tanins

[thanew]

ok.. I have two pieces of large drift wood (take up 25% of the tank each) and are currently releasing tanins... I've tried to remove this by changing the carbon in my filters (emperor 400 & AC500).. its working, but I still have a yellowish tint to the lower part of my tank...

first question -- is there any way i can remove more ? I'd love to boil the water, but I don't think there is a pot big enough to boil these...

second question -- how harmful are tanins to fish ? I know some fish just love the tanins, because it makes them feel more at home / makes the tank feel more natural... but will this be harmful to them ever ?

thanks,

thane

 

[Menagerie]

how harmful are tanins to fish ?

Not at all. If your fish like low pH and soft water, the tanins are helping
Charcoal is only active for 7-10 days--you need to replace it often to keep up with the leaching tanins. More PWC will help, or you can get to love tanins (they will be around for a long time).

I still have a yellowish tint to the lower part of my tank...

If you have enough water movement in the tank, the tint should be evenly distributed.

 

[thanew]

hrm... well my pH is still high... ~7.8-8 which i thought the driftwood would buffer it.. i guess I'm just not used to the look of it :|

 

[Menagerie]

How long has the wood been in the tank?

 

[thanew]

over a month... not enough time to naturally buffer ? because i've added nothing chemical wise besides dechlor and amquel

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

With Mopani wood I've added to the tank, I've soaked it in a pail, added really hot water, then drained after 2 hours, refilled with hot water, then removed the wood when the water cooled, this got most of the tannis out of the wood, then the carbon does the rest (I have Chemipure in the cannister) it will still leach out a little, but not enough to notice.

 

[Psyhampster]

Ah HA! So thats what this is... I was about to post a Q about yellowish water in my tank... I guess it makes sense, as it started appearing after we added the driftwood... I guess I'll go put the kettle on!

 

[An t-iasg]

Just a caution (hopefully this won't apply to anyone! )

If you have asthma or respiratory problems, think twice about boiling driftwood. I did last night, and wow did I get sick.

It didn't have an odor, but I was sitting right next to the pot (not too smart, I guess!) After a few hours I REALLY needed my nebulizer.

My husband took the driftwood out of the pot and put it in hot water (back in the bucket) and this morning I looked and the water was just as yellow as ever.

So, I guess it's lots of carbon if I want to get this aquarium set up anytime soon. I'll look up Chemipure -- maybe that's the best thing for me. I've only been changing the bucket water once a day. I'm going to have to get busy and change it more often!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

an t-iasg

When I soaked the wood like I mentioned above, it only leached severely for about 2 cycles in the hot water (and this is bogwood) bear in mind, the warmer your water, the more it leeches, and at 76 - 78 mine is un-noticable, at 80 - 82 with no carbon or other chems you can see the colouration, tho it takes about 4-5 days to be noticed.

Chemi-pure from what I've read and seen is amazing, it lasts 6 months and removes all kinds of nasty, I had copper in my tank (Coppersafe) and it's now reading zero copper, but you need a cannister filter to use it as it comes in nylon bags that are pre-soaked (make sure you wash it lightly first, it's really messy)

 

[whitetiger_CJ]

tannins, in my opinion add a more natural look to the tank, and they will make some fish feel more at home. But if you wish to decrease the release or stop it, the easiest way to go about it is the carbon, find a cheap brand, and replace it often. it is less hassle than boiling it.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks, Wizzard~Of~Ozz -- I just looked up Chemipure on DrsFosterSmith and it says "do not under any circumstances divide the bag". One bag is good for 40 gallons, so I guess the bag would be too big for an Aqua Clear HOB filter for 10-20 gallons. I plan to keep this tank at around 77 degrees so like you said, the color won't leach out so fast at that temp. I'll keep changing the hot water in the bucket for now. Today I did 3 changes already!

Thanks also, whitetiger_CJ. I'll stock up on plenty of carbon!

 

[An t-iasg]

thanew, didn't mean to hijack your thread How is your driftwood coming along? Are the tannins making the pH too low for your cichlids?

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

You can purchase a half unit which is good for about 20Gal, it should fit in an Aquaclear, tho I'm not sure how effective it will be, (I haven't played with an Aquaclear, if it forces the water through the media then it should work ok.)
Also keep in mind, it does soften water.

I picked it up when I was having a cloudy water problem, turned out to be green water (couldn't tell under Powerglo lights), turned off the lighting, and now the water is crystal clear, no tints or hues to it.

the only down side I can see to it is it's supposed to have nitrate scrubbers in it, having a planted tank I figure this may cause an issue, but the plants seem to be doing well (except for one that went dormant when thrown in the tank)

WhiteTiger, carbon will remove the colouration, but the effects of tannis should still be there, at least from what I've read. A lot of people put Peat in thier filter, and carbon after it to remove the colour.. they claim the effects are still there since the water still softens and gets a lower ph. I like the look of tannis with my Tetras, but my wife doesn't care for the "Tank full of Pee". I know the fish love it tho.

 

[An t-iasg]

Thanks again, Wizzard~Of~Ozz. I was tentatively planning to set up the tank, add some plants, although I won't use CO2 and I won't consider it a "planted tank". Then I could run the Chemipure until a lot of color is gone. I realize it may leach for many more months, but the color is so dark. It even stained the white bucket a little. I don't care about that, but I don't want other things in the tank like silk plants to get stained. Does the Chemipure interfere with the cycle when it's starting out? Are you running the Chemipure in an established tank?

 

[thanew]

the pH is staying constant which is quite strange... I actually thought it would buffer but over the last month it hasn't dropped at all, its still in the 7.9 range... i'm really trying to figure out what caused it to be so high in the first place. water here comes out at 7.0, and I haven't added any chemicals besides dechlor, biospira and amquel+

i'm almost at a loss, and as for the tanins they seem to be staying away thanks to the carbon

 

[An t-iasg]

Have you added any rocks to your tank? What about the substrate? Whenever I tested my rocks, I let some water sit out overnight, and got a pH reading in the morning. I put each rock in a plastic cup (they were small rocks!) and let them sit for about 5 days. I tested the pH again, and it didn't change from my initial, aged tap water reading. You could try this test with your substrate. I recall another member here who discovered that his substrate was causing his pH to rise.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Yes, Chemipure by nature scrubs Ammonia and some other stuff, so I would say it will interfere with the cycle.

I've never seena piece of wood that leached enough to stain a bucket, is it a really soft wood? I prefer hard wood, they leach slower.

 

[An t-iasg]

It's African Driftwood from DrsFosterSmith. It's beautiful and will look great in the tank. It doesn't feel that soft; I can't scrape it with my fingernails, but it sure is putting out some dark color. I've been soaking it since Jan. 5. Maybe I'll have to boil it again. (I didn't bring it to an actual boil last time, just to a slow simmer, but I left it in the pot for 3 hours.) I'll see if my husband will do it while I go somewhere else!

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I assume it's malaysian sicnce that;s all I could find on thier site.

It says to soak it for 1-2 weeks on thier site, perhaps your peice is loaded, Perhaps adding a bit of aquarium salt will help draw it out a bit, (not sure about that, like I said I've only used hardwood (non-bog) or mopani.. but it's a thought.)

 

[Menagerie]

hrm... well my pH is still high... ~7.8-8 which i thought the driftwood would buffer it.. i guess I'm just not used to the look of it

Is the actual pH of your tap water 7.8? (after it sits out over night) Keep in mind that when water comes out of the tap, the gases in the water are at different concentrations. After the water sits, the gases equilibrate and that is the true pH reading.