# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Tea colored water



## magicmagni (Aug 19, 2004)

Hi everyone.

I just set up a DW style tank with 1" layer of dirt and 3" layer of pea gravel a few weeks back. The tank was crystal clear the first two days, but has been getting darker and darker like a strong tea. I have done 80% water changes twice now to help clear this out, and while it lightens up a bit it gets dark again within a few days.

I went out and put a "quick filter/ power head combo to help clear this out, but it has been running now for a week and still the same thing. I have also added carbon to the filter now for about 2 weeks now and nothing either. Anyone have suggestions other than get rid of the dirt and start all over- although I'm getting close to this.

Jeff


----------



## imported_shalu (Feb 13, 2004)

Jeff, just curious, what kind of "dirt" did you put in it?


----------



## imported_Ronin (May 19, 2005)

It depends. Yeah, I know that was real helpful, sorry







.

I'm far from experienced but I will hazard a post here. What do you mean by pea gravel. If it is the larger stuff used in landscaping that is sold as pea gravel it may be too large. You know, leaving a lot of space for the soil to come through. It may not make a difference. If your gravel is small it should eventually clear up.

I set my tank up with a one inch layer of potting soil under a one inch layer of the smallest gravel I could find here. It got pretty dark but then cleared up in about 3-4 weeks.

Hang in there. If your set up works you have several types of algae coming your way if your begining setup went like mine.

Good luck, with which ever you choose. Stay the course or scrap and start over.


----------



## Avenolpey (Jun 28, 2005)

Jeff, do you have any fish in the tank now. If not, I did a simultaneous syphon and fill until my water cleared. I have several large pieces of driftwood so eventually the tea color is prominant, but I have a bag of carbon now that seems to help.


----------



## whiskey (Oct 9, 2004)

I had this problem big time when I started my first tank, it went BLACK, I found the soil I used was not the best choice. 

I do have this problem when I start up any new tank with potting soil, I change 99% of the water daily until it stays clear for a day or too then start using carbon and change the water when it gets the yellow look. This does not need to be done for very long but if you leave the yellow water in there it does not seem to clear up.

HTH
Whiskey


----------



## MyraVan (Feb 13, 2005)

I have two DW style tanks. The first one I started in February with 1" of topsoil from the garden centre (with a couple of handfuls of compost) plus 1" or gravel. That one used to get dark yellow quite fast, and by the time of my weekly waterchange it was pretty yucky. Now the water is still yellow, but not very dark yellow (I still do weekly waterchanges though). 

The other tank I started up in May, with 1" of a 50-50 mix of aquatic soil from the garden center and the same topsoil I used before. This must have much less organic matter in it, because the water has never got to be dark yellow, but is a sort of gentle, friendly yellow. (If that makes any sense.) This aquatic soil is real soil, not kiln fired, and it's meant to be used by pond people to pot up lilies and so on. It doesn't seem to be available in the US.

So, yeah, it's very dependent on the type of soil used, and even if it's bad it will eventually get better as the organic matter decays.


----------



## Mark Spencer (Apr 19, 2004)

My understanding is that tea colored water is usually a sign of tannins leaching in the water which can come from bogwood or the soil. The more acidic the water the more leaching. You didn't mention your pH.
This past weekend I redid my 72 gallon tank with 1 1/2 inches of potting soil overlaid with a Eco-Complete and fluorite. So far the water is crystal clear. The pH is currently 8.4 which probably explains the lack of yellowing of the water.


----------



## magicmagni (Aug 19, 2004)

Thanks for the input everyone. The Soil used was some cheap stuff I got at Kmart. It was was called hydroponix if memory serves me right. No inorganic ferts. Just plain cheap soil, but I did note that it had manure in it. The gravel is really quite small. Smaller than the standard gravel you'd get a Petco or something. Probably around 3-5mm in size. I believe it is commonly used in cement mixtures.

Unfortunately the tank is heavily stocked so I can't do the continuous water change thing. The fish don't seem to mind the dark water though. They are doing great. PH is around 7.0

This tank looks just like a tank with tannins in it- like from driftwood. I'm assuming that's what it is. I have access to a uv sterilizer. Does anyone know if that would be effective in clearing this? Shouldn't the carbon absorb the discoloration too? Maybe I am not using enough? The filter is a Fluval 404. I have only 1 basket full of carbon currently. Perhaps I should fill another one? Maybe there is something better than carbon? I think for now I'm going to add more carbon to the filter and do 80% weekly water changes until this subsides.


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Activated carbon will remove the clear yellow or tea-colored humic acids. Filter floss will not.

You may just need to use more carbon or change it more often the first few months. Eventually, the soil will settle down.

I don't see humic acids as a problem. After all, Discus breeder pay good money for humic acids bottled as "Black Water Extract".


----------



## imported_shalu (Feb 13, 2004)

> but I did note that it had manure in it


I once used 100% Home Depot steer manure blend to pot up some terrestial plants. I can tell you that with every watering, lots of dark brown tanning leaches out.


----------



## magicmagni (Aug 19, 2004)

> Originally posted by Diana Walstad:
> I don't see humic acids as a problem. After all, Discus breeder pay good money for humic acids bottled as "Black Water Extract".


Anyone want to buy some Black water? I'll give you a good deal LOL









Yeah I'm just going to up the carbon and see what happens. Thanks everyone.


----------

