Dosing tannic acid.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
Beetlebug515

Beetlebug515

Fire Eel
MFK Member
Jul 28, 2015
929
417
72
34
Hello all! First, simple question: should I put this in to my aquarium

http://tinyurl.com/zom6uv4

Second, the background.
I'm looking for an easy, quick, and consistent way to produce blackwater. I usually use boiled peat as well as peat filtration to get it nice and dark, it's just a lot of work. Especially when I already do water changes with jugs on my 75. I came across tannic acid powder tonight, and was hoping that someone who did better in chemistry than me could tell me about the stuff. Thanks in advance.
 
If you are after effects as well as looks pick up a bottle of Kent's blackwater extract. I love that stuff and it's a liquid. It makes a perfect blackwater tank visually IMO. I cannot speak to how it would stack up to the powder because I do not know the unit of measure to compare but it is concentrated tannin acid so would be serving the same purpose as a powder+looks. The difference in Kent's is you get the nice dark tea color as well.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadliestviper7
JK47 said:
If you are after effects as well as looks pick up a bottle of Kent's blackwater extract. I love that stuff and it's a liquid. It makes a perfect blackwater tank visually IMO. I cannot speak to how it would stack up to the powder because I do not know the unit of measure to compare but it is concentrated tannin acid so would be serving the same purpose as a powder+looks. The difference in Kent's is you get the nice dark tea color as well.
Click to expand...
I tried brightwells blackwater extract, and was fairly disappointed with the results. No color change in the water at all. I'll look in to Kent's. I'm just trying to figure out if the powder is safe. I plan on doing some testing in the future. Most likely in the springtime.
 
Word of caution: anything acidic can quickly crash a system if your hardness will not allow for a stable pH. If your water is already soft do it slowly and test often. My water is hard. I can apply this stuff with a garden hose and it wouldn't budge.. Unfortunately
 
  • Like
Reactions: Deadliestviper7
Beetlebug515 said:
I tried brightwells blackwater extract, and was fairly disappointed with the results. No color change in the water at all. I'll look in to Kent's. I'm just trying to figure out if the powder is safe. I plan on doing some testing in the future. Most likely in the springtime.
Click to expand...

Ah cool. I haven't tried brightwells but thanks forfor the heads up. I wouldn't be pleased of it wasn't a good color too. Blackwater tanks look amazing dark
 
I agree. I'm looking in to this for my uaru fernandezyepezi. Their tank has been stable at 5.0-5.2 for a long time now. I use ro and HCL to achieve their water conditions. Ph is monitored with a meter. Tds is usually in the teens before HCL addidtion. I don't think a weak acid like tannic acid is capable of pushing my ph much lower, but I don't know that for sure. Hence my post.
 
  • Like
Reactions: JK47
JK47 said:
Ah cool. I haven't tried brightwells but thanks forfor the heads up. I wouldn't be pleased of it wasn't a good color too. Blackwater tanks look amazing dark
Click to expand...
YES! The darker the better. It's just so much work to get it as dark as I want it with peat.
 
Beetlebug515 said:
I agree. I'm looking in to this for my uaru fernandezyepezi. Their tank has been stable at 5.0-5.2 for a long time now. I use ro and HCL to achieve their water conditions. Ph is monitored with a meter. Tds is usually in the teens before HCL addidtion. I don't think a weak acid like tannic acid is capable of pushing my ph much lower, but I don't know that for sure. Hence my post.
Click to expand...

You sir are correct this wouldn't impact much beyond what your are already doing. I didn't realize you were keeping fernz. Such a stunning and hard to keep cichlid. That's awesome. Then I vote this stuff even more so now.
 
JK47 said:
You sir are correct this wouldn't impact much beyond what your are already doing. I didn't realize you were keeping fernz. Such a stunning and hard to keep cichlid. That's awesome. Then I vote this stuff even more so now.
Click to expand...
Thanks! So you think it could be a viable, and safe, tannin source? I'm going to test on cherry shrimp first, but I would love to see it work.
 
Beetlebug515 said:
YES! The darker the better. It's just so much work to get it as dark as I want it with peat.
Click to expand...

Cutting Malaysian driftwood into chunks, putting it in a Walmart laundry bag and stuffing that in the sump will have a tank dark in a couple days. Most LFS will let you have or sell you all of the little left overs and ugly pieces from shipments.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom