Need help with tannins please !

[Zanzag]

For the carbon just fill a media bag full of it, close it tightly, and place it very near the filter input or output. Along with water changes this will remove the color.

 

[Kashif314]

I usually spray bogwood with a strong stream of water until the surface has washed off a little. Then I soak it in a plastic bin of water for 3 days or more, changing the water 4x a day. Usually this makes the wood sink and quit leaching too much.

But in the tank it will still require extra water changes for a while. After a few days in the tank it should be OK, but some pieces release much more than others. I had one piece that I soaked for 10 days before it would sink, though tannins were quite weak after just 3 days.

It's pretty much been said, but change the water a few times. Activated carbon helps alot.

Purigen works well, but my experience has been it will exhaust itself quickly and need to be recharged. It is

Activated carbon, water changes, and patience will work best.

To answer your question about using an internal power filter and filling it with carbon, that should work just fine. Usually these type of internal power filters are pretty small and don't offer a lot of room for any type of media but it might work depending on the size. You may have to put the carbon in a fine mesh media bag to avoid it damaging the impeller of the filter though.

Your easiest option though would be to use carbon or even Purigen in a media bag in your canister filter though you would have to remove enough existing media to fit it in.

I agree with this, if your water have strong buffering capacity (AKA alkalinity) pH will not move because the calcium will neutralize the acids.
If your water is soft, with low buffers, this could create pH drop.

Thanks a lot. I did read a lot and find out that carbon works more efficiently than purigen in case of tannins. I asked lfs and he told me that the internal filters don't have slots and its not very convenient to add the full bag inisde an internal filter.

I have a bag of active carbon at home.





Its inside a netted zip bag. Can I place it somewhere where I can fit in my canister? I don't have a dedicated slot for it but I can somehow squeeze it somewhere. That's a good idea?

 

[Zanzag]

Just place it in an area of high flow. It will take slightly longer but there's no real need to put it in the canister.

 

[Kashif314]

Just place it in an area of high flow. It will take slightly longer but there's no real need to put it in the canister.

Thanks. So you mean to say that if I put this bag inside my tank, it will still work? My tank is 55cm in height and the filter outputs and inputs are little high so difficult to place but I can place this bag below my water input area? There won't be much flow but will that work? even if it ll take some time I didn't mind that.

 

[Zanzag]

Can you hang it from the canister output with some kind of string? But yeah anywhere in the water and it will eventually remove the color.

 

[Kashif314]

Can you hang it from the canister output with some kind of string? But yeah anywhere in the water and it will eventually remove the color.

Thanks. Difficult to hang. I will find some way. Usually how much time it takes for difference to become noticable? Its a pretty large bag. Also they say to wash it before adding inside aquarium so for how long do I have to wash it till I see so dark coloration coming out from it? (Never used activated carbon before in my filters)

 

[Ulu]

Just rinse it once with tankwater.
It will suck up gasses and chemicals (tannic acid) from the water from anywhere in the tank.
It takes a day or two, but time depends on how much acid is leaching from the wood.
Tie it on the driftwood. Take it out after a couple weeks maximum. Replace if needed.
A carbon reactor would be nice, but not at all necessary.

 

[deeda]

Yes rinse the bag of carbon until most of the blackness is gone from the bag.

 

[Thacarter54632]

This is where a hob filter comes in handy. I use one on every tank. Does excellent mechanical filtration, and when I need to run carbon I can remove my floss cartridges and add a bag or two of carbon.

 

[Zanzag]

Yeah anywhere inside the tank works. For rinsing it's just the loose dust you want off so it does not make it to clog the filter. Just loop a rubber band through the eye of the zipper and slide the rubber band over the canisters intake tube so the bag is near the strainer to maximize water flow.