Managing brown water

**rtcc86** · 10th Mar 2006, 09:27

the charcoal will absorb but can i just clean them or must change?

**Justikanz** · 10th Mar 2006, 11:15

Change. No point cleaning. Anything left over will be released back to the water. Use the old charcoal for your plants on your corridor.

**grey_fox** · 10th Mar 2006, 12:12

Just make sure of one thing... activated carbon has a shelf life... I read up from somewhere that after 6 months, it should be changed.

I had mine running for 2 years and it killed almost half the population in the tank (no sign of disease, etc) (probably leaking the toxins back?), after its removal, the fauna stopped dropping like dead flies.

**guan** · 22nd Mar 2006, 00:05

the tannins is creating some sort of brackish environment for the fish, but still, for planted tank it doesn't look nice.
maybe when u buy the driftwood, you can choose those that are more fair, or not so dark kind, amd soak them for days before using?
but so far the driftwood i had bought doesn't have such problem

**black17** · 22nd Mar 2006, 09:30

If I may add, in my case, I have to live with it because if I remove my driftwood pieces, I may as well do a total re-scape. There's too much grown in already. Plus, I'm not a fan of using ACarbon unless I really need to.

Just my thoughts.

**guan** · 22nd Mar 2006, 09:53

Originally Posted by black17

If I may add, in my case, I have to live with it because if I remove my driftwood pieces, I may as well do a total re-scape. There's too much grown in already. Plus, I'm not a fan of using ACarbon unless I really need to.

Just my thoughts.

hi but in the shops, there are a kind of driftwood which are vacummed pack?
i believe those are better choice if you dont want to have the black water situation, maybe you can try them, it is much more cleaner.

**rtcc86** · 22nd Mar 2006, 12:09

i agree with black... to remove my dw is doing total rescape...so i guess i have to live with it...will the dw keep leeching tannins or will it end?

**grey_fox** · 22nd Mar 2006, 13:12

Originally Posted by guan

hi but in the shops, there are a kind of driftwood which are vacummed pack?
i believe those are better choice if you dont want to have the black water situation, maybe you can try them, it is much more cleaner.

Tannis leaking from driftwoods are normal, its a matter to having the driftwoods seasoned after a while, just live with it or have a activated carbon sandwiched in your filter to remove the tannis.

Also, I don't think vacuum packed driftwoods or those lying in the open makes a difference, its still driftwood and will leak tannis into the water.....

If you really must seal the tannis, use several coats of polyurethane varnish to seal the driftwood.

**black17** · 22nd Mar 2006, 14:01

Originally Posted by grey_fox

Tannis leaking from driftwoods are normal, its a matter to having the driftwoods seasoned after a while, just live with it or have a activated carbon sandwiched in your filter to remove the tannis.

Also, I don't think vacuum packed driftwoods or those lying in the open makes a difference, its still driftwood and will leak tannis into the water.....

If you really must seal the tannis, use several coats of polyurethane varnish to seal the driftwood.

Wouldn't the varnish leach some kinda chemicals into the water then?

On a lighter side though, someone mentioned to me that the blackish (did I get it correct?) is the natural environment for my neons!

Am planning a major re-scape soon. Betcha, treating DW will be my first and foremost priority...among the many other things. hehe.

**Justikanz** · 22nd Mar 2006, 14:06

Yes, neons and most other tetras would come from the blackwater tributeries of the Amazon River...

**|squee|** · 22nd Mar 2006, 18:56

Originally Posted by black17

blackish (did I get it correct?)

Brackish.

The term blackish is a corruption of the word brackish. (sounds like blackish when heard incorrectly)

**grey_fox** · 22nd Mar 2006, 19:00

Originally Posted by black17

Wouldn't the varnish leach some kinda chemicals into the water then?

On a lighter side though, someone mentioned to me that the blackish (did I get it correct?) is the natural environment for my neons!

Am planning a major re-scape soon. Betcha, treating DW will be my first and foremost priority...among the many other things. hehe.

On the contrary, polyurethane varnish won't leak any toxins into the tank, it creates a hard coat over the driftwood but will end up looking quite un-natural. Imagine a glossy looking driftwood in your tank

It's a sure way of sealing the entire driftwood and not have tannis leaked back into the tank.

Of course, you will need to air and sun dry it before having it added into the tank

Then again, why create something artificial right? My ultimate suggestion is to live with the tannis filled water and let nature take its course.

**grey_fox** · 22nd Mar 2006, 19:03

English 101

brack·ish (brksh)
adj.
Having a somewhat salty taste, especially from containing a mixture of seawater and fresh water.

**black17** · 22nd Mar 2006, 20:13

Thanks squee and grey_fox for clarifying stuff.

But then ahh, if I understand correctly, brackish water then is where river water and sea water meet yes? Like a river estuary. Then is there such a thing as blackwater? Please let me know if this post has gone in a tangent. TQ.

**grey_fox** · 22nd Mar 2006, 20:22

Yes, you are correct, brackish water conditions are from eustary lakes (if my geography knowledge still serves me) where the mouth of the river meets the seas. So its actually a mixture of fresh & saltwater. Waters that you can find fishes like Scatophagidae AKA Scats.

There is such a thing as blackwater aquariums or habitats, the explanation follows.

Blackwater ponds, creeks, and rivers originate in the rain-forest. In the slow-moving waters, acids are leeched from decaying vegetation creating very transparent, tea-colored water. These waters have almost no measurable water hardness and an acidic pH.

The substrate in blackwater habitats is typically leaf litter over a base of fine clay or sand. Decaying wood and plant matter is common especially in flooded igapo forest. There are many submerged terrestrial plants, many of which retain most of their leaves.

Referenced from http://www.mongabay.com/fish/biotope...blackwater.htm

**valice** · 22nd Mar 2006, 21:11

Originally Posted by grey_fox

The substrate in blackwater habitats is typically leaf litter over a base of fine clay or sand. Decaying wood and plant matter is common especially in flooded igapo forest. There are many submerged terrestrial plants, many of which retain most of their leaves.

That's where you find the South American Apistogrammas!!!!

**Justikanz** · 22nd Mar 2006, 21:37

Originally Posted by black17

Then is there such a thing as blackwater? Please let me know if this post has gone in a tangent. TQ.

Then whatever I had mentioned was nonsense?? *Sheesh!!*...

**rtcc86** · 22nd Mar 2006, 23:07

so the dw will cr8 this effect?

**grey_fox** · 22nd Mar 2006, 23:28

The brown water you have is likely from the tannis seeping from your driftwood.

Unless you have a lot of rotting stuff (vegetation) in your tank, that can also add to the brown water effect. IMO, for your case, its the driftwood.

**black17** · 23rd Mar 2006, 00:42

Originally Posted by Justikanz

Then whatever I had mentioned was nonsense?? *Sheesh!!*...

Hey don't worry about it...happens to me too. In fact I have a natural flair, hahaha

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