Who Poured Tea In My Tank?

[Dan-CR4]

Well i woke this morning and my tank looks like a weak cup of tea , after 5 days of having my wood in the bath and the last 24 hours of that the water was clear, so i decided to put the wood in my tank, first 24 hours was fine no tanin leaks, this mornig is a different story it now looks a nice warm colour, gives my green plants a real nice colour and apart from the colour the water is clear. i quite like the colour but wondered if its ok for it to be like that, can it harm the fish?

another question is....what do you all use to stop the water getting too dark?

my first weekly clean and water change(20%) is tomorrow, should this lighten it up a bit?

 

[Twinklecaz]

I think the fish actually like it (so I heard). Doesn't harm them.

I dunno about it getting darker though. I was lucky with my first piece of bogwood and didn't really get much tannins.

 

[Ben M]

hi, the tannins are good for the plants and fish. the tannins will stop leaching into the tank after a while. water changes will dilute the colour so it doesn't go too dark. you don't have to add anything to the tank, as the tannins are good for the fish and plants, but if you hate the colour i think that carbon will absorb the tannins.

cheers

 

[Dan-CR4]

thanks for the replies guys. I quite like the colour as it is now, the main thing was making sure it was ok for the fish. But as long as they are ok i wont be too worried.

 

[tgo]

I am experiencing the same thing right now with one of my recently set-up aquariums. I personally like it much more than crystal clear water, and I believe the fish also like it (6 lemon tetras). It added a slight tea-ish tinge, not really that dark but still noticeable.

I have a couple questions, if you don't mind me hi-jacking this post:

I heard that tannins help protect fish from harmful organisms like bacteria and parasites, is this true?

I'm considering adding some plants fairly soon, how are tannins good for the plants?

Thanks

 

[Ben M]

hi, i don't know about the bacteria, but it's good for plants.

 

[waterdrop]

Agree, everything I've heard and read says its quite good for the fish and for the tank in general. Its quite natural, especially for fish from the Amazon.. but I wonder, wood being so common to water areas, perhaps its a good deal more widespread than that.. anybody know?

~~waterdrop~~