Wood - African Root Question

[Bill Muirhead]

In my cichlid tank, I put some African root. Kinda like driftwood, but
heavy. It bleeds, leaving the water with a brown tint. A water change
only lightens it. How do I get rid of the tint?

Many Water changes? Or use a micron filter?

Has anyone else had this problem?

--
Bill Muirhead
www.bill.muirhead.com

[Rowan Capers]

Maybe try boiling, keep changing the water you are boiling in, good
luck...Rowan

[Stuart Pauker]

Bill Muirhead wrote:

> In my cichlid tank, I put some African root. Kinda like driftwood, but
> heavy. It bleeds, leaving the water with a brown tint. A water change
> only lightens it. How do I get rid of the tint?
>
> Many Water changes? Or use a micron filter?
>
> Has anyone else had this problem?
>
> --
> Bill Muirhead
> www.bill.muirhead.com

You don't say what type of cichlids you're keeping in your tank. For S.
and C. American the tannins which are released from the wood are good for
your cichlids. They will tend to lower your pH, so make sure your water is
adequately buffered. In a rift lake tank, the driftwood will likewise tend
to lower pH, but with heavily buffered water, I've found that it doesn't
affect the pH to any extent. As for the color, that's a matter of personal
preference. I like the tea color in my S. American tank. If you'd like to
get rid of it you can just use some carbon in your filter. Water changes
alone will help, but they'd have to be done very frequently and on a large
scale to eliminate the discoloration of the water.

I have a couple of large pieces of driftwood in one of my tanks that after
being in there for over two years, still turns the water brownish after a
few days after a large water change.

hth,
Stuart
--
Stuart Pauker -> mailto:sb...@mindspring.com

Vee Arnis Jitsu -> 25 Park Place, Manhattan

"Excuses are the easiest things to manufacture, and the hardest things to
sell."

[Ruvan Nanayakkara]

Over time the discoloration will dissappear. You might try carbon in a
canister filter. The carbon will most likely absorb it. I would just let it
bleed out naturally over time.

Ruvan Nanayakkara