My "new" 4ft tank

So not needed, and a waste of time, the tannins still gets released from the wood. just rinse the wood with boiling water, then place in tank and weigh it down with some rocks,....

 

well that saves me alot of time then

Sent from my S60 using Tapatalk

 

Its not a complete waste of time in my experience, though your milage may vary. I've found boiling driftwood does decrease the amount of tannins released as well as speed up the water logging process. That being said, I've had boiled pieces floating in my pool for several days before finally sinking. Like I said, you're mileage may very but I find its worth the extra effort. If your wife complains of the wood soup on your stove, tell her its extra fiber
If you find the tannins released causing your water to turn brown, which by the way is completely harmless to your fish, you can pick up some Seachem Purigen, will clear it right up

 

@Oldtimer .. a lot of advice has been given so im not going to repeat everything but... just one or two points that caught my attention...

Please.... wash your pool filter sand properly and dont just rely on a diy filter to clear the water
It might clear the water but apart from the dust mess, you dont know what else could be in the sand or what the sand could have been in contact with
Wash your sand very well to get rid of anything it could have come in contact with apart from just the dust....

You cant fill the tank, run the pump for a week and add fish
You have to cycle the tank
If you adding fish after a week, add Seachem Stability as per the directions on the bottle and add only a few fish to start
No charcoal in your filters while you cycling the tank with the stability
In fact, i never use charcoal at all.

As for the wood, I have found boiling does get rid of a LOT of the tanins and does help it to soak a little quicker as it opens the pores in the wood
This being said, it might not get rid of all the tanins and with mopani wood it certainly wont get rid of all the tanins but it does help to release a great deal making it easier to clear up the tank
The wood needs to be soaked, if you can for a week.. depending on the size, could take longer, before it will sink

When you fill the tank, it might sound over cautious but this is how we always do it even with a brand new tank, fill it over a two day period say a quarter at a time
This gives a chance to see that all is good and its not a sudden shock for the tank of its been standiing empty for a while

 

Thanks for this advice, I was going to buy sand this morning and just dump it in the tank and then start filling it......

I will heed your advice.

 

I have now found that some white marks on the outside of the tank just cannot be removed. I read up extensively and tried nearly every solution except pool acid to get the marks off. I tipped the tank over on its side and covered the marked panel with cloths and soaked it in vinager for around 18 hours then used new stanley blades to try and scrape it off. It is still there. Barring replacing that side panel or accidentally breaking the tank and replacing it with a new one I really do not know what e

 

Have u filled it up with water as a tester? A lot of the white stuff disappears under water. I see some videos of people using pool acid... i dont know if that is ok or not..
As for the sand Maria is 100% right, i took the lazy way out, but rather dont risk it
Maybe u should convince the wife to have a custom built tank foe that counter top

 

That custom built tank will end in a divorce. I'll have a fish tank and she will have a house......

The problem is the white stains are on the outside. I am going to fill it in any case and will see if the water makes it less obvious.

 

If they are on the outside then i dont see an issue witg using whatever chemical will work. Maybe wait for a few others to chip in..

 

My personal opinion if it is on the side panels its is not the end of the world , you could place that side of the tank towards the wall so it is out of the way..... dont worry about it. sure if it was on any of the front or rear panels then it is a issue...

 

The problem is that this tank will be exposed from both sides, it is sitting on a section of wall we broke out years ago between the Lounge and Dining room so you see both sides.

Just been to Pet and Pond and a brand new 4ft costs R1600-00, I think I will drag my feet setting up this one and then make a plan. the idea was always to set up the 4ft then get rid of the tank I now have. Could just as well get rid of both and use the money to buy a brand new one.

 

This is what the problem looks like. It is on one side only, which used to be painted black and it is on the outside only.

 

Just fill it , the water might make the marks less

 

I bought 8 buckets of black gravel yesterday and washed them as wellas I could before placing in my tank. I filled the tank with tap water and fitted the Dolphin c1600. The water was whitish and you could not see through it. I dosed it with seachem powder to remove chlorine and other stuff, cannot remember the name but it was something like 100mg per 100lt of water. It is cycling now and I will leave it until after the weekend before putting some fish in it. I will put decorations and plants and rocks in over weekend. Once the water is clear I will see how visible the white marks on the one side panel is and will then decide on the ling term future of this tank.

 

hello @Oldtimer you dont actually have to cycle this tank from scratch are you going to move filters and fish from smaller tank into this one? what are the plans.. do you have a internal filter which you can put some filter floss in to help polish the water... those dophin c1600 canisters are awesome, also got one in my planted 4 foot tank....

 

@Oldtimer ... What Seachem powder did you put in the tank?

Im sorry for asking but 100mg for 100l.... something doesn't sound right unless you using something I don't know about

 

was also thinking the same...

 

Saechem safe is like 1gm per 100 liters I use it myself....