yellow water

[lee8040]

my water has gone a yellow tint. its a new juwel rekord 70, in its firs stages, been setup for 2 days with just gravel and a bit of wood in there, last night the water turned slightly yellow anyone no why?

 

[SPLiSH]

Probably the tannins released by the wood. It's not harmful and will go away eventually but you can remove, boil and soak the wood to stop any more being released.

 

[glolite]

Hiya. It is probably the wood giving off tannin. Did you soak it first? If you did then don't worry as it will gradually disappear with time. If not, take the wood out if possible and soak it in hot water overnight. Hot water helps get rid of the tannins in wood. Alternatively, soak in cold water for a few weeks, changing water daily (boring!!) Tannin makes water softer so if you are planning on getting fish that like a low pH of say 6-7 then fine. If harder water require ieH 7-8 then I'd soak the wood well going for the second, boring method

 

[lee8040]

so it will go yeh? its been setup for 2 days, ive had tanning and a weird cloud at the top, how long should i leave it fora chance to disappear before i have to do any type of water changes. cos the longer this stuff i in there and the more i have to do a water change means the longer i have to wait for fish to go in

 

[Fiori]

The tannins in the water will not harm fish; on the contrary, some fish actually prefer to have tannin-coloured water, as it matches their natural conditions. Lots of fish from areas in the Amazon fit in this category. You can actually buy a product from lfs to mimic this environment - blackwater extract. If you don't like the look of it in your tank, then you will need to do water changes, as it won't disappear by itself, unless you take the wood out and follow the guidance given by the previous posters.

 

[lee8040]

whos right above ^?

 

[glolite]

Well everyone really. Depends which fish you want to get. I personally would not do water changes until the tank has cycled but take the wood out and soak it overnight in hot water. Then if you want hardwater fish, do lots of water changes.

 

[Tokis-Phoenix]

Tannins released by bogwood are benificial for many fish as they have antibiotic qualitys and tannins are present in many fish's natural habitats, particualy for catfish. Bogwood can lower the ph of the tank a bit so you will need to test your ph before you decide on fish, many fish can happily live in a ph that isn't to their exact specifications but they are still some that are very picky on these things.

 

[Jamnog]

Yep i got a plec and an oscar and i put the bogwood straigh in. So long as its not too cloudy, then its good but maybee if you put it in boiling water to kill off any of the bacteria that may have been present in the water it might be a good idea (hmm but its in now so just let it cycle for a couple of weeks with plants and maybee start with fish you dont like).
Driftwood can be a problem if it has some salt content make sure its not driftwood (that should be soaked for a long long time), but bogwood tends to have been man made if you get it from fish shops it is usually ok to put straight in if you dont mind the colour. The main problem as I say is a cloudy residue that maybee dust from where its been sitting in the shop for a long time thats worth a rince and if it has been in another tank a boil for ten mins should kill of most of the bacteria. If you have a cycled tank you wont need any more bacteria. The tanin and the antibiotic properties mentioned I think will leach out slowly over the course of a few days or even weeks so a quick boil wouldnt have done any harm but as its in the water now I wouldnt worry too much. stress kills more fish than bacteria ever did im just yabbering now. anyway what fish are you planning for when its cycled?