Reply With QuoteThe wood will just keep leaching tannins... It is normal... You might want to use activated carbon in your filter to remove the tannis so your water looks less brown... But it will also remove your fertlizers.
No more saltwater tank for me!
Managing brown water
hi guys...my tank is up for 1 month and recently i've noticed that the water is brown...i have already soaked my driftwood in the water for 2 weeks prior to addition into the tank...however now my tank water is pale brown and its unsightly.i have been doing waterchange almost every day (5%) however it does not work..can anyone advise on how to get ride of the color??
The juggling apprentice fish
The wood will just keep leaching tannins... It is normal... You might want to use activated carbon in your filter to remove the tannis so your water looks less brown... But it will also remove your fertlizers.
Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/
I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted!), C.nurii, C.parva, C.pygmaea(Melted!
Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...
Originally Posted by rtcc86
happen to me with my 1 ft cube.... tried all methods.......boiling the dw......frequent 50% water chages (At the expense of fauna).......activated carbon........in the end the tannin leach is still as bad as before.... so now i am fedup.
That's why for my 6 ft tank.... i am cautious( each 50% water change is a 2hrs and 1 full bathtub worth of water b usiness)...... soaked my DW in water for a few days first..... some do not leak but 1 or 2 is leaking even though the bro i bought it from say that it des not leak anymore as it was used for a long time liao....
No more saltwater tank for me!
ic..so i'll have to keep on doing water changes?The wood will just keep leaching tannins... It is normal... You might want to use activated carbon in your filter to remove the tannis so your water looks less brown... But it will also remove your fertlizers.
@ aquastuff.org
Likewise, initially I also had this but after a month or two the tannis leak seemed to disappear. However now with new DW (x2 huge ones) it's back to square one. Think tannis is also good for the fishes but a sore to the eye I guess.happen to me with my 1 ft cube.... tried all methods.......boiling the dw......frequent 50% water chages (At the expense of fauna).......activated carbon........in the end the tannin leach is still as bad as before.... so now i am fedup.
That's why for my 6 ft tank.... i am cautious( each 50% water change is a 2hrs and 1 full bathtub worth of water b usiness
Sorry to bring this off topic for a while but...bro... 1 full bathtub? How much is you utilities bill each month?
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
hahaha... just an esrimate lah.... i figure when i lie down in my bathtube i cannot fully stretch out even though i only 5+ft....... so i can imagine i can lie full inside the 6 ft tank with exra space to spare......
I am thinking it will not be a monthly thingy..... once it is stabilised, i just change 10-20% water every month loh...
How do you all do water change ah? i feel quite stupid using pails of water to do water change..haha...any advise? thanks
alan
Baton courtesy.....service with a smile!
Alan, use a long hose attached to a tap. The other end must be submerged in the tank water. Fill the hose completely with water. When there are no air in the hose, you remove the hose from the tap and automatically there will be a siphon created. The end that was attached to the tap can be placed on the floor of your toilet. Simple right?
If you've learnt, teach, if you have, give.
Don't walk behind me as I might not lead, don't walk in front of me as I might not follow. Walk beside me, as my friend.
Mohamad Rohaizal is my name. If it's too hard, use BFG. I don't mind.
@ aquastuff.org
Use a long hose, from your water point (likely bathroom) turn on the tap make sure hose is filled with water and then get your sibling, family member to turn off the tap and then pull out the hose, you can start siphoning from there.
No more buckets! Unless you want to keep aged water of course.
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
The juggling apprentice fish
I used ice cream tubs to do surface skimming... Then use the water to water the plants on the corridor. Less disturbance to the substrate and removal of mulm (including some shrimps and small fish!)
To each his own, relax and just do things the way that suits you best!
Read me! :bigsmile: http://justikanz.blogspot.com/
I'm crypt collecting... Starting cheap, now have Cryptocoryne beckettii, C.beckettii var petchii, C.crispatula var.balansae, C.griffithii(Melted!
Oh, juggling is hard work, man!...
@ aquastuff.org
For my 5x2x2 I am following E.I so I do 50% water change every week. Haha 250+ litres of water each time.hahaha... just an esrimate lah.... i figure when i lie down in my bathtube i cannot fully stretch out even though i only 5+ft....... so i can imagine i can lie full inside the 6 ft tank with exra space to spare......
I am thinking it will not be a monthly thingy..... once it is stabilised, i just change 10-20% water every month loh...
P/S: Apologies for bring this off topic for a while (Back to topic)
Anyways I think tannis is good for the fish, probably to a certain extent but definitely a sore to the eyes.
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
oh but refilling back the water using the hose wont disturb the plants or substrate? how to minimize the disturbance ah? hehehe
Put a bag around your hose and on the tap to a very slow level and if you have an area of, say, java fern on driftwood, channel the water there... And let the plants take the initial impact...
Slowly refill... No hurry...
@ aquastuff.org
I always hit the initial flow against the glass whilst maintaining a minimal water flow back.
And yes, as valice mentioned, slowly refill, no hurry at all
visit my photo albums @ flickr!
it will disappear by itself over time, I think let nature take its own course.
5% water change isn't going to make much impact. I'll suggest 50-80% weekly or bi-weekly water changes to kick things into shape. Tank cured wood requires more water changes.
Regards
Peter Gwee
No more saltwater tank for me!
wouldnt 50% water change be too drastic?
Nope. I myself do 50% water changes on a weekly basis. Nothing's happened. 5% water changes are akin to amount of water evaporation in a day from a fan, too little to have a impact.
Yes, 5% water change is definitely too little to remove tannin staining.
In anycase, different types of driftwood leaches tannin at different rate. I have a piece of driftwood from the ketapang tree and the leeching is fantastic. Water turned brown in a day. But another piece of driftwood that a friend gave me that sinks even when bone dry (some kind of hardwood)... and there is almost no leaching at all.
Also from my experience, most bog wood leach very little. If you don't like the brown staining you may want to try these instead of the usual drift wood.
/John
Hi rtcc86,
If the brown water really borthers you, you can consider addiing charcoal or active carbon in your filtration. They will remove the coloration to a large degree. Change them every 3 months there after.
Cheers,
I have dwarf cichlids in my tanks! Do you?
Posting Permissions
Bookmarks