[Wet Thumb Forum]-Is yellow water normal w/ soil substrate?

[skylsdale]

I just setup a 30 gal last night with an inch of potting soil (generic from Wal-Mart, and a few handfuls of Miracle-Gro I had leftover from last season) plus an inch of gravel over the top of it. When I filled the tank up, it's wasn't cloudy at all. However, this morning the water had a definite yellowish tint to it. Is this staining by tannins in the soil? I do have some pieces of bogwood in there, but they have long lost most of their tannins.

Any ideas?

______________________________
It's biotope, not biotype.

[skylsdale]

I just setup a 30 gal last night with an inch of potting soil (generic from Wal-Mart, and a few handfuls of Miracle-Gro I had leftover from last season) plus an inch of gravel over the top of it. When I filled the tank up, it's wasn't cloudy at all. However, this morning the water had a definite yellowish tint to it. Is this staining by tannins in the soil? I do have some pieces of bogwood in there, but they have long lost most of their tannins.

Any ideas?

______________________________
It's biotope, not biotype.

[Jo]

Yup, it's quite possible thats the cause.

Sometimes my newer tanks will have a slight yellow tinge but after the plants start to grow it goes away.

Are you sure the wood isnt the cause?

I've never use Miracle Grow in my tanks though...hmm..

Octopusses ate my gooses while the mooses ate my cheese!

[imported_Sue]

peatmoss in the soil will tint the water. If it bugs you run some charcoal in the filter.

[dwalstad]

The yellowish color is from tannins and humic acids, which are natural breakdown products of decomposing plant matter. They're totally harmless. In fact, they act as iron chelators and help provide iron to plants. You can expect to see this for a few months until the soil "settles down".

As the other hobbyist noted, carbon will remove the color, if it bothers you.

Diana Walstad