Tea colored water

[woodendude]

In my 130 gal. I have 10 pieces of medium to large driftwood. I know this is the cause of the water color change and was wondering if there is a way to avoid the water coloring? I've read quite a bit on here about DIY background and how epoxy 1200 is aquarium safe, would it be possible to coat driftwood in this epoxy / would it worth while / has it been tried?

[fischkopp]

In my 130 gal. I have 10 pieces of medium to large driftwood. I know this is the cause of the water color change and was wondering if there is a way to avoid the water coloring? I've read quite a bit on here about DIY background and how epoxy 1200 is aquarium safe, would it be possible to coat driftwood in this epoxy / would it worth while / has it been tried?

The coloration is quite intense in the beginning, but will settle at a quite lower tint after a while (a couple of month or so). Regular WC will help to keep the coloration at acceptable levels, so does active carbon (but its not so good for permanent use).

I havent tried the coat driftwood with epoxy, but I would be afraid that it looks very artificial. Also plants may not attach well. Plecos wont like it much. And in general you will miss the advantages of driftwood like getting pH down and soften the water.

I would just give it some time, although 10 pieces are quite a lot ...

[Laura]

The tanins in the driftwood tend to lower ph.  Do you keep africans in the tank in question?

Fishkopp is right that they leach more initially.  You can get some of the worst of the tanins out by soaking them in a bucket with hot water. 

Sorry, I don't have any useful feedback on the epoxy coating.

[babblefish1960]

If you have any grazers, such as plecos or vegan African cichlids, the epoxy would eventually become ingested, as plecos most particularly rasp on the driftwood for their own amusement.  I would recommend not doing that to the wood.  Either be patient and the colour will fade over time as was mentioned, or take them out and soak them with fresh hot water for a few days, or dispense with driftwood altogether.   You will find that if you have South American cichlids, that they will enjoy the softening of the water and the colour.

There, now you have some decisions to make.

[woodendude]

The wood is in a mixed cichlid tank, but I have 100+ pounds of Texas Holey rock (limestone) in this tank also to counter the ph. levels. The wood in question isn't new by any means and the discoloration isn't as bad as I may have made it sound. Looking into the tank front it is actually barely noticable but when you pear down the 72" length it's a different story.

[woodendude]

The coloration is quite intense in the beginning, but will settle at a quite lower tint after a while (a couple of month or so). Regular WC will help to keep the coloration at acceptable levels, so does active carbon (but its not so good for permanent use).

I havent tried the coat driftwood with epoxy, but I would be afraid that it looks very artificial. Also plants may not attach well. Plecos wont like it much. And in general you will miss the advantages of driftwood like getting pH down and soften the water.

I would just give it some time, although 10 pieces are quite a lot ...

You mention active carbon, I had read about its use  elsewhere. Why is it not good  in  permanent use?

[fischkopp]

Why is it not good  in  permanent use?

It would filter out all the nutrients, but this only bothers you if you have a planted tank. A better reason for you would be costs, you will have to replace the active carbon every 4-6 weeks, which can be quite an expense on a big tank ...

[neon]

I used a product called BioZorb.  Its a special kind of carbon that goes in your filter and it works wonders.  I have a large piece of Malaysian driftwood in my 54 gallon, and since I added this to my Eheim filter its never coloured and really clear.

[Fishnut]

I've used activated carbon for removing the tea colour.  It helps clear the initial burst of colour.  After that, definitely use less.  Coating the driftwood, as others have said, will defeat the purpose of getting the natural wood.

[woodendude]

I guess it would truly defeat the purpuse of natural wood...duh, don't know what I was thinking there.
As far as plants go I only have 2 fake ones, so losing the nutrients wouldn't be a prob.
Where is BioZorb available? I'd like to give it a try.  The other three tanks in my house have perfectly crystal clear water and I would realy look this one to look the same. My wife on the other hand likes the off color look, syas it suits the tank.

[kennyman]

Yes some of us actually put stuff in our filtration systems to enhance that colour rather than eliminate it.

What kind of filter/s are you using. You can probably pick up a box of media for your units for various resins or carbon.

[woodendude]

On this tank I'm using a Rena XP3 and an Ehiem pro 2 2028.

[fishycanuck]

I didn't like the colour either, so I boiled the piece of wood for a few days (on and off, just when I was home  ) and changed the boiling water several times.

[neon]

I bought the BioZorb at Big Al's in Kanata.

[KatarinaH]

I didn't like the colour either, so I boiled the piece of wood for a few days (on and off, just when I was home  ) and changed the boiling water several times.

That is a great idea, and it's not too late to do that, I soaked mine a few days then boiled it, then soaked it again... my tank seems to be doing pretty okay colour wise...