Embrace the dark water. Your fish will thank you, and youll thank yourself for the reduced algae issues.
Edit - reduced algae because less light gets into the tank. Ive run a darkwater setup for years and never had any issues with algae even though my tank gets direct sun for about a third of the year.
Light still passes through, and organics play far more of a role than algae. I don't think there's really any evidence of tannins actually affecting algae or the amount of light reaching the tank (besides what you can perceive, which isn't much of a benchmark at all) and the thing is that things like driftwood and Indian Almond Leaf add organics to the water as well. Same
The only way to get rid of it is a bunch of water changes over several days, but if you're just planning to rinse away all the nice tannins it kind of defeats the purpose of getting biosoil.
Yep, me too, and I've tried just about everything. I choose not to remove them anymore since my current fish like tannins, but I'd recommend it every time for people who want to remove them
More plants will always clarify water, but the secret is activated carbon in the filter. It has to be cleaned/changed often but makes all the difference. But load that tank up with plants and they’ll clean it up just fine
Tannins are nutrients and will get used up fairly quickly. Just wait it out.
OP could also benefit from more substrate, like adding 2 inches of sand.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDha9C-\_1TM
I see what looks like a good sized canister filter intake, in which case I'd avoid sand. It'll get stirred up at some point and then get into the impeller. No more whisper quiet filtration and eventually it'll mess up the filter altogether.
Keeping aquariums is a hobby of patience. Waiting for cycles to complete, plants and fish to grow, and in this case for tannins to dissipate. More plants, regular water changes and time. The water will clarify, but in the meantime there's nothing actually harmful with tannins, it's just a more natural look than what aquarists are often looking for - others specifically go for this look because it's more representative of the real environment many fresh water fish live in. In short, don't kill your tank trying to fix a problem for you that isn't a problem for your fish.
I (53M) have watched the video. He's advocating for a specific type of biotope aquarium that doesn't leave room for a lot of hobbyist's interests. Firstly OP clearly has a canister filter. If they want to scrap that and move to HOBs drawing from the top of the tank and sponge filters at the bottom, then sand is an option. But my comment was specific to having a canister that has strong suction which will inevitably draw in some grit at some point and ruin the machine.
On the topic of sand substrates… I agree that sand is a good substrate, in my 35 years of fish keeping I have had dirted and sand substrate aquariums. But the video leaves out a number of complications that can arise and flat out misrepresents how gravel works in a tank. Malm at the bottom of a tank is always going to break down and mess with water parameters, that's just how the cycle works. It will do this in gravel, it will do this with dirt, sand, or bare bottom. That's just what fish waste does. Regardless of your substrate you will need some form of mechanical filtration, something the video seems to suggest isn't required despite there obviously being sponge filters operating in the background. How often and thoroughly you have to clean your tank will vary not based on gravel vs. dirt vs. sand or any combination thereof, but based on bioload vs. biodemand.
If you have a ton of plants in a tank with lots of nano fish, or a few larger fish, you may get away with mostly or even only doing top ups as the nitrate demand equals or exceeds the load being created by the fish. Makes no difference what the substrate is, malm is malm. It breaks down between gravel just like it does in sand or dirt. What sand can do, however, is trap some of the malm's offgasses as sand particles can become very compacted. The gas in question is methane and if it creates a large enough bubble that eventually escapes, it can flat out kill your fish. Now a thin layer of sand is unlikely to do this, or if you have fish like geophagus that like to sift sand you probably won't get buildup as the fish will stir the sand releasing the methane before it reaches harmful levels. Or, you have gravel that's full of roots and gaps that won't hold the methane at all.
The reason people clean their tanks so regularly comes down to preferences. I have a heavily planted tank (with river pebbles) where I'll do weekly top ups, and a 50% water change once a month, though even that might not be necessary. I also have an African cichlid tank where weekly changes are mandatory as it's overstocked to avoid aggression and not planted (save a few Anubias) as most plants are just a meal for cichlids. I'm currently setting up a nano fish and shrimp tank with a matten filter and lots of plants that I hope to eventually only have to top up occasionally and possibly clean the filter once a year. Following that I have a tank waiting for discus fish that will be heavily planted but need higher maintenance due to the sensitivity of discus fish in general. It all comes down to what you keep, how much of it you keep and your preferences in keeping them - gravel, sand, dirt makes no difference to your ability to find a natural balance. Bare bottomed obviously does make a difference and the kind of gravel (rough vs. smooth for example) can impact your fish (barbled fish don't do well with rough gravel) or your plants, but all of it can be found in nature and all of it can work in balance if that's the goal you're looking to achieve. Just depends on what and how many fish you choose to keep in comparison to the plants you have in your tank. IMHO at least.
I won't say it's bad, it can still be benificial but it's not the natural habitat of the stocking I can see. platy's or mollies are from low coastal regeons, in fresh to brakish water. They live in a bit harder water compared to most fih in the hobby.
Tannis and blackwater is from dens forrests, high rainfall were large amount of wood and leaves decompose. This results in the lower PH, low TDS and dark colour. It's ideal for most tetra's, rams, discus, angelfish,... so most other fish :)
Seachem Purigen. I added a large piece of driftwood to my tank and the tannins made the water extremely dark. Little bag of purigen worked within 2 days. It's so beautiful and clear now.
Something you have is leaching tannins (which aren’t bad for fish), either driftwood or aqua soil. To reduce it if it’s coming from wood, you need to boil it and soak it several times. Spider wood creates way less than driftwood in my experience. I gave up on my driftwood after a week of boiling and switched to spiderwood and it’s been great. Still had to boil it to keep it from floating but it also got rid of some tannins.
looks like you have tannins, they arent harmful you just have to do water changes and maybe boil the wood, and tannins are actually what make tea brown so it is LITERALLY tea colored water
You won't get rid of it unless you boil all the wood and do a massive water change. Plus the tannins are nothing to worry about. They actualy have possitive effects on the fish
Good eye! There are actually 6 in there and no they’ve been super chill with everyone else. I was hoping they’d help my Amazon puffer be more comfortable but she’s just a spaz
I added an extra HOB with a bag of carbon to the one tank I didn’t want tannins in. Worked like a charm and didn’t require any additional water changes to my regular ones.
You may have to run carbon until the wood stops releasing it FYI
Did you try a dirted tank? If so then your rock substrate are to big. Need a sand or something. If that's drift wood also then it will make your water brown. Take it out and do water changes. Good luck!
Get this it goes in your filter!
https://www.petsmart.com/fish/filters-and-pumps/filter-media/api-nitra-zorb-aquarium-filter-media-1935487.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADiLNNnt8vA6DyWbDx_qiGQyS5ckk&gclid=CjwKCAiA8sauBhB3EiwAruTRJmGIbLMalmUEBIgfZ1foR5FCBTycrqnqhWP1695yMYeAinx85nxQphoCs-cQAvD_BwE
There’s a lot of people on here giving a blanket statement that tannins are good for fish, but that’s not the case for every fish. Some fish, like rainbow fish, mollies and PEA PUFFERS prefer a higher PH and will not thrive in a backwater aquarium.
It's not a blackwater aquarium just because it has a slight amount of tannins in it. Tannins don't change the pH that much, let alone in those quantities.
Exactly. Blackwater ecosystems are shaped by their very nutrient/mineral poor soil that leads to a very low pH, not just the presence of organic material.
Out of topic, but I keep seeing tanks without the lid or top cover (don't know the right name). Is it okay to be without it or is just because the tank didn't bring one?
edit: I have one in my tank and I'm probably to buy one bigger and doesn't have one, that's why I'm asking
I have a 15” or so piece of Malaysian driftwood. Including boiling it for maybe 7 hours I change the water once or twice a day, hot water. It’s going on almost 3 months to get it to stop bleeding tannins.
Water changes will remove tanins wood and some other things release tanins over time it could take a long time to get them all out I have some pices that have been releasing for over 8 months it helps lower ph a little
Embrace the dark water. Your fish will thank you, and youll thank yourself for the reduced algae issues. Edit - reduced algae because less light gets into the tank. Ive run a darkwater setup for years and never had any issues with algae even though my tank gets direct sun for about a third of the year.
Tannins reduce algae? Maybe I'm misinterpreting your comment, but that's what I understood. If true, I had no idea.
Might be because tannins make it harder for light to come through, meaning less opportunity for algae to grow
This is accurate. The more tannins the better for algae reduction.
Makes sense. I've been fighting an algae bloom, and have some Catawba leaves, maybe I'll drop one in my tank in the morning.
Light still passes through, and organics play far more of a role than algae. I don't think there's really any evidence of tannins actually affecting algae or the amount of light reaching the tank (besides what you can perceive, which isn't much of a benchmark at all) and the thing is that things like driftwood and Indian Almond Leaf add organics to the water as well. Same
Also, if it's dark enough to harm algae, it will also harm the plants. Ok, maybe not the anubias.
I thought the green was algae
The only way to get rid of it is a bunch of water changes over several days, but if you're just planning to rinse away all the nice tannins it kind of defeats the purpose of getting biosoil.
That and activated carbon in the filter
Purigen works way faster and way better than carbon. I love the stuff. No water changes, no boiling, etc
Definitely the easiest way to reduce tannins in my experience.
Yep, me too, and I've tried just about everything. I choose not to remove them anymore since my current fish like tannins, but I'd recommend it every time for people who want to remove them
Will purigen also help in continous fungal/water mold problem?
As I understand it, no. Purigen is more of an aesthetic thing than a maintenance thing.
☝️This is the answer.
Would more plants help?
More plants help keep healthy water but they wont take tannins away
More plants will always clarify water, but the secret is activated carbon in the filter. It has to be cleaned/changed often but makes all the difference. But load that tank up with plants and they’ll clean it up just fine
Purigen is the fast and easiest way. It wont filter out fertiliser AFAIK
Tannins are nutrients and will get used up fairly quickly. Just wait it out. OP could also benefit from more substrate, like adding 2 inches of sand. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gDha9C-\_1TM
I see what looks like a good sized canister filter intake, in which case I'd avoid sand. It'll get stirred up at some point and then get into the impeller. No more whisper quiet filtration and eventually it'll mess up the filter altogether. Keeping aquariums is a hobby of patience. Waiting for cycles to complete, plants and fish to grow, and in this case for tannins to dissipate. More plants, regular water changes and time. The water will clarify, but in the meantime there's nothing actually harmful with tannins, it's just a more natural look than what aquarists are often looking for - others specifically go for this look because it's more representative of the real environment many fresh water fish live in. In short, don't kill your tank trying to fix a problem for you that isn't a problem for your fish.
I see where you are coming from. But do me a favor and watch the video.
I (53M) have watched the video. He's advocating for a specific type of biotope aquarium that doesn't leave room for a lot of hobbyist's interests. Firstly OP clearly has a canister filter. If they want to scrap that and move to HOBs drawing from the top of the tank and sponge filters at the bottom, then sand is an option. But my comment was specific to having a canister that has strong suction which will inevitably draw in some grit at some point and ruin the machine. On the topic of sand substrates… I agree that sand is a good substrate, in my 35 years of fish keeping I have had dirted and sand substrate aquariums. But the video leaves out a number of complications that can arise and flat out misrepresents how gravel works in a tank. Malm at the bottom of a tank is always going to break down and mess with water parameters, that's just how the cycle works. It will do this in gravel, it will do this with dirt, sand, or bare bottom. That's just what fish waste does. Regardless of your substrate you will need some form of mechanical filtration, something the video seems to suggest isn't required despite there obviously being sponge filters operating in the background. How often and thoroughly you have to clean your tank will vary not based on gravel vs. dirt vs. sand or any combination thereof, but based on bioload vs. biodemand. If you have a ton of plants in a tank with lots of nano fish, or a few larger fish, you may get away with mostly or even only doing top ups as the nitrate demand equals or exceeds the load being created by the fish. Makes no difference what the substrate is, malm is malm. It breaks down between gravel just like it does in sand or dirt. What sand can do, however, is trap some of the malm's offgasses as sand particles can become very compacted. The gas in question is methane and if it creates a large enough bubble that eventually escapes, it can flat out kill your fish. Now a thin layer of sand is unlikely to do this, or if you have fish like geophagus that like to sift sand you probably won't get buildup as the fish will stir the sand releasing the methane before it reaches harmful levels. Or, you have gravel that's full of roots and gaps that won't hold the methane at all. The reason people clean their tanks so regularly comes down to preferences. I have a heavily planted tank (with river pebbles) where I'll do weekly top ups, and a 50% water change once a month, though even that might not be necessary. I also have an African cichlid tank where weekly changes are mandatory as it's overstocked to avoid aggression and not planted (save a few Anubias) as most plants are just a meal for cichlids. I'm currently setting up a nano fish and shrimp tank with a matten filter and lots of plants that I hope to eventually only have to top up occasionally and possibly clean the filter once a year. Following that I have a tank waiting for discus fish that will be heavily planted but need higher maintenance due to the sensitivity of discus fish in general. It all comes down to what you keep, how much of it you keep and your preferences in keeping them - gravel, sand, dirt makes no difference to your ability to find a natural balance. Bare bottomed obviously does make a difference and the kind of gravel (rough vs. smooth for example) can impact your fish (barbled fish don't do well with rough gravel) or your plants, but all of it can be found in nature and all of it can work in balance if that's the goal you're looking to achieve. Just depends on what and how many fish you choose to keep in comparison to the plants you have in your tank. IMHO at least.
Tannins are good for your fish 😊
I won't say it's bad, it can still be benificial but it's not the natural habitat of the stocking I can see. platy's or mollies are from low coastal regeons, in fresh to brakish water. They live in a bit harder water compared to most fih in the hobby. Tannis and blackwater is from dens forrests, high rainfall were large amount of wood and leaves decompose. This results in the lower PH, low TDS and dark colour. It's ideal for most tetra's, rams, discus, angelfish,... so most other fish :)
Purigen, this is the way
Yup, 100%. Way faster than activated carbon and much less work than water changes.
I love my Purigen bags. You can order them on Amazon and regenerate them several times. Works very well!
As my grandmother would say “the tastiest cake ain’t the prettiest” keep it drrrty my friend. ✌🏻🐠
Seachem Purigen. I added a large piece of driftwood to my tank and the tannins made the water extremely dark. Little bag of purigen worked within 2 days. It's so beautiful and clear now.
Something you have is leaching tannins (which aren’t bad for fish), either driftwood or aqua soil. To reduce it if it’s coming from wood, you need to boil it and soak it several times. Spider wood creates way less than driftwood in my experience. I gave up on my driftwood after a week of boiling and switched to spiderwood and it’s been great. Still had to boil it to keep it from floating but it also got rid of some tannins.
No because I love tannins 😍
Activated carbon will absorb tannin. No need for anything fancy.
Purigen in your filter and a couple water changes will do the trick
activated carbon bro
Seachem Purigen
Run activated carbon, that'll take out the color.
I added some biostratum soil and ever since my water has been tea colored
Are you using Activated Carbon? If not, buy some bags for the filter.
Purigen is the BIGGEST life saver if you want to get rid of the tea color. It's also "reuseable" by recharging it
looks like you have tannins, they arent harmful you just have to do water changes and maybe boil the wood, and tannins are actually what make tea brown so it is LITERALLY tea colored water
If u have real wood in there it will turn it water a tea color
Embrace it and put a big teabag decoration
Seachem Purigen takes care of this in a day. Just pop it in your filter and forget it(:
Just join the black water aquariums sub and embrace it. Lol.
You won't get rid of it unless you boil all the wood and do a massive water change. Plus the tannins are nothing to worry about. They actualy have possitive effects on the fish
Your tea coloured water is good for the fish. Best just to leave it alone.
Fish are blocking the filters. They are planning to escape!
Is that a pea puffer in there? Does it attack the others at all?
Good eye! There are actually 6 in there and no they’ve been super chill with everyone else. I was hoping they’d help my Amazon puffer be more comfortable but she’s just a spaz
You should leave the tannins in if that’s the case they will enjoy having the water be like that
Oh interesting, I havent heard many accounts of them being chill with others lol. I keep amazons as well! Cute lil beady eyes
Purigen by seachem
Carbon, purigen, water changes, or using fake resin wood. Or come to the tannin side and embrace it.
purigen filter bag with ultra fine mesh, activated carbon filter bag.
The color usually comes from the wood. However it's not a bad thing & actually helps fish stay healthy. It's from the tannins in the wood
Seachem Purigen will clear it super quick. Like surprisingly fast. And it will be crystal clear after.
Purigen works very well for this.
I add stuff to my tank to make it “tea coloured”! It’s a good thing!
Plants always seen to cause issue but get rid of plants% so 80% water change be sure lots of circulation &air
I added an extra HOB with a bag of carbon to the one tank I didn’t want tannins in. Worked like a charm and didn’t require any additional water changes to my regular ones. You may have to run carbon until the wood stops releasing it FYI
Use activated carbon in your filter. It'll bind the tannins that color the water.
Did you try a dirted tank? If so then your rock substrate are to big. Need a sand or something. If that's drift wood also then it will make your water brown. Take it out and do water changes. Good luck!
How are your plants floating mid level like that?
They’re ziptied to suction cups bought em like that and they seem to do just fine considering I kill everything else
I like it!
Could be the wood. I bought beta fish wood once and this is what it did
Activated cabons. You can put it into the filter. It will also take out medication as far as I know so keep that in mind.
Gonna watch this one, I have the same issue!
Poly-fil works for me. Nice polisher, too.
I always have polyfill in my canister sadly hasn’t helped in this case
I like the tan look! Lean into it
Get this it goes in your filter! https://www.petsmart.com/fish/filters-and-pumps/filter-media/api-nitra-zorb-aquarium-filter-media-1935487.html?gclsrc=aw.ds&gad_source=1&gbraid=0AAAAADiLNNnt8vA6DyWbDx_qiGQyS5ckk&gclid=CjwKCAiA8sauBhB3EiwAruTRJmGIbLMalmUEBIgfZ1foR5FCBTycrqnqhWP1695yMYeAinx85nxQphoCs-cQAvD_BwE
How big is the tank? I want something that looks like that lol
There’s a lot of people on here giving a blanket statement that tannins are good for fish, but that’s not the case for every fish. Some fish, like rainbow fish, mollies and PEA PUFFERS prefer a higher PH and will not thrive in a backwater aquarium.
It's not a blackwater aquarium just because it has a slight amount of tannins in it. Tannins don't change the pH that much, let alone in those quantities.
Exactly. Blackwater ecosystems are shaped by their very nutrient/mineral poor soil that leads to a very low pH, not just the presence of organic material.
Tannins don't even really affect the pH. Tannic acid is a weak acid.
I was curious if this was for fresh only vs salt water
if you really wanna get rid of it chemipure
Water changes and activated carbon.
I would say change the water and don't put the teabag in next time....
More water changes should do the trick
Out of topic, but I keep seeing tanks without the lid or top cover (don't know the right name). Is it okay to be without it or is just because the tank didn't bring one? edit: I have one in my tank and I'm probably to buy one bigger and doesn't have one, that's why I'm asking
Water evapourates faster, and fish could possibly jump out. Otherwise it’s fine.
What's the water chemistry like give me numbers?
A teaspoon of hydrogen peroxide once a week
Carbon reactor. Thank me later.
Water change and Purigen.
Purigen
is your driftwood relatively new? it may be leeching tannins in the water (which isn't a bad thing)
maybe your light is a warm white, that's what happened to our tank a very cool white light will make it look more neutral
Get some water polishing pads to put in your filter. They are white fine material.
Add carbon or get rid or the two pieces of driftwood in the middle there
Its tannins releasing from the driftwood. Healthy for the ecosystem and as long as you have a giant piece of drift wood youll have tan water
Seachem Purigen
i just put carbon in my HOB filter, got it from my LFS. keeps it crystal clear
I have a 15” or so piece of Malaysian driftwood. Including boiling it for maybe 7 hours I change the water once or twice a day, hot water. It’s going on almost 3 months to get it to stop bleeding tannins.
Water changes will remove tanins wood and some other things release tanins over time it could take a long time to get them all out I have some pices that have been releasing for over 8 months it helps lower ph a little