Water Colour

turnnidge · Mar 11, 2008

Hi,

I have recently set up my first tank, and have soaked the drift wood for it, however it has severely tainted the water its like a brown tea colour. Can anyone suggest what to do to clear it? Does the whole tank need to be emptied?? :unsure:

Thanks

raptorrex · Mar 11, 2008

turnnidge said:
Hi,

I have recently set up my first tank, and have soaked the drift wood for it, however it has severely tainted the water its like a brown tea colour. Can anyone suggest what to do to clear it? Does the whole tank need to be emptied??

Thanks

you could try using a little filter filled with carbon, but the carbon would need changed, i would say every day. but in the end water changes are the thing to sort it. would it help if you knew that the fish actually benefit from the tannins in the water?

turnnidge · Mar 11, 2008

Thanks[/quote]
you could try using a little filter filled with carbon, but the carbon would need changed, i would say every day. but in the end water changes are the thing to sort it. would it help if you knew that the fish actually benefit from the tannins in the water?
[/quote]

Currently I have no fish I would rather wait until the tannins have gone down as it is fairly bad. Sorry, but to change the carbon filter do you mean wash it out or purchase a new one?? Also with water changes should the be down with 10-20% of the water or more. I feel I'm lucky as I do not have any fish and not in a hurry to add as I want the water at its best!

turnnidge · Mar 11, 2008

I have just done a 50% water change, which looks better grrr bogwood is so annoying lol but it does look amazing!!!

raptorrex · Mar 11, 2008

turnnidge said:
I have just done a 50% water change, which looks better grrr bogwood is so annoying lol but it does look amazing!!!

keep it up thats fine. it wont go away by the time you have fish, but as i said the fish will benefit from it not suffer. its us who dont like it not them lol. thing is !conventional wisdom" says, we should do little or no water changes during a fishless cycle. though Bignose has brought some very interesting information to our attention recently, which may have a bearing on this. if you do water changes, ensure that you still have the correct amount of ammonia in the tank, as this has bearing on how well the cycle will go.

as for the carbon, i mean just throw the carbon itself away, it is far from clear, just, how long carbon can be kept in a tank safely. so i dispose of it every day. after it clears i remove the filter altogether.

turnnidge · Mar 11, 2008

I have only had the tank set-up since Sunday 9th March, so it is extremely new, however I have been using this cycle starter that came with the tank (still unsure on whether it works though, seems to good to be true!) However, I have noticed some algae starting to grow on the gravel in various places is that good/bad?

What else shall I look for before I start adding any fish?

raptorrex · Mar 11, 2008

turnnidge said:
I have only had the tank set-up since Sunday 9th March, so it is extremely new, however I have been using this cycle starter that came with the tank (still unsure on whether it works though, seems to good to be true!) However, I have noticed some algae starting to grow on the gravel in various places is that good/bad?

What else shall I look for before I start adding any fish?

have a good look at the pinned threads on cycling, these may give you some more information. whilst i would not say these "cycle starter" things do not work. the evedence suggests that doing a proper cycle, tends to give better results.
this may also come in handy: http

/www.fishforums.net/content/New-to-t...ease-Read-Here/

dzsigmond217 · Mar 11, 2008

Can you put up a pic of your tank? How big is the piece of bogwood? I too put one in my tank that I had 'soaked'. Granted it was a HUGE piece.. The tannis or tea color lasted for 2 months. It got better after the first month tho. I would worry more about your cycle than the color the wood makes. As stated it does not harm fish. Maybe by the time your fishless cycle is done the color will have faded a bit!?! :good:

Good Luck!

turnnidge · Mar 11, 2008

Well I just went to Pets@Home to get my water tested, and TBH I will recommend them to anyone well the Hemel Hempstead branch, (SLOUGH do not touch it should be closed!!!) and I just got to wait a few more days until the nitrates come down.

This is my Roma 125 tank, after a water change, its only been in since Sunday

raptorrex · Mar 12, 2008

turnnidge said:
Well I just went to Pets@Home to get my water tested, and TBH I will recommend them to anyone well the Hemel Hempstead branch, (SLOUGH do not touch it should be closed!!!) and I just got to wait a few more days until the nitrates come down.

This is my Roma 125 tank, after a water change, its only been in since Sunday