Coloured water

[~nessy~]

hi im new to everything and just had my fishtank and put fish in it over a week now and did my whole water change and everyhting but now my water looks like someone went to the loo in it it was a waterly yellow colour and im kinda worried that if i clean out the whole fish tank then i could kill of my fish because of the bacteria in the water and i dont have anywhere to put them while i clean out my fish tank and make it safe to put them back in is there anything that has caused the coloured water or any way i can get rid of it

any help would be grateful

vanessa

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Does the tank have any bogwood/wooden ornements by any chance? How many gallons does the tank hold and what fish do you have in it?

 

[Allix]

Do you have a testing kit? If you do could you tell us what the nitrate, nitrite, ph etc is?

 

[~nessy~]

i have a piece of bogwood at the bottom of my tank ive got 1 cherry barb one loach thingy and a snail i dont have a home testing kit

 

[WILDER]

Did you sterlise the bogwood and leave it to soak for a couple of days changing the water, where did you get the bogwood from.

 

[~nessy~]

um no i got told by our local fish shop that we only need to soak the bodwood for a few hours then its alright to put in - is it my bogwood which is causing the problem should i take it out

 

[abstract]

yes it is your bogwood that is causing it but it is not a "problem" unless you absolutely hate the yellow tint....over time it will become less and less yellow as the "tannins" from the driftwood are released...however, the tannins are actually beneficial to the fish and are present in their natural environment...i know people who swear by their tannin-filled water (CFC), and i agree that it makes it look more natural and make your fish feel more secure altogether...

 

[One_Trick_Pony]

u can also boil the wood which pull teh tannins out faster if u can find a pot big enouhg

 

[~nessy~]

hmm i might leave the bogwood in and put some carbon into the tank to get rid of some of the yellowness

 

[abstract]

hmm i might leave the bogwood in and put some carbon into the tank to get rid of some of the yellowness

only problem with that is it will only help remove the color for less than a week and if you dont remove the carbon then, will leach back into the water

 

[~nessy~]

ahhhh confuzed now so should i leave the bogwood in and hope the colour goes (sorry its annoying me like hell) or take the bogwood out and soak it for a long time while changing the water and doing water changes to mine

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Things you can do to remove the tannins/colored water;
a. take out the bodwood and soak in it some boiling or cold water- it won't need long for boiling water but in cold water it could take a week or more.
b. Do lots of water changes- apart from being good for your fish and water quality in general, it will also help remove the tannins if you keep on replacing the tank water with dechlorinated water while doing water changes.
c. Buy some carbon sponge and put it in your tanks filter along with the current filter media- the problem with this is it won't work for too long and the carbon will also remove all the nutrients in the water that any live plants you have need to grow or any fish meds you need to use in the tank; personally i'd go for option a. or b.

 

[OohFeeshy]

If its not that bad, leave it. Mine's very tanniny, you don't notice it. Apart from when you take it out of the tank...

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Yeah i've got some bogwood in some of my tanks and although the water is ever so slightly yellow, i don't realy mind at all and the plecs health seems to have been alot better since i added bogwood to the tank- they'll some out of their caves more often and suck on the bogwood and i agree tannins do seem to have some sort of benifet to fish and their health- mine seem a bit more active since i added bogwood and the khuli loachs also like hiding under it too .

 

[Bloo]

It really just depends on the piece of wood you have there. I've had pieces that were fine and required almost no soaking whatsover. Then I've had pieces that I've boiled and soaked for 2 weeks with daily warm water changes in bucket - and it still leached tannins like there was no tomorrow.
Obvisously it depends in the size of the wood - not all of us have a couldron large enough to boil a massive piece of wood in or a container large enough to soak.
It really won't do your fish any harm and with regular water changes, it will (should) no longer leach after about a month.
A lot of people don't even bother with boiling / soaking anyway.