Hi all, I am looking to add tannins to 2 of my tanks. The first is to be a 36-gallon semi-aggressive community tank that will include angelfish, panda cories and some yet undetermined dwarf cichlids and perhaps dwarf gouramis. Is there good products to use, perhaps something that I can add to my filter or substrate. I have a new piece of driftwood that I added to my tank and it is turning the water a light tea colour. My second tank has 2 GBRs, 3 longfin Bronze Cories and a school of something to be added soon. How much tannin do I want to add? Is it just enough to colour the water or should it go really dark? anything else that I need to know? How often will I need to re-add the tannins1 to keep the water healthy ?Will the use of tannins change hard water to soft water? Is it inappropriate for any of my fish? DOes anyone have any fish suggestions to complete my tank?
When I do a black water aquarium I use this:https://www.bigalspets.com/kent-marine-black-water-expert.html?sku=15613 Follow the directions on the bottle. I have only done Amazon river/basin fish in black water, and most of the fish you list are Amazon fish.
It could help to include the tank size for your second aquarium. Maybe 3 more longfinned cories for your second tank? Tannins will lower your pH and make hardness drop. A tea colored tank (from driftwood) won't have a huge dip in either parameters and generally won't affect your fish (since most of what you listed don't require high pH). I don't know much about hardness requirements for those fish. Dwarf Gourami can handle water in the acidic side, so it can handle more tannins. Look to South American Dwarf Cichlids since those generally prefer acidic water. Avoid the African ones. Good luck.
Enough driftwood will keep your tank dark even with regularly scheduled water changes. Mopani and some of the other hardwoods will leach tannins for years.
All I use is Mopani. I have never soaked it and never had the water change color. I wonder if there are different kinds. I have gotten it from PetSmart, PetCo, on the web and a local shop. I do get it from the Herp section.
That is strange! Maybe there are different types, or different parts of the tree that produce more? I started using Purigen to clear my tanks as I am not a huge fan of super dark water. Within 24 hours it absorbs so much tannin that it turns the color of dark wood, and I have to recharge within a few days to keep it working. I started a new 5 gallon with two new big chunks and the same thing happened.
Sunhawk (my wife) just told me that we did in fact have one aquarium that did get dark from that wood many years ago, I just do not remember.
In addition to the driftwood, you can rip up an indian almond leaf into smaller pieces (they’re quite big) and stick them in the filter, I use it in my 20 gallon and it does a really good job. You do need to switch them out from time to time but they’re cheap.
