Dark water... how best to see the colors???

[Magnum Man]

so I have a couple tanks I consider dark water... the African tank is darker... some colors wash out with the dark water ( red for example ) I used to do lots of carbon in my tanks 20 years ago... but today, none of my tanks are using carbon... if I added & rotated enough carbon through the darkest tank, to actually lighten the color some... does the water still have all the benefits of the dark water, it's just clearer... or am I better off adding a "viewing" light to turn on, when I really want to "look" at the fish??? what is the best way to see some of the colors muted by dark water???

 

[Back in the fold]

I can’t imagine it being so dark you couldn’t see . What are you going to add to the water ?

 

[Magnum Man]

Several of the African Tetras are colorful, and colors like greens a blues show up pretty good, on the red brichardi... I know they have red fins, but they just look brownish with the dark water

 

[CaptainBarnicles]

When you say dark water...do you mean Blackwater? As in tannins? Is the water clear or murky? If its murky you could add some floss to the filter to polish it

 

[Magnum Man]

This particular tank, is dark from drift wood, & Almond leaves... BTW... this is a 24 inch deep tank, & 2/3 of the surface has floating plants...

just thinking out loud ( so to speak )... I had a few LED spotlights that shined to points of interest in my old football tank... I couldn't leave them on, or the lit up area grew algae like crazy... but if I mounted one where I view, that I could turn on ( for taking pictures for example ) & adjust where I wanted it to shine, then turn it off when I was done, so the algae doesn't go crazy, maybe that would work, if I could control the reflexion off the glass... on the other tank, it shined through the open top???

 

[GaryE]

The blackwater giveth, and the darkness taketh away. You will see colours you don't see in clear water. Enjoy them, because with regular water changes, the problem will be solved soon enough. The tannins will be diluted.

 

[Magnum Man]

I think I'll cut back on the almond leaves... I had 2 good size pieces of drift wood in the tank, for quite a while... but the water really got dark, after adding a few almond leaves, which is kind of funny, as I actually put a couple more leaves than I put in this tank, into 2 other aquariums, & they didn't get as dark as this one???