bogwood

[jackieeuk]

hi all,
i didnt think it would be long before i start picking your brains.i use bog wood and i wonder is there anything out there to keep the water looking cleaner than it does,even with regular water changes it always look brown,i envy those crystal clear tanks but i love my bogwood and so do the fish so,im wondering is there anything i can use to help keep the water looking cleaner or do i have to put up with that look that comes with keeping bogwood.

thanking you in advance

 

[guppymonkey]

I thought part of getting bogwood was the color effect it has on the water? All the pictures I have seen of bogwood setups have a yellowish color to the water. I wouldn't really know though. I can't even find any bogwood at any stores near me to try it.

 

[CFC]

Placing some carbon in your filter will remove the brown tinge, remember that carbon needs to be changed every 6 weeks minimum.

 

[jackieeuk]

many thanks for the replies
but no i didnt buy it for the brown water effect but for the good of the fish,
i have always used it and just thought over the last 10 years that i havent kept fish that something may have been brought out to make the water sparkle,
its not a problem if i cant cletar the water but it would be nice if it just looks cleaner .
thanks for the tip of carbon,i have used it on occasions but not on a regular basis,will certainly try it
many thanks

 

[Dragonslair]

Depends if you have any plecos or algae eaters. If not what you could do is seal the bogwood with a yacht grade clear polyurthene varnish.
You would need to place the wood in a very slow heated oven on th "S" setting for 3 to 4 hours. let it cool down. apply the first coat of varnish, let it dry, lightly rub it down with fine grade sandpaper, not glasspaper and give it another coat and repeat again until you get the surface you want. Use matt or gloss, that is a matter of choice. Then once everything is properly dried place in the tank. You may need to weigh the wood down because by this time the wood will be light and it won't absorb any water!............it therefore won't leach out any colour either.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

I have lots of bogwood in one of my tanks and there is no brown tinge to the water. There was at first but this has been removed over time through water changes.

I wouldn't suggest using any varnish etc in your tank, there really is no need!! The wood will run out of tanin to leak into your tank. It should have been soaked before use to help this along.

HTH

 

[jackieeuk]

hi cheese specialist,
the wood was soaked for 2 weeks before placing into the tank and thoroughly washed before that and the tank was set up for 1 month before fish being added.
the water isnt brown brown but not that crystal clear water i see in other aquariums.
i have a plec and so i couldnt varnish it as he (like they all do) grazes off it.
thank you for all your replies i only asked because i have had a 10 year break from keeping fish and knowing what technology is like something may have come on the market since i last kept fish.
i didnt consider myself as a begginer lol but i find im wanting to ask more and more questions so at the moment i do feel like one
thanks once again for your replies

 

[DrOizo]

The Best way to get rid of the tinge is to boil It for ages and change the water often while boiling. I boiled a small sized piece for about 1 hour and changed the water every few minutes. I did this and have no Brown problems At all, Fortunatley

 

[jackieeuk]

thanks for the reply,i will get my big pans out and start boiling.
thanks for the tip

 

[Nidge]

I have a lot of bog wood in my tanks and beacause i use carbon the water is crystal clear, at first before i used it i didn't think the water was that brown because i was used to it but when i put carbon in i couldn't believe how clear it went, good luck.

 

[jackieeuk]

thanks nidge very interesting.
many thanks

 

[drobbins27]

is bogwood you buy at a pets store treated for tannin? or will it change your water colour also?

 

[DrOizo]

Usually 'Aquarium safe' Bogwood doesn't contain tanin, well at least the dense black chunks of wood I have are tanin free.