Tannin removal
- Thread starter Geoey
- Start date
The "tea water" is what sucks about mopani. I have boiled it and still makes brown water. There are some really cool pieces, but not worth the trouble to me. Of all the mopani I have bought only one is in my tank. It is one that I bought from a LFS that was in they were using in a tank for over a year. On that one, all the work had already been done!
How much purigen were you using? Was the purigen turning brown/black?
The only time I've seen purigen not work is when there wasn't enough for it to do the job. I have personally used purigen on 6 or so of my own aquariums, and in at least half a dozen other aquariums when I was doing aquarium maintenance for people, and it worked in every single one of them, although sometimes it wasn't very noticeable.
In every case where it "didn't" work, it was simply that the tannins (or other things already in the tank) were leeching faster/more than it could absorb. People complained that it wasn't doing anything, but every time I checked on it, the purigen was so dark it was almost black. It was leeching out a ton of tannins, but there was still so much in the wood that it wasn't making a visible difference. Sometimes you have to clean it a few times (soak it in a bleach solution) before it shows a difference. Chemically, purigen works similar to carbon, and is FAR more effective than carbon, so if carbon is working, an equal amount of purigen should work far better.
Of course, you might just have strange water chemistry that doesn't agree with purigen. I've heard of it happening.
Other than that, my trick for my driftwood is to let it age in a tub outside in the sun. I just put a rubbermaid big enough to hold the wood on the porch, and fill it with water from the hose. It sits in the sun and bakes like that, and it cures pretty fast. Every couple days I change the water. I've done this with a whole batch of driftwood, completely filling the tub. In that case, I change the water every day. You can use the water for plants or a garden, or even a little extra in your yard. Unfortunately, December isn't exactly the best time of year to try this!
The only time I've seen purigen not work is when there wasn't enough for it to do the job. I have personally used purigen on 6 or so of my own aquariums, and in at least half a dozen other aquariums when I was doing aquarium maintenance for people, and it worked in every single one of them, although sometimes it wasn't very noticeable.
In every case where it "didn't" work, it was simply that the tannins (or other things already in the tank) were leeching faster/more than it could absorb. People complained that it wasn't doing anything, but every time I checked on it, the purigen was so dark it was almost black. It was leeching out a ton of tannins, but there was still so much in the wood that it wasn't making a visible difference. Sometimes you have to clean it a few times (soak it in a bleach solution) before it shows a difference. Chemically, purigen works similar to carbon, and is FAR more effective than carbon, so if carbon is working, an equal amount of purigen should work far better.
Of course, you might just have strange water chemistry that doesn't agree with purigen. I've heard of it happening.
Other than that, my trick for my driftwood is to let it age in a tub outside in the sun. I just put a rubbermaid big enough to hold the wood on the porch, and fill it with water from the hose. It sits in the sun and bakes like that, and it cures pretty fast. Every couple days I change the water. I've done this with a whole batch of driftwood, completely filling the tub. In that case, I change the water every day. You can use the water for plants or a garden, or even a little extra in your yard. Unfortunately, December isn't exactly the best time of year to try this!
I sing to my driftwood to release it's tannins. I also, on occasion, whisper sweet nothings
to it, letting it know how awesome it is, so as to boost it's ego and expel the tannins.
to it, letting it know how awesome it is, so as to boost it's ego and expel the tannins.
Camshaft Ramrod;4694414; said:
Interesting technique. I suppose serenading would foster a stronger long term relationship compared to being boiled.
Maybe I will try that next time.
Ah this is the problem i am a bassist and have only been playing instrumentals to it i will try singing but this may only leach all the people from my house.Camshaft Ramrod;4694414; said:
Would one basket full of purigen in an fx5 be enough ? and also what type of bleach would you use to bleach it afterwards as purigen costs about 3 times the price of carbon in oz.rnocera;4694404; said:
Just standard unscented bleach. The stuff that costs like $0.50 a bottle. According to Seachem, "Soak in a 1:1 bleach:water solution for 24 hours in a non-metalic container in a well ventilated area and away from children. Rinse well, then soak for 8 hours with a solution containing 2 tablespoons of ChlorGuard™, Prime®, or equivalent dechlorinator per cup of water. Rinse well."
(http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=3593)
After rinsing and soaking, you should test the pH, as it has a tendency to be pretty high after soaking in bleach. Changing the water & letting it soak in fresh water again normally does the trick for me. Seachem used to recommend using a buffering solution in the rinse/soak process, but they now say it is an unnecessary step. I've never had an issue with needing to buffer, as I think changing the water and waiting 24 hours is better than spending money and using more chemicals.
I'm not exactly sure how much "a basket full" is, but I would guess it is enough, and is probably just dirty. You can't use too much purigen- the more you have, the longer you can go without cleaning it. In a canister filter, I like to keep two bags in it. I clean them one at a time, so there's always some purigen in the filter. The website says 1 liter treats up to 1,000 gallons for 6 months. I generally use twice or so the prescribed amount (I honestly just guess), because it's an expensive first-time cost, but then dirt cheap to run for a long time after. So, I guess I'd probably go with somewhere between 250ml and 500ml for a 220 gal tank. Anything you add should "work" in that it will absorb nitrogenous waste. It's just a matter of how much waste there is in the tank, and how much it can pull out before it's "full". In my experience, it never lasts 6 months like they claim it will. On a goldfish tank I used to take care of, I used over twice was was called for and it was FILTHY in the first month. According to their specs, that should have lasted a year. But, $0.10 worth of bleach later, it was good as new! The $30 (shipped from All Pet Outlet through Amazon)you'd spend on 500ml is probably the equivalent of $100 or more worth of one-use carbon.
(http://www.seachem.com/support/forums/showthread.php?t=3593)
After rinsing and soaking, you should test the pH, as it has a tendency to be pretty high after soaking in bleach. Changing the water & letting it soak in fresh water again normally does the trick for me. Seachem used to recommend using a buffering solution in the rinse/soak process, but they now say it is an unnecessary step. I've never had an issue with needing to buffer, as I think changing the water and waiting 24 hours is better than spending money and using more chemicals.
I'm not exactly sure how much "a basket full" is, but I would guess it is enough, and is probably just dirty. You can't use too much purigen- the more you have, the longer you can go without cleaning it. In a canister filter, I like to keep two bags in it. I clean them one at a time, so there's always some purigen in the filter. The website says 1 liter treats up to 1,000 gallons for 6 months. I generally use twice or so the prescribed amount (I honestly just guess), because it's an expensive first-time cost, but then dirt cheap to run for a long time after. So, I guess I'd probably go with somewhere between 250ml and 500ml for a 220 gal tank. Anything you add should "work" in that it will absorb nitrogenous waste. It's just a matter of how much waste there is in the tank, and how much it can pull out before it's "full". In my experience, it never lasts 6 months like they claim it will. On a goldfish tank I used to take care of, I used over twice was was called for and it was FILTHY in the first month. According to their specs, that should have lasted a year. But, $0.10 worth of bleach later, it was good as new! The $30 (shipped from All Pet Outlet through Amazon)you'd spend on 500ml is probably the equivalent of $100 or more worth of one-use carbon.
THIS IS THE TYPE OF WATER MOST FRESHWATER FISH COME FROM:
Amazon
Peru
Borneo
I don't know why everyone is such a wiener about wanting clear water. Your fish probably don't even like it. Tannins are OK PEOPLE... just wait them out.
Amazon
Peru
Borneo
I don't know why everyone is such a wiener about wanting clear water. Your fish probably don't even like it. Tannins are OK PEOPLE... just wait them out.
I really liked my tea-colored water. I thought it did wonders for my angelfish tank, with all the plants/roots/wood. It looked really nice. And only n00bs thought the water was dirty, and who cares what they think.
