a distance, the water looks black, but upon closer examination, is a dark brown tea colour. And there are plants that live naturally in such conditions too, so provided your lighting system is reasonably powerful, you should not experience too many problems.

However, this episode should go a long way toward convincing you that wood should be cured before being placed in an aquarium, unless you are specifically aiming for a Rio Negro or similar biotope aquarium. Wood should ideally be boiled for some time, then left to soak in a bucket with regular water changes until the tannin and humic acid leaching reduces to a low level.

Incidentally, Tetra (the fish food company) manufactures something called 'Blackwater Tonic', which is an extract of tannic and humic acids from peat that is used to replicate South American biotopes by adding small quantities to the aquarium water after each water change. So these compounds are not harmful to your fishes or plants in moderation.


Last edited by Calilasseia at 28-Mar-2005 07:01

Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002

Incidentally, Tetra (the fish food company) manufactures something called 'Blackwater Tonic', which is an extract of tannic and humic acids from peat that is used to replicate South American biotopes by adding small quantities to the aquarium water after each water change. So these compounds are not harmful to your fishes or plants in moderation.

Wow, thanks Cal. That is quite interesting!

I don't mind some tannin leaching into the water. But tea brown does seem too dark. Water changes, water changes, water changes.

I collect my own driftwood and in some cases if you boil and bleach it, dosent leak at all.