Driftwood make my water brown

[SLoViper]

Hi
ever since ive added driftwood in my tank, which ive purchased from my LFS my water turns brown.. Did the water change, changed the water in the filter, and i also boiled the heck out of the wood and it still seems that my water is slightly getting brown.
Will the tannins go away eventually?

 

[Starka]

Hi
ever since ive added driftwood in my tank, which ive purchased from my LFS my water turns brown.. Did the water change, changed the water in the filter, and i also boiled the heck out of the wood and it still seems that my water is slightly getting brown.
Will the tannins go away eventually?

Yes they will eventually. I have that problem with my main tank. I believe you could put in some carbon to get rid of the color? Can someone confirm that?
I just do pwc everyweek and it seems to help.

 

[LyndaB]

Depending on the piece of wood, the tannins might fade quickly or they might take 6 months to fade. I agree that weekly water changes will help.

The fish love tannins, it's just that many people don't.

 

[xtra51]

Depending on the piece of wood, the tannins might fade quickly or they might take 6 months to fade. I agree that weekly water changes will help.

The fish love tannins, it's just that many people don't.

This is great information! The fish do not mind the tannins. If they really do bother you, you can take the drift wood out and boil it if you have a means to.

 

[SLoViper]

I have been doing weekly water changes, just done the 50% water change and boiled it, well see if this helped.

 

[Mr. D]

The tannins lower ph like most SA fish like.... But you boil it about 2-3 times and put it in a seperate bucket and change all water out every 2days for a week u should be fine

 

[xtra51]

I have been doing weekly water changes, just done the 50% water change and boiled it, well see if this helped.

Yah you are doing what I would be doing! Keep us posted!

 

[darkmatter_3500]

You can use purigen or carbon in your filters if you dont like the look.

 

[Jmedic25]

I agree with Darkmatter...I tried carbon but it didnt work as well as purigen. It comes in a nice bag and can be recharged easily.

 

[xtra51]

I agree with Darkmatter...I tried carbon but it didnt work as well as purigen. It comes in a nice bag and can be recharged easily.

I would agree with this method, except I do not necessary agree with the recharging method. I do not think carbon can be recharged.

 

[Wilkes]

Activated carbon can be used to remove the tannins but be careful as it will remove all meds added also. Tannins can actually be beneficial to the aquarium if you don't mind the look so much. To overcome Tannins there are a couple of options I go by. Buying pre soaked wood, I purchased my pre soaked marsh root from my LFS looks fantastic the plecs love it and no tannins. The other option is plain and simple patience I'm afraid just keep soaking and changing the water, eventually it will be clear. I have heard of people sticking it in the dishwasher but not tried this personally. Hope this helps

 

[Retired_AF]

I've tried the dishwasher. It does help some but will not remove all the tannins. Since the wife objects to my using the dishwasher to clean DW, I just soak it in a 5 gallon bucket, changing the water every couple of days until it clears up. I had some smaller pieces (about 4"x4") clear up in a couple weeks. A larger piece of Mopani wood (6"x12") took almost 2 months and still leached out some for another 3 months.

 

[darkmatter_3500]

I boil water and fill a ice chest with it and soak the wood in that , drain and repeat in morning and night , it is usually ready to go in a day or 2 for most pieces. The ice chest keeps the water hot for a long time and speeds up the process. FYI Some pieces just seem to hold on to tannins for a long time.

 

[darkmatter_3500]

I bought a large piece of malaysian driftwood yesterday, probably the worst ones for tannins, I soaked it in my icechest overnight in boiling water, the water was so dark I could not even see the wood when I looked this morning, I drained it and added regular temp water, the water stayed clear all day, im going to put it in the aquarium friday but it is good to go now.

 

[Fishandmusic81]

Ive always hated the idea of tannins my lfs has them already in the water