Yellow Water?

[spectrum]

A couple of weeks ago ( i only just thought of posting it ) |i swapped the gravel in my tank for some sand, i also added a few peices of wood as decor, any way, for the last couple of weeks the tank water has been yellow, almost urine coloured, (gross i know) anyway, everytime i clean it the yellowness fades a little bit but never shows any signs of going away... any thoughts?
Thanks
spectrum

 

[hollanda88]

A couple of weeks ago ( i only just thought of posting it ) |i swapped the gravel in my tank for some sand, i also added a few peices of wood as decor, any way, for the last couple of weeks the tank water has been yellow, almost urine coloured, (gross i know) anyway, everytime i clean it the yellowness fades a little bit but never shows any signs of going away... any thoughts?
Thanks
spectrum

Its the leaching of tannins out of the wood. Did you soak the wood for over a wk before placing it in the new tank.

The yellow tinge will reduce and won't harm the fish or plants.

andrew

 

[loachman]

Exactly what Hollanda88 said.

Wood will leach tannins, which will stain the water a yellow to brown tea color. It's harmless to fish, and there are many species of fish (especially South American and SE Asian species) which live in that type of environment.

Depending on the wood, and it's size, it can go on for about a week to 3 months.

 

[spectrum]

Ok, Thanks a lot guys
I didn't realise i was supposed to soak the wood, this being the first time i've used it in a tank.

Once again thankyou
spectrum

 

[fatheadminnow]

You can also/should boil the wood as well.

This will not only help get the tannins out a little faster and help it get water logged a little faster, but it will also kill any bacteria/organisms that are on the wood.

-FHM

 

[OldMan47]

Spectrum, you don't need to do anything to wood if you don't mind the water color. Soaking or boiling wood is for people that think clear water is a must. I never bother doing anything with a new piece of wood except making sure it is heavy enough to sink and not float around the tank.

 

[3ndl3r]

if you're too lazy to wash/boil etc. I believe that peat in the filter gets rid of the colouring.

Just a thought.

 

[backtotropical]

Spectrum, you don't need to do anything to wood if you don't mind the water color. Soaking or boiling wood is for people that think clear water is a must. I never bother doing anything with a new piece of wood except making sure it is heavy enough to sink and not float around the tank.

Agreed. People go to great length to eradicate the tannins from the tank, soaking or boiling wood, i've even seen myself putting it through the dishwasher!!

However, this process is for a purely aesthetic benefit. If you don't want the look of the stained water, by all means wash / soak the wood. If you don't mind the water staining, theres no real need to soak it. Lots of people even deliberately try to achieve yellow / brown water, depending on what fish you are keeping or effect you are trying to achieve.

I would always recommend to wash any tank decor before adding it to the tank, as a matter of course, but soaking / boiling is not usually a necessity.

Plants and fish actually tend to like the water staining, and it does no harm at all. It's entirely up to you, depending on what you want your tank to look like.

Cheers

BTT

 

[electric yellow]

I boiled my driftwood for a couple of hours to sterilse it because it had been sitting on the shelf at the lfs. My water has had a yellow tigne now for the last two yrs. I dont mind the colouring of the water. It is natural and the fish love the tannis anyway I wouldnt of put it straight in though because so much gunk and yellow scum came out when i boiled it.