Need help with driftwood!

[awsomebichir]

i got a nice peice of malaysian driftwood and i was wondering how long i should boil it ? I know it has something like tannin in it....my water is soft and i have mostly amazon fish , and fish that came from the congo river..what should i do ? please help

 

[awsomebichir]

anyone?

 

[sostoudt]

do you want tanins?
if not just boil until it no longer turns the water brown. it may take a couple of cycles of replacing the water

 

[awsomebichir]

yes but not to much of it..will water changes get rid of it and will carbon get rid of it

 

[crisper]

The only thing it will do is turn your water a slight yellow brown color. But it will be fine for your fish. The color can be removed with waterchanges and filtration with polyfiber and carbon.

 

[sostoudt]

yes but not to much of it..will water changes get rid of it and will carbon get rid of it

yes water changes will, and carbon will help.

its been my expierence even after boiling the wood will still release small amounts of tanins into the water for years. if you dont want alot i would boil it.

 

[awsomebichir]

k thanks so much..i was kind of scared..

 

[sostoudt]

k thanks so much..i was kind of scared..

yes the tanins dont hurt any thing they may drop your ph a lil tho. alot of fish like tanins, it will stimulate spawning in some species

 

[awsomebichir]

k thanks so much

 

[sostoudt]

i just thought of something, if you decide you want alot of tanins i would still dip the driftwood in boiling water for a few minutes to kill any bacteria or parasites that may becoming from someones tank or wild