# Best way to remove tannins?



## BlackOut

I set up my tank yesterday and tannins have been leaching out of the driftwood. Unfortunately it's too big to boil. Will these go away by themselves, or should I keep changing water? Is there anything that can just filter it out?


----------



## James0816

Tannins are the perfect addition to any tank. That natural look is where it is at. And some fishies actually prefer it too. Not that I'm a black water advocate or anything. )

But....if you must.....water changes and run carbon in your filter. Then the aquarium will be just like everyone else's. ;o)


----------



## BlackOut

Haha, I was actually convinced that it wouldn't bother me, but I wasn't expecting it to be so murky and difficult to see through. Thanks for the tip, I'll look for a carbon insert for my filter.


----------



## srshaggy

I had the same problem. I took an orange Home Depot bucket that I bought for water changes and set the driftwood in it and then put it in the tub and filled it with HOT water and then just let it sit until the next day when I changed the water and added more HOT water again. This gets the tannins moving from the wood in my experience. I had a great piece of wood that I did this to every day for several months before I put it in my tank. Even now it still leeches tannins into the water and after a week the water has a brown tint to it, but it's way better than at the very beginning.


----------



## jrman83

After a couple of weeks there is a noticeable reduction.


----------



## James0816

jrman83 said:


> After a couple of weeks there is a noticeable reduction.


Thats when you start looking for another piece of driftwood. ;o)

Or just use Indian Almond leaves or Oak leaves. Oh...wait...this is about removing them not adding them. Darn...got confused again. 

With time, they will eventually fade away.


----------



## Sweetgreenleaf1369

you could try polyester like pillow fill it wont do anything for the tannins but will make the water more clear..


----------



## BlackOut

Okay, I've been running two bags of activated carbon in my filter for about twelve hours. There's definitely still tannins to be seen, but it's certainly helped to make the water more clear! I don't want to do too much with the water changes because I'm just starting to cycle the tank, but I'll leave that in there and see how it's looking in a couple days. Hopefully it shouldn't be bad for plants?


----------



## Sweetgreenleaf1369

It won't hurt the plants any..


----------



## Robotunicorn

It took about 4 months to clear my water up. Constantly cleaning the carbon helped.


----------

