I bought a piece of driftwood and I was wondering what I should do with it before I put it in the tank.
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What do I do with my driftwood before putting it in the tank?
- Thread starter betsonmets12
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If you have a big enough pot then you can boil it. If its not malaysian driftwood it might have to soak for a long time before it sinks. I had some pieces that were to big so I put them under the shower of the hottest it would go and let it run for a while. I haven't had any problems since putting it in the tank.
Make sure you soak the driftwood long enough to get the tannins out. They are toxic to your fish!
I had a really big piece that I wanted to put in my 10 gallon, but it made me nervous to have that much driftwood in. Partial water changes are a must if you are unsure about the level of tannins in the wood. Of course, you can always soak it longer. Boiling it speeds the process up.
I had a really big piece that I wanted to put in my 10 gallon, but it made me nervous to have that much driftwood in. Partial water changes are a must if you are unsure about the level of tannins in the wood. Of course, you can always soak it longer. Boiling it speeds the process up.
Driftwood that you purchase at the LFS are not toxic to your fish (but they do make the water dark and scary-looking).
If small enough, put the wood in a big pot and boil it, changing the water every 15 minutes or so, until you don't see any brown water in the pot. It will probably still leach tannins into your tank, but many fish dig this (however dark water may cut down the lighting in your tank).
If small enough, put the wood in a big pot and boil it, changing the water every 15 minutes or so, until you don't see any brown water in the pot. It will probably still leach tannins into your tank, but many fish dig this (however dark water may cut down the lighting in your tank).
I have to dissagree with aquaristdave, tannins will not harm your fish in the least. The only problem, is that it will discolor your water, and some people don't like that. If you don't want it to disscolor your water, boil it for a while then dump the water and boil again, keep doing this until the water is relatively clear, this will also help waterlog the wood so it will sink. If it is to large to boil you can soak it in a garbage can or something and change the water in the can every other day or so, this will take considerably longer though. If it is too large to boil, then you can bake it to disinfect it before the soaking process.
for the likes of mopani wood i just clean it with hot water, it will leak tannins into the water and some cases for quite a while but it id not harmfull to your fish at all.
i dont mind the discolouration of the water but most people do.
as long as the wood is cleaned properly then your fine.
other forms of driftwood may need to be waterlogged as some float and this can take weeks if not months so you may have to weight it down with slate or other heavy decor
i dont mind the discolouration of the water but most people do.
as long as the wood is cleaned properly then your fine.
other forms of driftwood may need to be waterlogged as some float and this can take weeks if not months so you may have to weight it down with slate or other heavy decor