Water changing orange in new tank

[Liamsdad]

Hi everyone,

I’ve set-up my new tank last night and this morning woke up to the water being orange. After some reading up it appears this is due to the wooden decor i’ve out in the tank.

Is there a good way to remove this colour? I’m guessing i’ll need to do frequent water changes but is there anything i can add to the water to speed up the process?

I’ve attached a couple of pics.

 

[Ch4rlie]

This does look like tannins that’s naturally coming from the wood you have in the tank.

This is perfectly ok and won’t harm any livestock when it’s time to add them into the tank.

The tannins will naturally keep coming over the next few days to several weeks, it depends. The only way to get rid of the tannins is to do water changes.

So first, I would not worry about the tannins too much for now, you can do a complete water change now and then I am assuming you may be planning on doing a fishless cycle to get the tank and filter ready before adding fish / livestock to the tank.

Have a read of this if you have not already done so.

Cycling Your New Fresh Water Tank: Read This First!

Cycling Your First Fresh Water Tank What is Cycling and Why is it Important? Fish waste, and especially fish breathing, plus uneaten food and other organic matter breaking down in a tank all produce Ammonia. This can quickly become toxic to fish if it is allowed to build up to any measurable...

www.fishforums.net

 

[Liamsdad]

Water changes it is then thanks for the link to the fishless cycle.

 

[nik_n]

As mentioned previously those are tannins form the bog wood especially if its orange. If the water is murky it could be from the sand substrate. In any case water changes will take care of it.

Tannins are in no way harmful for the aquarium in fact some fish fell more comfortable in water full of tannins.

What type of fish are you planning on adding to the tank?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

Tannins are unsightly to some but most fish prefer it and makes their colours pop! I had a betta in rooibos tea and he looked incredible

 

[Sgooosh]

Tannins are unsightly to some but most fish prefer it and makes their colours pop! I had a betta in rooibos tea and he looked incredible

fish love tannins it is natural to stagnant fish i think
i had to resist the urge of putting tannins in my guppy tank
that would go bad

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

fish love tannins it is natural to stagnant fish i think
i had to resist the urge of putting tannins in my guppy tank
that would go bad

Why? It won't hurt them and you can always do a water change

 

[Sgooosh]

Why? It won't hurt them and you can always do a water change

pretty sure guppies need high ph +gh and tannins lower that
im bound to have some since i am trying to treat mopani, have any tips?

 

[Byron]

pretty sure guppies need high ph +gh and tannins lower that
im bound to have some since i am trying to treat mopani, have any tips?

It depends upon the GH, KH and pH to begin with; if these are moderately hard or harder (the GH, with the KH/pH in tow) they will not be affected by tannins from wood. That is something that can occur in low-GH/KH water unless one buffers these (not suggesting you do).

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

pretty sure guppies need high ph +gh and tannins lower that
im bound to have some since i am trying to treat mopani, have any tips?

I never bothered to soak my wood personally, I just use rocks to hold it down and do more water changes. Some people say to boil it to release tannins quicker but in my experience all that does is damage the wood and make it soft.

Just soak it in a bucket until it sinks on its own

 

[Sgooosh]

I never bothered to soak my wood personally, I just use rocks to hold it down and do more water changes. Some people say to boil it to release tannins quicker but in my experience all that does is damage the wood and make it soft.

Just soak it in a bucket until it sinks on its own

should i bake it to get rid of mold?

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

should i bake it to get rid of mold?

What mould? As in the weird slimy white stuff that grows on it in the tank? Nope, it's harmless...if you've got shrimp or guppies then it will be gone in no time