Very new to wood in tank. Never wanted it before, partner suggested it. We rinsed it and put it in. Ooops! Turned water brown. Went on YouTube for advice. Supposed to boil. Took it out, boiled til water ran clear. But we're left with brown tinted water. It seems, according to YouTube, tannins aren't harmful to fish I don't really want to do a water change. Bought some resin carbon to put in filter.so far it hasn't worked. Any help and advice would be welcome. I'm thinking about removing the wood. But that would be sad as it looks really nice.
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Help-tannins
- Thread starter Dizzyditz
- Start date
porl66
Fish Fanatic
I boiled my piece countless times over 2 weeks and then left it soaking in a big bucket for 3 weeks. Water was running clear, placed it in my 40l tank and hey presto it leaked tannins overnight. Woke to a light brown tank. It has been in the tank for a few weeks now and it isnt too bad......don't know if thats because I have gotten used to it mind. Apparently fish love the tannins that bogwood leaches out. I find that when I have the wight and blue LEDS on the water looks realy clear as soon as I switch the blue LED off it does look a bit browner
Tannins are harmless and occur in the wild and in aquariums containing driftwood. Tannins can help reduce disease organisms in the water but they stain the water brown. The only way you can prevent tannins from leaching into the tank water is to put the wood in a bucket of water and leave it there until it stops releasing tannins. This could take a week, a month or several years.
You don't have to water change it out, you just do normal water changes each week. If you don't want the brown stained water, remove the wood and do a water change.
Carbon will remove some tannins but the carbon will eventually block up and won't remove any more.
If you have suckermouth catfish in the tank, they need some driftwood to help their digestion, but other fish don't need it.
You don't have to water change it out, you just do normal water changes each week. If you don't want the brown stained water, remove the wood and do a water change.
Carbon will remove some tannins but the carbon will eventually block up and won't remove any more.
If you have suckermouth catfish in the tank, they need some driftwood to help their digestion, but other fish don't need it.
+1 for what @Colin_T said. If you're after bright, crystal clear water, take it out and do a water change. This won't hurt your beneficial bacteria as the vast majority reside in your filter media. If you want a natural look without the tea colored water, there are lots of artificial wood decorations made out of resin that look great. Tannins can leach for a very long time, especially mopani. I've got mopani in one tank that leaches just as much today as it did 6 months ago. As was stated, they are a good thing. Me, personally, I embrace the tannins. I love that dark, swampy, natural look. If I had African cichlids or saltwater, well... That might be a different story.
BTW, welcome to TFF! Word of caution: Watch out for that Flushable Pets guy. He's not right in the head.
BTW, welcome to TFF! Word of caution: Watch out for that Flushable Pets guy. He's not right in the head.
Thank you everyone. It's good that you've all said the same thing. I'm going to take it out, see how it goes and if it isn't any better at the weekend I'll do a part water change. I'll get more rocks/stones instead. Thanks again.
PS. Thanks for the warning!!
LOL, that makes 2 of us
There’s also @Colin_T, our resident advisor. He eats cats and keeps gremlins in his basement. If you’re not careful, he’ll name a gremlin after you and put curses on it. You don’t want to make him mad. For some odd reason, we all love the guy though. Guess we’re all a little nuts here but we are smart and fun. Welcome to the gang!
Oops. I questioned myself when I wrote that. Brain not working well while cooking Thanksgiving dinner. Sorry!
If you really like the look of your piece of wood, you can dip it in plastidip and maybe t won't reach tannins that way. You will probably have to first let get it bone dry (oven on low heat for maybe 1-2 days?) And then weigh it down because it will subsequently float. @Utar and @RenC have used the stuff, they will be able to advise if you go that route
I do bite! Lol!it's all good
I have one named after you too, Deanasue the goblin, she's a feisty one that bites.
Plasti dip is amazing! It’s essentially aresol rubber that when you let it cure for 24 hours it’ll be perfectly tank safe. I used it on all the standing wood in my tank and no tannins have leeched at all!
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