Orange water... darn

[Guest]

Ok, so my beautiful huge new piece of driftwood, is tanning my water. I know its harmless, im gonna do a 50% water change later today, i guess all i can do is keep doing water changes until it stops tanning?

also, i added new activated carbon to the filter, but it didn't help at all, it got worse overnight.

 

[Billsgate]

My tank has been up and running for 6 months now, and the pieces of driftwood in there are still tanning the water....
I think it's best to learn to live with it! Or use a diatom filter, that will get your water crystal clear! But they're expensive I think.......

 

[jersysman]

Did you boil and pre-soak the wood? When I got my malysian driftwood, I had to presoak it for 2 weeks until the tannins wen t away. If you just stuck the wood in without soaking it (at least a couple of days) it will stain until all the tannins are gone. I've heard where this has taken months, depending on the wood. Don't you just love the color though?

 

[Jchillin]

For some reason, angels love this tannin "enriched" water. You can use filter floss to absorb some (not all) of the tannins. AC won't do much in this area. PWC's are the way to go until the leeching is under control.

Keep an eye on the wood itself...during it's leeching phase, it becomes a fertile ground for algae blooms.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

I have a piece of Malaysian driftwood that has been soaking for two weeks. The water was crystal clear 24 hours after changing the water. So I got out the veg scrubber and scrubbed the outside of it. My water turned so brown. Will Malaysian driftwood always do this? Should I just let it soak for another week then pop it into the tank without scrubbing again? The water didn't start to turn brown until i started scrubbing. Also, some pieces started to flake off. Should I just let that be and not try to pull them off?

Sorry to hijack the thread, but someone mentioned having the Malaysian driftwood.

 

[Guest]

yeah, i know your supposed to saok it, but its huge, i didnt' have a bucket big enough and i didn't have a pot big enough to boil it, so i just poured boiling water on it outside to sterilize it the best i could.

So angels like water with tannic acid? Maybe this is a good thing then huh Anyway, im gonna keep up with the water changes...

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Ashley- I came into the same situation. No pots big enough and it wouldn't fit in a bucket. I just bought a cheap rubbermaid type container from the Dollar Store for $1 and just keep changing the water daily with dechlorinated water.

 

[TankGirl]

It seems that every piece of driftwood is different, so it is hard to tell when it will stop. Lots of fish come from soft, acidic waters with submerged wood, and you can even buy "blackwater extract" to achieve this in your tank if you are trying to create a biotope.

You can get a cheap trashcan and use that to soak it if you don't like the tannins in your tank. It will have a mild impact on your water parameters, specifically pH, as it is an acidic compound.

 

[jersysman]

FF, here is how I handled mine. I brushed it real good when I opened the package. This got rid of any dirt or debris that might have been on it. Then I soaked it for about 2 weeks changing out the water (dechlorinated) every other day. When I had soaked it for 2 days and no tannins were released, I put it in my tank and haven't had a problem since.

 

[Milan]

My tank has been up and running for 6 months now, and the pieces of driftwood in there are still tanning the water....
I think it's best to learn to live with it! Or use a diatom filter, that will get your water crystal clear! But they're expensive I think.......

Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to get an artificial driftwood...? Hagen makes really nice ones, and as far as I know it's got no other function, but cosmetic. And of course, it doesn't mess up the water ...

 

[Guest]

My tank has been up and running for 6 months now, and the pieces of driftwood in there are still tanning the water....
I think it's best to learn to live with it! Or use a diatom filter, that will get your water crystal clear! But they're expensive I think.......

Wouldn't it be cheaper and simpler to get an artificial driftwood...? Hagen makes really nice ones, and as far as I know it's got no other function, but cosmetic. And of course, it doesn't mess up the water ...

You don't even have to get artificial driftwood. The Driftwood Art pieces they sell at Big Als are premounted on weights and are made of real wood, just wood that does not turn your water yellow.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, but i want real, not fake, plus the wood is good for the fish, especially my pleco. And since i have live plants, the real wood is better for the water quality.

I already have it in my tank, so there's no point in taking it out to soak it now.. i will just keep changing the aquarium water until it stops leaching.. until then i will just have to deal with the color i guess.

 

[Lepomis]

I have several pieces of drift wood that are going on 10 years old. They still turn the water yellow. Water changes help but within a few days its back to that lovely tannin yellow. I sort of like it. It looks very natural in a tank if that is the goal one wants.

 

[Guest]

Yeah, but i want real, not fake, plus the wood is good for the fish, especially my pleco. And since i have live plants, the real wood is better for the water quality.

I already have it in my tank, so there's no point in taking it out to soak it now.. i will just keep changing the aquarium water until it stops leaching.. until then i will just have to deal with the color i guess.

It is real wood.

 

[Milan]

..., the real wood is better for the water quality

I don't know how it's better ..? It can only be worse. Color and Ph wise ... Unless you prefer it such. Water changes don't help.

 

[Guest]

well, my water here is very alkaline, the tapwater is like 7.8 , and anglefish prefer more acidic water... i think the driftwood will help bring it down a bit, i put a tiny piece in there a month ago and my pH went down to 7.2

 

[Milan]

well, my water here is very alkaline, the tapwater is like 7.8 , and anglefish prefer more acidic water... i think the driftwood will help bring it down a bit, i put a tiny piece in there a month ago and my pH went down to 7.2

Then, that's what you want ...

 

[Guest]

yeah, i just tested my water and its at 6.8.. thats "slightly acidic" so my angel fish should be very happy.

 

[Milan]

Just make sure the Ph doesn't swing. You may want to check the KH. Specially if you are using CO2 ...

 

[greenmaji]

the acids are in the tans.. if your filtering out the tans they will not be lowering your PH.. If you dont like the color of the tans your kinda out of luck using it to decrease PH..