Luciferkrist Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 I have this little 10gal platy tank, and I cannot get rid of the tannins in the water! The picture is after 4 weeks! adn looks even darker off camera. I soaked the wood for over a week, and boiled each for the better part of an entire day before starting the tank, and am now having issues with plant growth/death, but all of my water parameters are well within safe levels, and I am doing weekly 40-50% water changes. Substrate is a mix of fluval stratum and black diamond sand, and I am running just a sponge filter, as I am hoping to get some fry to eventually feed/fill my bigger tanks down the road, and I don't have the room to add a HOB - the racks they are on are too tight. The fish seem to be fine and active, and I don't want to have to break it ALL down. I just want to have some clear water and add some more plants back in for the to hide in! How do I get rid of the water staining, without either harming the fish or breaking it down? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lefty o Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 keep doing water changes. the color is coming from the wood. it will lessen in time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 If you're concerned with tannins, run carbon and you'll have it disappear in about 24-48 hours. You can then control it with water changes. When it gets bad, you just run the carbon again. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 To me take is a piece of art. Some people would kill to have water like that. Since I know not every likes what I do, I mean what’s wrong with people, right. Activated Carbon will help remove the color. That wood is going to release tannins for a long time and in a smaller tank it will show. What type of filter do you have. If you have a hang on back or canister put the carbon in a mesh bag. It’s really the only way I can saw you clearing it up. It should not really affect the plants unless the ph is getting low. Since I read you don’t have a hob you can cad the carbon in the tank next to the filter. I wish I could keep some of my tanks like that. Check parameters. It bothers me about the plants dying. That should not cause plant death. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 @Luciferkrist water changes and carbon seem like the best options. I used some filter floss and it helped also but I used it in a HOB which you don’t have room to use. I soaked my driftwood for a few weeks in the hot sun. I changed the water almost daily while it soaked . I still have tannins in my tank. I have a decent amount of wood so I expect it to have tannins for a long time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 I have wood 20 years old that has been in the tank 20 years and there are still small amounts of tannins in a larger tank you can’t notice. So I don’t think you did any thing wrong. It’s a tan in rich peice of wood in a small tank. Carbon like I said before is really the only way to remove it. Floss will get bits of wood but not the actual tannins. There is a postive if you need one. Tannins have a natural anti-bacterial affect. So your fish should be healthy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Flumpweesel Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 This is just about the plants, are they new if they are it could just be them melting back to adjust to life underwater, Very few aquarium plants are grown underwater for sale we just have to go through painful and messy prices of them converting. Once you see a new leaf you can start removing the dieing ones. But you do need to make sure it's getting enough food and light. Nitrates need to be above 20 for good growth in my experience. I am also assuming you are providing light for at least 4 hours a day to them 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Seachem purigen does a good job of removing tannins as well. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brandon p Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 5:36 AM, Guppysnail said: Seachem purigen does a good job of removing tannins as well. I agree it will but why used chemicals when carbon will work. I have an extreme distrust in additives. I’m not did counting this and it will help clear it up faster. It’s maybe the answer first then go to carbon. I do trust you so if you are good with purism it can be part of the answer. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 (edited) On 8/10/2022 at 9:38 AM, Brandon p said: I agree it will but why used chemicals when carbon will work. I have an extreme distrust in additives. I’m not did counting this and it will help clear it up faster. It’s maybe the answer first then go to carbon. I do trust you so if you are good with purism it can be part of the answer. It is a polymer not a chemical. I don’t use chemicals. I like purigen because it last so stinking long vs carbon that only last a Short time before full. Put through massive electrolysis purigen purges an astounding amount of organics. Very gross 🤣 to elaborate my friend was helping my find a chem free method to recharge purigen. Hooked copper cables to a car battery. The copper cables DISSOLVED before the purigen was entirely purged and the grossest rotten chocolate pudding soup was removed. 😝 Edited August 10, 2022 by Guppysnail 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 I'll have to try some Seachem Purigen and see how it does. Thanks for the recommendation. @Guppysnail 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 10:06 AM, redfish said: I'll have to try some Seachem Purigen and see how it does. Thanks for the recommendation. @Guppysnail For short term removal of things I do use carbon as @Brandon p mentioned it is much more economical. I keep a big tub of it and some media bags. For long release like wood tannins purigen becomes more economical…plus I’m lazy and hate changing carbon every few weeks 🤣 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 What is a good carbon source to use @Guppysnail Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 10:36 AM, redfish said: What is a good carbon source to use @Guppysnail Since you are going to be using it awhile while the wood leeches buy bulk and bags. Give me a minute I’ll get pics of what I get Any media bag works. I avoid metal zippers but they make plastic zippers or string ties. Just make certain the string is the whole was in or it wicks water out…ask me how I know 🤣🤣🤣🤣 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chick-In-Of-TheSea Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 10:52 AM, Guppysnail said: Just make certain the string is the whole was in or it wicks water out…ask me how I know Yeah, I'm guilty of that one too. 🌧️ 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
asondhi Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Tannins have countless benefits and I urge you to do some research to make an informed decision before getting rid of them. Check this website out Tannin Aquatics Blog Nonetheless, I totally respect and understand not being a fan of the look. Seachem purigen will clear your water up very quickly! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redfish Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Theoretically, I could use something like Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag Medium Disposable Filter Cartridges that I have a bunch of for other projects to see how well it removes the tannin but it's not the best product long term. Claims " Ultra-Activated carbon" . Thoughts? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guppysnail Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 11:39 AM, redfish said: Theoretically, I could use something like Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag Medium Disposable Filter Cartridges that I have a bunch of for other projects to see how well it removes the tannin but it's not the best product long term. Claims " Ultra-Activated carbon" . Thoughts? They are fine. Ultra is a gimmick in my opinion. Most carbon is the same. If you have them on hand I would use those. There just usually isn’t much carbon in them so as you see the tank start to look tannin stained change them. May have to do it once a week. I have gobs of those silly cartridges. I throw those in if they fit and I need to remove stuff. Usually they are so odd shaped they are useless outside the filter they came with. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 8:39 AM, redfish said: Theoretically, I could use something like Tetra Whisper Bio-Bag Medium Disposable Filter Cartridges that I have a bunch of for other projects to see how well it removes the tannin but it's not the best product long term. Claims " Ultra-Activated carbon" . Thoughts? If you want a "nice bag" I'd recommend the seachem tidal (probably the tidal 55 size) depending on which HoB you're using. I don't recommend anything bigger. You can use 2x the 55's in a 75g HoB, etc. The other option that's cheaper is going to be the aquaclear carbon bags. It's not a zippered bag that you can refill, but I'm sure we all have used those a few times. It's just a cheap bag, sewn shut, of carbon. It works. The other thing to keep in mind is the amount of carbon in a cartridge vs. an actual bag of carbon. It's not even close. Yeah, it might work.... but you're talking 24 hours (maybe 48) compared to something like a week or more. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k0olmini Posted August 10, 2022 Share Posted August 10, 2022 Besides water changes have you tried adding carbon? Or maybe you want to consider taking that wood out and boiling it to remove more tanks then adding it back in? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jess Posted September 30, 2022 Share Posted September 30, 2022 On 8/10/2022 at 11:30 AM, asondhi said: Check this website out Tannin Aquatics Blog Hey, have you ordered from their shop recently or do you know people who have? Are they still in business? I placed an order 10 days ago (so, not too long yet) but I've also tried twice to contact them and I get no reply...plus most products are out of stock. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nabokovfan87 Posted October 1, 2022 Share Posted October 1, 2022 ditto. I was considering ordering from them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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