My Discus, and a Bronze tinge to the water...

[Stuquarium]

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hey guys.

i have a Discus tank thats got 2 peices of driftwood, medium and large, i use a small light, on a 4ft tank it's a 18" light.

it's seems the water, although ALL the water chemistry is excellent (and i change 30% of it every 3 days)that it's got an softy brownish amber tinge to it, it's not typically crystal clear. i was wondering from those people with driftwood in there tanks that this is a normal thing with the water and DW (i soaked each peice for an hour before placing in tank)or theres something in my driftwood thats causeing this..

the tanks 4 months old now. the woods been in 3. i really don;t mind about the color, as it gives the impression that it's deep in the amazon. i was just curious

[mcloughlin2]

Its the driftwood realising tannins in to water....

[Stuquarium]

how long should this take to clear up? its been like this for about 2-3months.


should i add a med like magic clear?

[mcloughlin2]

It doesnt go away naturaly from wat ive heard....If u do more water changes it should clear up.... :D

[Stuquarium]

i do them every 3 days, but it never clears up...

shoudl i remove the DW and soak it longer and try it that way?

[mcloughlin2]

Its up to u but i think if it is turning the water to brown maybe u should take it out...ive never had any problem with DW changing the colour of my water but then again ive never kept alot.....of it a once... :D

[Stuquarium]

hmm i'll see what others say about removing the DW.

i dont think i have "alot" of DW but they are nice size pieces for the tank.

i also have REd rock in there too. that couldn;t be coloring the water could it..

[mcloughlin2]

Just wait and see wat the other guys say...im not really experianced with this sort of plant problem...maybe duck or someone can help....

[Stuquarium]

yeah will do

thanks mate.

[vishy]

Dont worry about it it's just tannins, no biggie will eventually clear up. Your fish probably like it,
Matt

[Stuquarium]

but how long should i wait forfore taking action? if need be? 6+ months. a year + ?

hmm

[oscar]

I've always had DW in tanks. This is normal. Don't worry about doing anything about it. Some pieces take a couple of months, some take years to stop doing it. As said above, your fish probably like it, as discus are a blackwater fish. This is what happens in their natural environment.

Look at it this way. Some people purcahse products to do this to their water. You're (sort of) getting it for free.

The only reason you'd do anything about it is if the colour bothers you.

[Laurence]

My self and a mate had the same problem and were recomended by LFS to use Biosorb i think its called. Just put it in the filter and it help to get the tanner colour out. Should check it out

[vishy]

Yeh I think if you really don't want it use activated carbon or seachem purigen its no biggie though,
Matt

[Stuquarium]

thanks guys, seeing as it;s no biggy i might leave it alone, the color does bother me a little, we all love a nice clear tank right?

[marg]

Don't worry about it Stu, as the guys have explained to you Discus love the tannin in the water. If it is really bothering you, do more frequent water changes but I can assure you that it won't hurt the Discus.

[TeeFM]

I dont think discolouration of tank water should bother you as this is due to the relase of tanin from DW. This simulates the nature environment of the Amazon river and discu love it. Some people may even purchase this from shop to colour their tank water.

[TeeFM]

I dont think discolouration of tank water should bother you as this is due to the relase of tanin from DW. This simulates the nature environment of the Amazon river and discu love it. Some people may even purchase this from shop to colour their tank water.

[Stuquarium]

thanks guys! great stuff. i'll leave it as is..

lucky me to have such a natural thing. now fingers crossed i cant get them paired off.

[sammigold]

you could always try boiling your wood for a couple of hours (if its not too big) We have some pieces in our tank and we boiled the wood for about 4 hours heaps of colour came out... Now it is in the tank we still get a release of the tannins but it takes longer for the water to get darker after a water change. This might help... but as everyone else says the discus love it and you might find that it grows on you also... I miss the colouring after a water change and am glad when it starts to change again... :lol:

[merman]

Boiling seems to work and I think the product to use is Purigen by SeaChem.

[lesley]

I have heaps of driftwood in my tanks.

If you use mangrove driftwood, you will not get the colouration. The rest will give you colouration for a while but it will eventually clear. I think one of mine, that I suspect might be gum, went for about six months before I got clearer water.

I think you can get a bit of microscopic stuff in the water from some driftwood - an internal filter filled with filter wool would probably help.

HTH, Lesley

[Stuquarium]

thanks everyone!

i've made peace with rthe coloration and i'll just leave it alone


thanks again!

[Merrilyn]

Good move Stu. I like the tea colour of the water too.

[discus21]

stuart

leave the tank with the taning
i have this in my tank and it will probably not go away

as for discus it is the best because
the log also softens the water
which is ideal for discus


good luck on the pairing

discus

[nicholas76]

Stu,


the quickest way to fix the problem is to remove those peices of wood.


If your LFS is any good he should be able to supply you or direct you to a place that sells drift wood that sells "tannin free" wood.

some sellers pre soak out the tannin before selling it to us.

that tea colour is a pain in the back side especially if your after a crystal clean tank look.

[otto]

as laurence said bio chem zorb will clean up any stain thats leeching from
your driftwood. its a fantastic product.

[aquafrogstuff]

I recently had a problem with newish discus in a tank with DW. The fish seemed skittish and generally uphappy. Water was brown from the tannin. I did a 50% water change but put the 50% from the tank in the bath (its white) so see just how brown the tank water really was. It was pretty crappy. The improvement in the fish and general clarity of the water since has been significant.

One thing I did too which you may consider is removing the DW and giving it a good wash in the water removed from the tank. I gave the DW a good clean in the removed tank water before putting it back in the tank. Seems to have a made a big difference.

[rytis]

that brown color from peat or driftwood is GOOD for discus!