mopani wood

[ductTAPE]

soak em til the water stops turning brown

 

[green_fox]

taninns ad an authentic look to your tank but carbon gets it gone quick the colour that is

 

[dchaos52]

I just soak mine in a bathtub for 4-5 days, and it doesn't leak any tannins.

 

[247Plants]

i miss the lovely brown color my wood used to give my water
want to get more smaller pieces just to turn the water brown again

You can use peat in your filter to do the same thing.

 

[blazer301]

I picked up a piece of mopani from my LFS. I boiled the water in two separate pans and then poured the water over the wood into a $1 mop bucket I picked up from the thrift store. After about 3-4 weeks of soaking in the boiling water 1 to 2 times a day, it stopped leaching so many tannins. Eventually, the water ended up clear after each boiling, so I stopped doing that. I let it soak now in extremely hot tap water for 3 days and the water is still clear. I noticed the sap stuck to the sides of the bucket and realized it was a good choice to use that instead of the pans

 

[Moloch]

I've been soaking mine for about 2 weeks now. Not sure what type of wood it is though. Its still turning the water brown but not nearly as bad. I can't boil it in anything I've got so I've done the 'pour boiling water into a bucket' method once or twice with it, but for the most part I'm too lazy so it just gets scalding tap water.

For the first few days I was changing the water every couple hours, then once or twice a day, now once a day at most but I usually forget about it for a day or two in between. As my tank that its going in gets closer to completing the nitrogen cycle I'll probably start being a little more active about trying to boil out the rest of the tannins.

I tried putting it in the tank after a week when it looked like it was leeching considerably less tannin into the bucket, but it still turned my tank a tea-colored brown. I think it could be a pretty cool effect anyways, but the wife thinks it disgusting...she likes to play a little game called 'i win,' so I'm still soaking tannins out

 

[blazer301]

I ended up buying a filter bag and some loose carbon media to help remove/absorb any excess tannins that may leach out over time. I will be using it with the regular filtration I have going. As a suggestion, you could go that route before you get your tank cycled so you can put your driftwood in. I've read that the carbon does absorb the tannins (which only lowers the pH of your water), but it will stop absorbing tannins eventually, so change it out once in a while for good measure. You could also play the "I win" game this way and succeed

I'm still waiting to throw mine in the tank possibly tomorrow. I have a 10g in mid-cycle. I figured it would be good to get it in there asap just in case it affects the cycling. Also, I hope this method gets rid of the small oil-like sheen spots on the top of the water as well. I'm not too sure if those are hazardous although I've read that they aren't in a different forum.

 

[Nozebleed]

when you boil it...add some tonic salt.

 

[Dark Jester]

I didn't boil or soak my piece of Mopani and it hasn't leeched any Tannin into the water yet after 6 weeks. It's about an 18" x 12" x 4" piece in a 20 Long tank. I thought about it after I put it in, but it sank like a stone and hasn't colored the water at all yet. I probably wouldn't care if it did tint the water a bit though.

 

[Moloch]

I ended up buying a filter bag and some loose carbon media to help remove/absorb any excess tannins that may leach out over time. I will be using it with the regular filtration I have going. As a suggestion, you could go that route before you get your tank cycled so you can put your driftwood in. I've read that the carbon does absorb the tannins (which only lowers the pH of your water), but it will stop absorbing tannins eventually, so change it out once in a while for good measure. You could also play the "I win" game this way and succeed

I'm still waiting to throw mine in the tank possibly tomorrow. I have a 10g in mid-cycle. I figured it would be good to get it in there asap just in case it affects the cycling. Also, I hope this method gets rid of the small oil-like sheen spots on the top of the water as well. I'm not too sure if those are hazardous although I've read that they aren't in a different forum.

I have that same crap on the top of my water, I've been wondering what it is. When I test the water some of it actually gets in the test tubes, its a tangible substance whatever it is.

I'm fine waiting for the wood to finish leeching though. I do enjoy the clear water. I think my bichir's would look pretty baller in some brownish water, but I'd rather have sparkly clear for the jack dempsey, and since he right now is the 'pretty centerpiece' I'll try and keep it sparkly clear