does driftwood color the water ?

[leonard.h.horn]

Hello all !
Here is a basic question:
Will driftwood color the water in my tank ?

Thanks in Advance
Len

[Greg Frazier]

l...@cbnewsm.att.com (leonard.h.horn) writes:
>Hello all !
>Here is a basic question:
>Will driftwood color the water in my tank ?

Basic answer:
It can.
Depends on how old it is and how it has been treated.
We have a piece of driftwood in our tank which managed
to turn the water in a 55g tank to a light shade of
amber when it was new - it is now in an 18g tank, and
the water is staying clear.
--

Greg Frazier fra...@CS.UCLA.EDU !{ucbvax,rutgers}!ucla-cs!frazier

[Oleg Kiselev]

>Will driftwood color the water in my tank ?

Yes. Unless it's sealed. If you have a fresh-water tank, the brownish tint
enhances the look of the aquarium and the fish usually like it.
--
DISCLAIMER: I speak for myself only, unless otherwise indicated.
"No regrets, no apologies" -- R.Reagan
Oleg Kiselev lcc!ol...@seas.ucla.edu, ol...@locus.com
(213)337-5230 ...!{uunet|att|ucla-se|turnkey|alphacm}!lcc!oleg

[Roger Gonzalez]

Yes, the wood will color the water, more or less, depending on its age.
Warning: the color leached off is tannic acid, which will act as a constant
source of acidity. It took me ages to find this out, and I was unable to
keep the pH of the tank anywhere except 6.4.

-Roger

--
"The question of whether a computer can think is no more interesting
than the question of whether a submarine can swim" - Edsgar W. Dijkstra
r...@unhd.unh.edu | UNH Marine Systems Engineering Laboratory
r_gon...@unhh.bitnet | Durham, NH 03824-3525