# driftwood turning water brown



## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

my driftwood turned my water a tea brown...

is this bad for the fish??
wat should i do??

it seems as though the fish are ok tho


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## watermonst3rs (Feb 15, 2004)

I soak'd my driftwood in water/bleach overnight in the tub then rinsed and let it dry out in the sun for a few days and it solved the problem.


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## Piranha Guy (Oct 22, 2003)

You fish will be fine if you dont like how it looks take you driftwood out and bleach it in 10 parts water to 1 part bleach let it soak in there then take it out and soak it in water. Do 20% water changes every couple of days and your water will be back to normal. Although you may want to keep it because it looks cool but either way it wont hurt you fish at all.


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

Your fish actually like the water like that. If you don't mind it, then keep it browned


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

do they like it b/c it resembles the murky water of the amazon?? -less light


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

make sure your ph is stable


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

i never check ph ....

isnt ph jus necesary for marine fish


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## Puddjuice (Mar 11, 2004)

Ph is is nessasary for all fish. 6.0-8.0 is the range. The mirky water is better and gives it a more natural look.


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## illnino (Mar 6, 2004)

the driftwood can bring it down to a dangerousley low levil. that can kill your fish. test your ph. driftwood is known to f with peoples ph.


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## benefit (Sep 3, 2003)

It can be bad depending on how large the driftwood is in comparison to the amount of water its in. Driftwood can lower the ph and any major changes in water chemistry is very stressful on fish. If you do not like the "tea" look use carbon to remove the tanins. A couple water changes and alot of frequently changed carbon should help. But it might not completely leave your water clear.


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## fiveo93 (Jan 19, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> i never check ph ....
> 
> isnt ph jus necesary for marine fish










who told ya that?


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## elTwitcho (Jun 22, 2004)

charles_316 said:


> do they like it b/c it resembles the murky water of the amazon?? -less light


 That's exactly why they like it.

Most people use driftwood no problem without their PH plummeting, I have a big chunk in my tank that stained the water for about a month before clearing up and my ph stayed stable at 7.2.

Even still, you should definately invest in a test kit. And if the brown bothers you put the driftwood in a bucket and poor poiling water of it until it's submerged. I had to do this because I initially didn't boil my driftwood and it developed this fuzzy mold on it that looked like hell. A ton of tannins leached out when I did this as well, so it will definately speed up the process of getting to a point that your driftwood won't darken your water.

Oh and as always, don't use a bucket that has had any kind of soaps or cleaners in it


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## charles_316 (Jul 6, 2004)

i dont mind the brown water... it looks pretty natural anyways


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