Bogwood.....Good or Bad??????

[bigcol]

Morning all, I have a 240G with a few small peices of bogwood in, ive made a small cave with them in 1 corner for my cray fish, My problem is i can never seem to get the water looking crystal clear, im running this tank on a newly made sump with a great design and plenty of filter media in there. Is my problem the wood that is in the tank or could it be something else?

A little help please guys, If its the wood causing the dirty water look then i wil take it straight out, if not is there another solution?

Thanks in advance people

 

[bigcol]

Bump for ideas please

 

[cr8on]

When you say not crystal clear, do you mean that the water has a yellow tinge or is slightly cloudy / murky white?

If the water is slightly yellow-brown in colour, then this is obviously casued by the bogwood.

As the sump is new, beneficial bacteria will be establishing themselves in the media, causing the tank water to turn slightly cloudy, which will clear when the sump has cycled.

I would use activated carbon or Purigen in your filter, these will help to fix up the water clarity quickly.

 

[bigcol]

When you say not crystal clear, do you mean that the water has a yellow tinge or is slightly cloudy / murky white?

If the water is slightly yellow-brown in colour, then this is obviously casued by the bogwood.

As the sump is new, beneficial bacteria will be establishing themselves in the media, causing the tank water to turn slightly cloudy, which will clear when the sump has cycled.

I would use activated carbon or Purigen in your filter, these will help to fix up the water clarity quickly.

It has the yellow tinge to it, I also agree about the sump too, that wont be helping much either I think i will just remove the bogwood and see what happens after that. The sump has been running for about a week now so we should be getting there on the bio side of things

 

[HarleyK]

Howdy,

It has the yellow tinge to it

That's normal. Some people even add peat extract to achieve a blackwater effect

HarleyK

 

[bigcol]

Howdy,



That's normal. Some people even add peat extract to achieve a blackwater effect

HarleyK

Hi HarleyK, Thanks, i just dont like the look of it to be honest, i prefer clear water, its also turning the white parts on my RTc's an off color, doesnt look pretty at all.

 

[*Alex*]

well Just leave the bogwood in a bucket of water for a few weeks... As far as i know it shudnt tan ur water then..!! or leave it in.. after a few water changes ur water should clear up!

 

[Lupin]

well Just leave the bogwood in a bucket of water for a few weeks... As far as i know it shudnt tan ur water then..!! or leave it in.. after a few water changes ur water should clear up!

Nope. This is not the case. It takes several years for the wood to stop leaching tannins. Heck, I have lots of woods more than five years and they continue leaching tannins although at a slower rate compared to the early days. Even then, the leaching slows down as the wood lingers in the tank for a long time.

 

[bigcol]

Nope. This is not the case. It takes several years for the wood to stop leaching tannins. Heck, I have lots of woods more than five years and they continue leaching tannins although at a slower rate compared to the early days. Even then, the leaching slows down as the wood lingers in the tank for a long time.

Thanks Lupin, im in two minds really weither to take it out or not, on 1 hand it makes a great home for my cray fish but on the other its tanning the white parts off my RTC's also tanning the water. It doesnt seem to be harming the fish but it does make the water look slightly dirty. Ive had this wood in diff tanks for a few yrs now and this is the 1st timne it has tanned the water like this so i just thought it wasnt a good thing.

 

[MonsterMinis]

If thats the case I wouldn't point fingers at the bogwood and not cover all your other bases first. possibly something in the sump? new cycle? you seem ot have alot going on atm. Likely it is the bog wood though. I use Mopan (sp?) wood in my tank and after a 1 month cureing process to allow it to leech, I had little to no discoloration in my water. just emptyed and refilled the bucket it was in 1x a day for 30 days. tossed it in the tank. I have driftwood of some type in every one of my tanks, for my plecos. they don't seem to graze the mopan but i used this procedure for each peice and in some cases I didn't bother with the leeching process just made sure it was cleaned and cured in saltwater a week. but the mopan was deffinately the least leechy wood I've had. btw the tannins I've never heard of causeing problems in a tank and most people agree it's actually beneficial. probablly not ideal for african cichlids, but eh bet there's a handfu of fallen trees in those lakes Though i can see why you wouldn't like your RTC's white faded/murky. ammonia/nitrates in excess in a tank can also cause fish discoloration from stress, or even a PH/KH imbalance. I try to always figure out what something is not, before saying what it is, if given the time/option. If the substrate in the tank had any dust, that could cause it. If there is any residual dust/shaveing ect from the sump/filter media you use ect. I ramble alot I know.. But hopefully some of this helps. also if you want really clear water polishing/micron filter floss is the way to go. It can be costly comparatively to regular filter floss but you can really see a difference.