Tannin removal

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Skyrmir

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jun 11, 2005
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522
Location
Fort Lauderdale, FL
I've been running my 75 gallon planted with some mopani wood, giving it a nice tea color. Letting the tannins color the water was intentional, as I was trying to make a more Angel friendly home, which it did, maybe too well.

Recently I've doubled the lighting to bring it from a low light to a medium light tank. So now the tannin effect has gone from a natural look to an ugly tea effect.

After about a half dozen big water changes, it still has that annoying yellow tinge to it. Would activated carbon or maybe even some co2 help clear it up any faster?

co2 might be a little tricky though. I doubt I could slip the cost of a ph monitor set up past the wife, so it'd have to be a timered system. I'm still kind of wary about that since I have very soft water that could crash if I look at it wrong.
 
Yes, activated carbon would help clean it up. If it doesn't clear up, you may want to remove the pieces of wood and boil them to remove as much of the tannins as you can.
 
Already removed the wood. Only piece left in there is a really old piece that's been boiled long ago. Besides, it's my pleco's favorite chomping wood. I'll get some fresh carbon tomorrow and give it a shot. I usually don't run it in my planted tanks.
 
Don't forget to change the carbon often. Despite what you may have read or heard, activated carbon isn't 'good' for a month. If there is alot of organic stuff in the water, AC will become saturated pretty quickly because it's very efficient at binding organics. You'll see faster results if you use small amounts of AC and change it out every other day or so.
 
Ok, I need to get more sleep. For a good 10 seconds or so I was trying to figure out how a bird was going to clear up my water...

I don't have floss in my filters, I use sponges instead. Fortunately I can super clean them one at a time without worrying about my bio filter. Probably take the sponges out of both and leave the bio balls alone in one of them until the other gets reseeded.
 
Zags,

I don't see any way filter floss with help with tannins in the water? To my knowledge the polyester will not dye and so I don't see its purpose?
 
It doesn't dye, it absorbs the color out of the water. I have used it many times. If you take any colored water and run it through filter floss the floss will absorb some of the color. It does not work alone, I do use carbon at the same time when I have tannins or a new tank setup.
 
I've heard amazing things about Purigen, I have never used it but it has gotten good review from those I know that have.
 
I know this is old BUT it has some good info on it and I need some help preparing.
Based on this thread I should boil my wood, which I knew. The question is how long. i am getting a piece for my 20 high.
As for the Carbon... should I not have it in my filter all the time? This says to add it teo help with the "tea" color but taht is what I am trying to avoid? I have not put the wood in yet and am trying to avoid the whole color issue.
 
I know this is old BUT it has some good info on it and I need some help preparing.
Based on this thread I should boil my wood, which I knew. The question is how long. i am getting a piece for my 20 high.
As for the Carbon... should I not have it in my filter all the time? This says to add it teo help with the "tea" color but taht is what I am trying to avoid? I have not put the wood in yet and am trying to avoid the whole color issue.

Not how long, but how many times. Most wood that has not already been prepared for a tank will quickly foul the water. You'll then want to dump it out, refill, and boil again. When I treated my driftwood I think I dumped out the water 3-4 times. But it really depends on the particular piece of wood. Some have absorbed a lot of crud depending on the source and can really take a while, while others may only need 1-2 water changes.

Many of us recommend against carbon. It absorbs particles fantastic for a couple days and then stops working. We rely on bacteria in the filter to convert toxic ammonia and nitrIte into a much less harmful nitrAte. A lot of us only use carbon when removing medications or in this instance to remove tannins from the water. With that said carbon DOES have a great surface for this bacteria to grow on and so if you have it in your filter now, don't remove it. It's probably what's keeping your fish healthy. But it will not help with water color if the driftwood taints the color (as it's lost its ability to absorb).

HTH
 
Not how long, but how many times. Most wood that has not already been prepared for a tank will quickly foul the water. You'll then want to dump it out, refill, and boil again. When I treated my driftwood I think I dumped out the water 3-4 times. But it really depends on the particular piece of wood. Some have absorbed a lot of crud depending on the source and can really take a while, while others may only need 1-2 water changes.

Many of us recommend against carbon. It absorbs particles fantastic for a couple days and then stops working. We rely on bacteria in the filter to convert toxic ammonia and nitrIte into a much less harmful nitrAte. A lot of us only use carbon when removing medications or in this instance to remove tannins from the water. With that said carbon DOES have a great surface for this bacteria to grow on and so if you have it in your filter now, don't remove it. It's probably what's keeping your fish healthy. But it will not help with water color if the driftwood taints the color (as it's lost its ability to absorb).

HTH
Thanks for the quick response. SO I should boil it a few times? How do I know when is enought? when it doesnt change the color while it's boiling?
should I replace the carbon for a few days once I put the piece of wood in just in case?
I only have 1 zebra daino just to help keep ALL the bacteria from dying as he was all that was left from a catastrophy I had. Also should i boil the wood, then let it dry, or boil it then empty the pan and boil again immediatly?
 
Boil it until it no longer changes the color of the water. No need to wait in between boils, just dump the water out and start again.

I wouldn't replace the carbon at all (as my guess is that is your biological filter). I would only add carbon if the water changes color, and again only if you can't deal with it. When you boil it you're speeding up the leeching process, so hopefully you would only need to do a couple water changes if the water colored. Depending on the type of wood the boiling procedure also helps to water-log the piece. Some dense woods will sink even when dry, but mine for instance required weighing down for a while until it absorbed enough to not be buoyant.
 
Lol I am so excited this all sounds so fun :D hope my tank looks good once done :D

thanks for all the help
 
Why are you so interested in removing the tannins from the wood in the first place? I can understand boiling once or twice to kill anything living in/on it, but tannins are great for your fish!
 
Why are you so interested in removing the tannins from the wood in the first place? I can understand boiling once or twice to kill anything living in/on it, but tannins are great for your fish!
the discoloration of the tank is my main concern. I want a clear tank
 
the discoloration of the tank is my main concern. I want a clear tank

If you boil it a couple times, at worse you get a slight tint that goes away with a couple water changes. Seriously, it's nothing. I had 2 pieces I treated and never saw even the slightest tint.
 
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