Drift wood

[Raydee]

I got a nice peice if drift wood from a friend the other day and he says it was in his tank about a year ago. I want to boil it in a pot but how long should I boil it for?

[cdawson]

Boil it for about 2 hours, that did it for mine. However change the time depending on it's size.

[Raydee]

Well I boiled it last night for a few hours and the water was brown! I dumped the water and I am going to boil it again today and see if the water is brown again. Does that sound normal?

[beviking]

yup. unless you want your tank to have a brown color, keep boiling the wood and changing the water until it isn't brown anymore.

[cdawson]

Originally posted by Raydee
Well I boiled it last night for a few hours and the water was brown! I dumped the water and I am going to boil it again today and see if the water is brown again. Does that sound normal?

It will do that for awhile, just keep changing the water in the tank until it goes away.

[Dangerdoll]

out of curiosity, should it be bleeding so much tannis(sp?) if it was in someone's tank once before?

[Raydee]

I thought the same! I really don't know what to say but I boiled it a few times and it still was turning the water brown. I put it in my tank tonight and so far so good.

[cdawson]

I've got a piece in one of my tanks and it hasn't even turned the water a tea colour yet (which wouldn't hurt my tank because it would be the natural habitat of all my fish), of course it's been 2 weeks and it hasn't sunk yet either.

[beviking]

Some people like the tannin stained water look. Some fish (most?) prefer it too. Could be it was never boiled to remove them or the attempt was short lived.

[OrionGirl]

Tannins will persist within the wood for a long time, especially if no effort is made to remove them. I have several chunks that don't leach now, but did leach tannins for 3-4 years. If I were to boil them, I am sure the water would be brown--that hot water will bring more of them out than the temp in my tank.