I really like the look of drift wood in my aquarium but every time i use it it makes the water a yellow color. I found some good pieces of drift wood at the beach last night and i was wondering does sand blasting it make it so it doesn't discolor the water? I want clear water with the drift wood in there and i heard that sand blasting it helps, is that true?
Quick question about drift wood
- Thread starter D12DetroitD12
- Start date
The yellow comes from tannins in the wood. Eventually all the tannins will leach out, how long that will take depends on the particular piece of wood. Water changes and time will take care of it, not sure about sandblasting though.
the carbon in your filter should take care of that problem over time. Just boil the wood for longer and it will spead up the process.
If it's too big to fit in a pot you could use your bath tub or use a clean trash bin from HomeDepot. Pour hot water from your sink into it and let it soak for 2-3 days. After that the tanin leaching should be minimal and within 1 month you won't notice tanins leaching.
Honestlyn I ran into the same problem two yrs ago. The wood was way too big to fit in any pot. I filled my bath tub about half way with the water as hot as it would go. Then I boiled 4 large pots of water and dumped in the tub. It was a pain in the *ss and I couldn't tell u if it really helped lol.
My water was still yellow. For atleast 6 months. I only do wc every 3 months on this particular tank so it lingered around for awhile.
The yellowing of the water didn't dissipate until I got tired of it and did a 50 percent water changes twice a week for a month.
My water isn't crystal clear but the wc definitely were the most effective.
Like the others said carbon helps as well
Good luck with that
My water was still yellow. For atleast 6 months. I only do wc every 3 months on this particular tank so it lingered around for awhile.
The yellowing of the water didn't dissipate until I got tired of it and did a 50 percent water changes twice a week for a month.
My water isn't crystal clear but the wc definitely were the most effective.
Like the others said carbon helps as well
Good luck with that
"Tannins" (or Tannic Acid) will leach out of most wood... which is causing the brown coloration...
The hotter the water it is soaking in, the faster it will leach out... Thus boiling it is the fastest way to get it to leach out...
If it is to large to boil on the stove, then soaking it in a large enough container in as hot as possible/practical water is the next best step...
refreshing the water frequently also helps.
I've used a large (clean) rubbermaid garbage can to soak large wood using tap water as hot as my tap could provide... doing a 100% water change daily... This method worked quite well for me and was rather simple...
Each piece of wood will vary in the amount of time it will take to leach the vast majority of Tannic Acid out of...
Since your wood was collected in fresh water, after removing the tannins I suggest soaking it in very hot saltwater for a week or so. This will considerably reduce it's potential to rot in the tank. You can use aquarium salt or table sale for this step.
The hotter the water it is soaking in, the faster it will leach out... Thus boiling it is the fastest way to get it to leach out...
If it is to large to boil on the stove, then soaking it in a large enough container in as hot as possible/practical water is the next best step...
refreshing the water frequently also helps.
I've used a large (clean) rubbermaid garbage can to soak large wood using tap water as hot as my tap could provide... doing a 100% water change daily... This method worked quite well for me and was rather simple...
Each piece of wood will vary in the amount of time it will take to leach the vast majority of Tannic Acid out of...
Since your wood was collected in fresh water, after removing the tannins I suggest soaking it in very hot saltwater for a week or so. This will considerably reduce it's potential to rot in the tank. You can use aquarium salt or table sale for this step.