Water Very Brown

[Buddy33]

hey guys just have a problem, i put a nice new bit of drift wood in the other day and now the water is VERY brown how can i clear it??

 

[fatheadminnow]

The brown water is from Tannins, which is a natural extractive from wood.

When wood is submerged in water, these tannins will leak out.

Over time, the tannins will stop leaking out.

The only way to clear it is to do water changes, or add carbon to the filter.

You should of soaked/boiled the wood for a couple of weeks, yes, a couple of weeks, prior to adding the wood to the tank. This way you will be able to get as many tannins out as possible.

Luckily, tannins are not harmful to the fish, and the fish will most likely like the tannins.

-FHM

 

[Buddy33]

so theres nothing i can add to my water to clear it up?
i have active carbon but still is very brown and the carbon is only a few weeks old

 

[fatheadminnow]

Carbon will only work for about a max of 3 days.

Since you just added the wood right to your tank without soaking it, you are going to have a lot of tannins.

Water changes/changing the carbon out every 3 days is the only way for it to clear, but it will take weeks before you start to see any positive results.

I would suggest to take it out and soak/boil it for a couple of weeks.

Boiling it is going to allow the tannins to release faster.

-FHM

 

[Buddy33]

Carbon will only work for about a max of 3 days.

what u mean there

 

[fatheadminnow]

I mean that Activated carbon will only do its job for about 3 days.

Its job is clearing the tank from discoloration/smells/meds etc...

After about 3 days, carbon has been all used up and cannot "absorb" anything anymore, and it will start to leak back into the tank.

That is why a lot of people, myself included, do not have carbon in our filers unless we need it.

So, if you want to keep carbon in your filter effective, you have to replace it every 3 days or so.

-FHM

 

[drobbyb]

FHM is correct. Activated carbon just dosen't last long.

While it does have it's purpose, it's not required.

 

[Dave Spencer]

so theres nothing i can add to my water to clear it up?

Yep, Seachem Purigen.

Dave.

 

[caliper]

Fortunately for me, I have never had a problem with the Tannis leaking like that into my tank. Only once did I need to keep it overnight in a bucket of water to soak and the next day I was fine to go.

I understand it will take some time for the tank to clear up but can he not take the driftwood out and the Tannis in the tank now disperse quicker. Also put the driftwood in another bucket clean it and change the water in the bucket more frequently.

Cal

 

[Kialz]

what kind of fish do you have in the tank cause fish like killifish,angels,tetras and discus love blackwater i have my water a blackwater setup and my angels and tetras just love it.

 

[Buddy33]

i have a few neons, 4 cichlids, n couple of basic normal fish like siver shark n sucka fish

 

[fatheadminnow]

The Cichlids will love the brackish water.

-FHM

 

[ak>47]

well if you dont want the water to be very dark, try cotton, it absorbs the tannis

 

[waterdrop]

Gee, I wonder if you put an entire big bag of cotton balls from the drugstore into a cloth or mesh bag and sunk it in the tank for a while whether that could be a new way to clear a tank of tannins?

~~waterdrop~~