Driftwood and Tanins

[slipgate]

So just how long will it take for a large piece of driftwood - about 30" and 4" diameter - take soaking in a bathtub to be ready to put in a 130g tank without changing the water color to "driftwood tea"?

It has been soaking for over a week with twice daily water changes.

 

[Rbishop]

It will vary actually depending on what type of wood it is and how old it is to begin with. Have seen some pieces take years, but the severity decreases over time.

 

[Liquid_Pyro]

apparently boiling water will leech the tannis out faster...

 

[TheFishBoss97]

+1 on above, boiling water worked great for me, but I only soaked mine for 4 days as even if I got tannins, I like the looks of the water then because it looks more natural.

 

[lethalcustoms00]

i agree,it depends on the wood. ive used cotonwood that takes 4-6 months in the tank with biweekly water changes to stop tinting water

 

[spencerguy1]

as RB said, it could take a very long time. if it takes too long, soak the wood until the tanins are out if you would like and then anchor it with heavy rocks, other driftwood, gravel, and silicone to the place where you want it. make sure the silicone is aquarium safe, though.

 

[discuspaul]

As others have said, it could take a long while - up to several months - large frequent wcs will dissipate it over a couple of months. A bag of Purigen in your filter, along with wcs, should clean it up very well in a couple of weeks.

 

[JamieB]

Purigen is Amazing!

Thanks to all who recommended this wonderful product! I bought some Purigen last week and in 3 days my water was crystal clear and remains crystal clear after 5 days with the products. I have a large piece of drift wood in my 90 gallon and the water has always had a yellow green tint from the natural tanins. I would change my water and the next day it would back to yellow /green and i used Purigen last week, it looks just as cyrstal clear and without the hassle of hooking up and taking down/cleaning the Diatom which i would do once a month . I truly cannot tell the difference as when i ran my diatom filter for 4-6 hours which was the only way to rid the yellow/green tint.:dance::dance:

 

[JamieB]

Thanks to all who recommended this wonderful product! I bought some Purigen last week and in 3 days my water was crystal clear and remains crystal clear after 5 days with the products. I have a large piece of drift wood in my 90 gallon and the water has always had a yellow green tint from the natural tanins. I would change my water and the next day it would back to yellow /green and i used Purigen last week, it looks just as cyrstal clear and without the hassle of hooking up and taking down/cleaning the Diatom which i would do once a month . I truly cannot tell the difference as when i ran my diatom filter for 4-6 hours which was the only way to rid the yellow/green tint.:dance::dance:

Although the purigen is a great product it will never replace my Diatom filter which has help kept my fish in very healthy state and the aquarium water crystal clear for the last twenty years.