Brown Water

[Jallen]

So, for my BN pleco I have some african Mopani root in my tank. I left it for 2 days to soak and it sank as soon as i put it in the water.

However it's slowly making my water more and more tea-like.

I'm using carbon filtration, no effect it seems.

What can i do that doesn't involve taking the wood out? Will it continue to get more and more brown or will it stop at a certain level?
I really like it, so i don't want to take it out, plus the pleco and my kuhli loaches really like it.

http/uk.youtube.com/watch?v=ev8Th00Mxgs&fmt=18

That was it soon after i put it in. Now the water is like weak tea

 

[Schmill]

If you've got a pot that's big enough, (and old enough!), you can boil it on the stove for a few hours, I did with my bogwood and it seems to have pulled a lot of the tannins out of it
The other option is to put the wood in a bucket and then pour boiling water over it, and then just change the water every few hours.

 

[waterdrop]

Yes, to add to Schmills comment, I've seen members write that they sometimes only had success by doing the second thing (on large pieces) of pouring boiling water over it and doing this off and on repeatedly for some days (!)

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Schmill]

Well my bogwood went into my tank 24 hours ago and I can't see the slightest tinge of tannins
That is after probably a total of 4-5 hours of simmering in hot water on the stove though, followed by a day sitting in a bucket of cold water.

Incidently... does anyone have a good method for now getting tannin stains out of the wife's favourite gammon boiling pot?

 

[waterdrop]

 

[dcarmor927]

haha i cant help you Schmill, but if you dont have a pot big enough you could try running it through your dish washer a couple times on high heat...granted your dishwasher will smell a tad after but it'll do the same thing as boiling, but it might take a bit longer...good luck

 

[aquacultural]

Monitor your pH closely if your water becomes too brown. All these tannin that leeches out into the water makes it softer and more acidic.
That's also the reason why your teeth feels funny after drinking a cup of tea.


Tannin is a type of natural dye, and also forms a part of the water column of the amazon river.
Most loaches are river bed fishes, enjoying strong water flow as well as a little tannin.

Don't let it bother you, as it is not harmful. However, if you want clear water, you can follow what Schmill has suggested.

 

[Jallen]

Will it reach a certain level and stop though? I don't want it to get more and more brown, but if it stays as it is I can live with it.

 

[Schmill]

Yes, and as your maintainance schedule will include regular water changes too it will never get too dark I wouldn't think, it will just keep doing it for a loooong time

 

[AJ Tudor]

Incidently... does anyone have a good method for now getting tannin stains out of the wife's favourite gammon boiling pot?

Put a filter in the pan with carbon in it?

Will it reach a certain level and stop though? I don't want it to get more and more brown, but if it stays as it is I can live with it.

Despite soaking my bogwood for ages my tank still went a bit yellow, after a few routine water changes though it's all nice and clear

 

[Dave Spencer]

I`ve said it before, and I`ll say it again.....

Seachem Purigen.

Dave.

 

[aquacultural]

The tannin will continue leeching until the water is too saturated to leech anymore.
So in a way, yes there's a stop level.

But how dark that is, depends on how much is left.


Be amazed, rather than do something about it, just do your normal water change that you do fortnightly.
Do not deliberately just change the water because it gets dark.


The colour will go off faster than you know it

Here, we use such water for shipping fishes. But we get our tannins from fallen leaves. Similar to jelupang water, but different composition.
We also use saponnin and the likes. So in actual fact, nothing to worry about.