Brown water from Driftwood???

[Jadenblack]

I am so bummed

I was telling my manager about my new tank and he said the worst thing that I can go is put driftwood in the tank.

I just bought a big piece and I am so excited to get it and put it in the tank.

He said that he cleaned it and boiled it a number of times but it stained his tank brown and gave the water a brown color to it all the time.

Help! Please tell me that you have had no problems with your drift wood

 

[dss2004]

The brown color is from tannins in the wood. It is harmless to your fish and actually some south american fish enjoy the lower ph DW causes. It will dissipate in a matter of a month or so. I would definitely use the DW as you fish will love you even more for putting it in the tank.

 

[Jadenblack]

Thank you so much!! *SUNSMILE*


My ph was at 8 straight out of the tap...is that good or bad?

 

[phOOey]

8 is pretty high, its certainly not good, but its workable. Your driftwood will help biring it down.

 

[revfred]

Depends on the driftwood ... not all "driftwood" is good for the tank. You might want to boil it for awhile to check if the tannins from this particular piece will be a problem for you. Some woods actually make the water smell continually punky ...some will actually disintegrate and are extremely soft.

 

[Jadenblack]

8 is pretty high, its certainly not good, but its workable. Your driftwood will help biring it down.

hummm then I think the meeter thing that it came with must not be to accurate. I was sure that it said 6-8 was normal. *ALL*

I might go buy another one just to make sure.

 

[Jadenblack]

check if the tannins from this particular piece will be a problem for you. Some woods actually make the water smell continually punky

So if the water smells bad after boling it might have bad tannis?

 

[seastaar88]

it also helps to put your driftwood in a bucket of water outside and let it sit for a few weeks as to release teh majority of the tannins in the bucket instead of your tank, just remember to change out the water every week.

i actually prefer the brown-water look, helps to make the tank look more natural IMHO!