Tannins water

[Trainer_Ruby_]

I added some driftwood to my 55g tank yesterday and when I checked on everything today the water was a tea color. I know what it is and what caused it as I've had it in other tanks but I want to know how can I get it to stay like that? I know it fades later after the wood sinks but I really like the look of it and I think some of the shyer fish like it too as I've seen more of them.


Keep calm and rock on

 

[Delapool]

I've never tried it but have you looked into blackwater extract commercial products? Save the hassle of oak leaves or peat maybe?

 

[adadkins1]

There are a couple different ways you could keep some tannins in the water as Delapool said. If you want, there are often commercial products that can be found at your lfs or online. I personally (being a cheap graduate student) like to go the route of Oak leaves since they are plentiful. I have boiled them before to make my own blackwater extract of sorts, and it definitely seemed to help a particularly fragile betta I had years ago. I've never used Indian Almond leaves or peat, but know they are also frequently used.