# how to clear up tan water from driftwood?



## gagaliya (Aug 19, 2006)

Hi my tank water has a bit tan color due to the new driftwood i put in there. Will some carbon clear it up? Is it ok to put carbon in my tank for a few weeks, it won't get rid of all that plant nutrients will it? Any other way other than lots of water change

thanks


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## shrimpnmoss (Apr 8, 2011)

Purigen clears water like nobody's business.


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## Church (Sep 14, 2004)

Regular water changes.


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## gagaliya (Aug 19, 2006)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Purigen clears water like nobody's business.


but doesnt that also remove macros?


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## kevmo911 (Sep 24, 2010)

Carbon is fine, Purigen is fine. Water changes are your best bet for the next couple months. But no matter what, your water will continue to be discolored a bit until the dw stops leaking tannnins. Rather than messing with your filtering, I'd suggest doing nothing out of the ordinary, assuming you do weekly water changes.


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## gagaliya (Aug 19, 2006)

thanks, i am just afraid the tanned water will reduce the wpg significantly for the carpet plants, since i dont have a very high wpg to begin with.


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## ktownhero (Mar 21, 2011)

shrimpnmoss said:


> Purigen clears water like nobody's business.


This. Purigen is amazing.


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## ncharlie (May 20, 2011)

I boiled my driftwood twice a day for 4 days.

I had a pot large enough and would bring the water to boil for as long as I could watch it (before work) and then again after work. 

Water looked like tea.

Even with the last boiling I still had some tea color, but I put the wood into the tank anyway.

So far, crystal clear water!


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## dwc13 (Dec 15, 2010)

Did you soak the driftwood in treated water for a few days prior to placing it in the aquarium? That will ususally help reduce the amount of tannins leeching into your tank's water. Boiling the driftwood seems to expedite the leeching process. Lobster pots are great for this, unless you have a really large piece of driftwood.


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## gagaliya (Aug 19, 2006)

yep, i soaked for 1 day, boiled for 5 hours, soaked for another day. Then put it in the tank. 

I will go get some purigen, it's not completely tan water  just isnt crystal clear and the tank seems a lot dimmer than i remember before putting in the driftwood.


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## [email protected] (Apr 27, 2011)

You don't need to add Purigen unless you want to. I just did 50% water changes once a week for about a month and that was all I needed to do. I just do not like adding chemicals to my tanks unless I ABSOLUTELY had to, like for illnesses and such. The tan water looks kind of unsightly but have found that this doesn't hurt the fish. Oh, and I do have carbon in my filter as well as filter floss ("batting") from WalMart.


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## Gordii (Sep 24, 2019)

Try soaking the wood in a bleach solution 10%. Leave it for 2 to four days. Rinse it thourougly. You can then place it and see how it goes. You can also paint it with a clear satin laquer with will stop tannin weep indefinitely.


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## Deanna (Feb 15, 2017)

Gordii said:


> Try soaking the wood in a bleach solution 10%. Leave it for 2 to four days. Rinse it thourougly. You can then place it and see how it goes. You can also paint it with a clear satin laquer with will stop tannin weep indefinitely.


Post is 8 years old ...but welcome to the forum.


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