driftwood help?

Hawaii Predator

Hawaii Predator

_::::PREDATOR::::_
Jul 28, 2008
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Hawaii, Big Island
okay, so i have a planted 55 gallon tank and im wanting to go for the complete look, so i went ahead and bought two big branches of driftwood. (first time with wood in a tank) not sure what kind as the lfs workers said its "various". it is a very light brown color and isnt that heavy. i have soaked it in water for two days, seen no tannins at all then started to boil it. i boil it for about an hour then i change the water and repeat the process. i asked my father for some help and he suggested i soak it for 1 to 2 months to ensure there are amlost no tannins if any and itll make the wood sink so i dont have to anchor it down. i know tannins are not harmful to fish, but i have white sand and im planning on keeping it that color, plus brown water isnt too attractive to me, at least in my tank. so what should i do with the peices? ive boiled them for two days now and the shade of brown in the water is improving slightly every time an hour passes. should i have to soak it for that long? ive heard about products to reduce tannins, but theyre almost like bleach so thats a no for me. any suggestions?
 
Your driftwoods will continue leaching tannins over the years. Your only options are put carbon in your filter or do plenty of water changes to remove the tannins yellowing your water.
 
Lupin said:
Your driftwoods will continue leaching tannins over the years. Your only options are put carbon in your filter or do plenty of water changes to remove the tannins yellowing your water.
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thanks for your response.

through reading on the internet, i always thought that driftwood especially ones that have come from and have submerged in rivers for awhile have a limit to the amount of tannins that leech into your tank. so i assumed that with boiling and soaking the wood over a period of one to two months there would be very little, if any, discoloration and that i could eliminate this discoloration with the use of a Purigen sack in my filter.


an i wrong? or misenformed?

but thanks, hawaii predator.
 
Hawaii Predator said:
through reading on the internet, i always thought that driftwood especially ones that have come from and have submerged in rivers for awhile have a limit to the amount of tannins that leech into your tank.
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That is not necessarily true. I have several driftwoods that have been with me for the last seven years and they continue leaching tannins even up to this day although the amount of tannins leach does diminish over time.
 
alright, i cannot argue with lupin at all... don't want to. but i can say that i get my wood locally and free :). i do exactly what you're doing with all of it. the only thing i don't do is leave it in water... just boil. in my experience when i can boil it for over an hour with very little discoloration it is good to go. i see no yellow in my tanks and my water is always clear. it's all i have to do and works very well for me. i have wood that is over 4" thick in my living room tank and it's very clear.

i will say that i boiled that particular piece for about 3 days to get it to sink though. once it sank it was good to go! i didn't use any chemicals at all.

knowing somewhat the properties of wood i am quite sure that it will be leaching until it withers away to nothingness but like i said i don't see it so i'm happy :).
 
Lupin said:
That is not necessarily true. I have several driftwoods that have been with me for the last seven years and they continue leaching tannins even up to this day although the amount of tannins leach does diminish over time.
Click to expand...


wow, what kind of wood do you have in your tanks? is it really dense and dark? and what do you do for the discoloration besides what you have said? or do you like the yellowish/brown tint? and have you boiled or treated the wood prior to adding it in your tank? i just cant see how after getting it from a river and treating it, it can still leech for seven years, if it has been treated.

the problem with my wood is that its too big to fit in any of my pots that i have so i have to soak it half at a time and keep flipping it upside down. maybe 6 more days will do it? if not then ill just have to deal with the tannins. though im not too big a fan of the stained water look.

thanks for the responses. are there any products to speed up the process? nobody had mentioned then yet.
 
yeah a turkey fryer... the bigger pot really helps me!
 
Hawaii Predator said:
wow, what kind of wood do you have in your tanks? is it really dense and dark? and what do you do for the discoloration besides what you have said? or do you like the yellowish/brown tint? and have you boiled or treated the wood prior to adding it in your tank? i just cant see how after getting it from a river and treating it, it can still leech for seven years, if it has been treated.
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My aunt collected one from the beach. The others were from the shops when I took a vacation and bought them. They were freshly collected and unused. I boiled them several times already whenever I strip down my tanks to start over and they continue leaching tannins despite that. All my woods are dark and dense.lol It depends on the setup whether I like the tannins or not. I don't like it if it involves my snails, goldfish and planted tanks so I do water changes to remove it. Loaches in river setups suit well with tannins and I leave it alone. I'll never use activated carbon. Waste of a few bucks and I prefer it to other necessary equipments.
 
I have had wood that has leached a lot of tannins and Ive had pieces that didnt really release any tannins. All malaysian driftwood. Some pieces just leach more than others.
 
I just picked up a nice pc from LFS but was told it was Ironwood. anyone know anything about this type of wood? I hope it's ok - LFS had several pcs in different tanks. No tannins - water is crystal clear.
 
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