Driftwood discoloring water

[nomadman2003]

Despite soaking the piece for a number of days prior some of the tannins reminded. What is a good way to remove the discoloration? Can I run a carbon filter to catch them, or are water changes the only way? What about those tank cleaning products, like Tidy Tank?

No, I don't have a filter on the tank, it will be run by a natural (plant) filter, which is taking root as I type.

There are no inhabitants in the tank, it's still cycling.

Thanks,
Robert

 

[Aquena]

If you don't mind the discoloration, as long as you boiled the wood to sterilize it, it should be safe and I know neon tetras love the color of the water and won't hurt your fish.

 

[Pawtrekker]

I have a piece of driftwood that I boiled 5 times and it never got all the tannis out. I finally put it in my tank and it made the water look like tea. It was so dark that I could hardly see my fish! I love the look of driftwood But I guarantee that a filter will not get all the tannis out of the water. You will just have to do water changes all the time. My water got really full of tannis and I did three 50% water changes and the water still has a brown tint to it. I am soaking my driftwood in a bucket right now to see how much more tannis I can get out of it before putting it back in my tank. Frequent water changes should work though.

Hope this helps.

 

[nomadman2003]

Thanks for the replies, yes it was boiled and the soaking took place in dechlorinated water too. I guess I'll just start doing water changes, since there are no fish yet I figure I can do them pretty frequently (daily?) so long as I don't disrupt the bio culture I'm trying to form.

Its a personal preference to get rid of the color, I'm sure the fish's natural environment gets pretty murky.

 

[Aquena]

I understand, I prefer clear water to brown as well!

 

[Kov]

At any rate, it will decrease over time. I also placed a bag of Purigen in my filter, which seemed to make a pretty big difference in reducing the color of the water.

 

[Sam870o]

Purigen in the filter works wonders at removing tannis (coloration of the water.)

 

[t4runnr]

I put the carbon bags that came with my fluval 406 in it when I set up my 55 with the driftwood. The discoloration was gone in no time. I ran the filter with the carbon for about a month and then removed them. Clear water ever since.