Driftwood dark brown/yellow water

[jennyhannah2011]

Hi all
I brought 2 small pieces of driftwood from the range about a week ago. They have been sitting in water as advised and I've boiled them twice to get the tanins out.

So put them in the tank on Saturday and by yesterday we could hardly see the fish. Have removed them and done a 20% water chnage (tank still cycling) so didn't want to take too much out.

Not sure what to do now. The fish liked hiding and playing by the wood but I want a clear aquarium not one you can't see in.

I've seem that active carbon can help. Do I just put this in my tank in say a pair of tights or does it have to go somewhere special.

Does anyone have any suggestions ?

 

[Rivercats]

Even with boiling and weeks of soaking some DW still can leach heavily. I had a piece that continuously leached for 5 years before I threw in the towel and used it in the yard. If the piece is leaching that heavily you will have to add carbon to the filter and change it every time the water begins to darken up. Or you can boil it for a few hours (simmer) then let it soak and repeat if necessary as much as needed.

 

[smithpants94]

+1 to Rivercats. I have this same issue. I'm thinking about ditching the carbon going with Purigen as it is rechargeable.

 

[jbtravis91]

I introduced a humongous piece of Manzanita DW into my 60g cube about 3 months ago. Due to the dimensions I wasn't able to do much more than pour boiling water over it when I had time to spare.

Needless to say, i got the full dose of tannins in my tanks. For the first month or so, there wasn't much I could do about it (even with carbon or purigen) except doing PWC regularly.

But the tannins will abate gradually... I'd say my DW started to slow down with the leaching about a month in. My tank was still noticeably tea-colored at this point, but I added a bunch of Purigen at the top of my caniser filter, and that improved the clarity dramatically.