DIY driftwood not leaching tannis?

[JasonR]

Hey guys, first post. I picked up this gnarly piece of driftwood on a walk today near a canal and boiled it for about an hour and a half. Its been in a bucket for a couple of hours and the water is still perfectly clear. It was really dried out, is this normal?

I threw it in my tank and so far it seems fine, no discoloration.

Heres a couple pics:

Does anyone recognize the wood? It seems pretty soft and already is sinking.

 

[leighasnana]

That's a gorgeous piece. I'm not sure if all wood leaches tanins. I boiled some not long ago and mine didn't. A piece from the petstore did. I do know that soft wood isn't recommended for tanks because it rots in the tank. If it was too soft I can't see it sinking though. Mine's been in my tank about a month and I'm still weighing it down.

I have no clue what type of wood you have. All I've learned so far is that you need to take off the bark and sterilize it and that it shouldn't leak sap or be soft wood. I'd leave it there and if it starts to fall apart or grow moldy take it out.

 

[Bk718]

Great find. Looks great.
make sure that the wood is dead on the inside if not it will start to grow fungus.

 

[Rbishop]

Some types of wood, properly dried will not leach any tannins. A lot of stuff sold out there today is not true drift wood.

 

[Notophthalmus]

Looks like it might be grapevine, in which case you might have mold problems. Cross that bridge when you come to it, I guess. It is a nice piece.

 

[Cory Keeper]

yeah, thats grapevine, you should remove it ASAP before you DO have mold problems.