Ok so I have some drift would and it takes a couple days an it starts turning my water a brownish color I know that it does it if it's fresh drift wood but ive soaked this stuff for a while and the guy I got it from did to so will it always leach or does it stop after a while?
Drift wood
- Thread starter thras
- Start date
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Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
Some DW leaches tannins more than others. i found poly-fil in my Filters (AC50) striped the tannins (and other things) from the water column pretty good.
Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
Correct, just check the label that there's no fire retardants, anti-mildew additives, whatever. I get the Fairfield brand and it says 100% pure poly.
Not sure what kind of filter you have, but I like to put the poly-fil between the sponge/filter pad and the biomedia and it'll help keep a lot of junk out of the biomedia where most of the bacteria should/likes to live. I change mine once a week because it catches so much gunk.
Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
Oh no, that'll make it easy then. I put my poly-fil in the bottom trays of my 305 so they catch what the sponge can't, then my biomedia above and they stay so clean, that I don't have to wash gunk off them anymore. Plus a bag of poly-fil costs about the same as a bag of canister carbon, but lasts 100x longer lol.
Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
Once every 2 weeks in my 305, because it's on a puffer tank and they're dirty little beggars lol. The stuff is so cheap, I don't feel the need to rinse it and put it back like the sponges (which will never get replaced). When you put it in the tray, fill it, but don't over stuff it.
Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
Mines planted too (till the SG gets to high), sand for substrate and it doesn't seem to make a difference from my other planted tanks. HOB's get new poly-fil every week because there's less filtering surface than a canister.
Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
Even then, judge it and see where it's at. While the tannins are leaching, you may find it's grabbing tons of junk and will need to replace it more often and once the DW's done spewing tea you might get by with it once a month. All my tanks stay crystal clear now that I have poly-fil in every filter.
Mr. Limpet
Aquarium Advice Addict
It won't hurt your cycle at all, just wait for the cycle to complete before replacing it, that's what I did and it was fine. If you see the tea water coming back before the end of your cycle, rinse it in tank water instead of replacing it as bacteria will build up in it. Once your cycle is done and the tank is stable then replace it one section at a time every couple weeks. I replaced mine all at once and didn't have any cycle/mini cycle issues.
