will tanic acid kill my fish?

[Bieffe]

Just got myself some drift wood. Is still leaking making water brown. If I place this into tank will the Tanic acid kill my fishes?

[Urban Aquaria]

In general, the tannins from drift and bog wood wouldn't harm your fishes... but it can create backwater conditions and can lower the pH of your tank water slightly.

Some fishes actually thrive in these kind of conditions, usually the fish species from south america or the amazon. You'll have to check the info on the fishes you are keeping to see if such conditions are suitable, otherwise either do more frequent water changes, remove the drift wood or relocate the fishes.

[Bieffe]

Trying to get rid as much that I can but doesn't seem to end. Guess weeks may be too optimistic may need months? The pain to wait. Should have got from fellow forumer.

[jemswira]

As urban has said, it really depends on the fish you're keeping. If you're keeping cichlids from the African rift lakes, you'll find they won't like it. But if you're keeping fish that live in tea colored waters, they'll enjoy it. I for one think that tea colored waters under the right Right light looks beautiful, and makes the color of the fishes really pop.

[Urban Aquaria]

Trying to get rid as much that I can but doesn't seem to end. Guess weeks may be too optimistic may need months? The pain to wait. Should have got from fellow forumer.

Yeah, it depends on the particular driftwood, some can take just a few days to a few weeks to release most of their tannins, some can take months.

What you can try is boil the driftwood (if it can fit in a large metal cooking pot) for a few hours, it will greatly accelerate the release of the tannins, the boiled water will be very dark brown by the time its done, that will also kill any critters hiding in the wood too.

Otherwise you could also just soak the driftwood in a bucket for a few more weeks and change the water every few days, then only put the wood in your tank once the bucket water is clear.

[wongce]

from my observation, as long the wood is not harvested from wild or polluted with chemicals, the tannins leak from LFS sold dw are generally fish safe.

However soaking and boiling of dw is always recommended to reduce the amount of tannins ( you don't want a Teh "O" aquarium right?), and kill off parasites, critters as what bro Urban Aquaria mentioned earlier.

For me i soak/pour boiled water on DW for weeks (FYI my record is 3 months) until there is less tannins leak out. I even monitor the PH levels of the soaked water just to make sure it does not lower my PH too much...

[RonWill]

I'm not sure about the rest of the members here but personally, I like tea-colored water and most of the fishes I keep prefer a lower pH, showing their best colors and breed best too.

Often, I don't soak, boil or treat LFS-bought driftwoods and for those that do float, it isn't difficult to weigh them down with a couple of rocks (or water-filled CNY goodie containers... those with red screw-on lids).

As mentioned before, the tannic leached (not 'leaked') is temporary and with regular water changes, the discoloration will go away. In addition to tannic leaching, sometimes a fungus or jelly-like substance will grow on some woods. These can be siphoned off during water changes or if one does it the natural way, just add some yamato shrimps and snails.

Natural tannic acid won't kill fishes. No need to lose sleep over it.

[Shi Xuan]

Tannin doesn't hurt fishes as much as chlorine or osmotic shock does. It's a myth just like how many aquarists think fishes go through PH shock, which is more likely to be an Osmotic shock instead. I mean how do you know the PH of a pool when you jump in?

In fact, what I really think is, tannin is really beneficial and I often prefer the water to be darker, not that I don't like showy fishes but it helps bring out the true color and behavior of fishes, which is especially essential for most South American and SE Asian fish species.

Still, if you dislike the discoloration, then do frequent water changes and it would go away in time.

[peiho]

I personally do not like to have tea coloured water since it looks like inferior water quality. I prefer pristine & clear water conditions. Maybe the use of activated carbon can clear the tannin laden water?
More water changes would definitely help.

No, Tannins don't kill fish, it is actually beneficial to fish in low to moderate amounts. I believe that it is more of an aesthetic appeal that people try to remove them or add them through blackwater extracts, etc.
Just my opinion. Correct me if I'm wrong.

[RonWill]

I'm allergic to pristine & clear water.... too sterile & bland for my taste buds!

[jemswira]

Well I guess this is all just personal choice. If the water is yellow it looks gross to me. But if it were stained brown but still clear, that Looks great for me.

[wongce]

*info: i monitor ph of Soaked DW as i am keeping shrimps, i did encounter a weird type of dw/bonsai dw which lowers the soaked water to below ph4(soaked for a weeks time,lowest ph detectable by my test kit).

The tank water condition is yours to decide. You like clean look, go clean. If you like natural look, go teh 'o'.

To fish,they are ok as long the conditions are not extreme

[AQMS]

@wongce - where did u get the bonsai Dw.
Ts sorry for the side track...