Bought new decor wood for tank

Chris7

I bought a new peice of drift wood from the aquarium store today, should I boil it or just soak it before putting it into my tank? And how long?

GwenInNM

If it's mopani wood you'll want to boil like crazy to get some of the tannins out that will darken your water. There is not positive information here regarding this type of wood. Prone to toxic fungus.

If you got malaysian wood, that is great stuff. I've boiled mine just briefly to clean it of any garbage that may/may not be on it from the travels it takes to get to petstore.

If the wood is just too big for a pot, pour boiling water over it.

Gwen

MinaMinaMina

I'm also a proponent of boiling all DW before it goes into a tank. And ditto on the pouring, if it doesn't fit in a pot. Both help remove tannins (if you don't want those) and I feel it helps sterilize it a bit to reduce the change of introducing something harmful into your tank. But I'd also like to add that there is another, slower process for removing tannins, though it doesn't clean the DW. For this, you just soak it in water, and keep changing the water. And changing. And changing. Hot water is quickest, but whatever works. You can even put the wood in the tank of the toilet for a while (as long as you don't add chemicals to the toilet tank water), and the constant change of water every time the toilet is flushed with help leach your DW.

Three of my tanks are blackwater, so I don't try to leach the tannins out before adding the DW to the tank. But I am currently doing hot water soaks on a large piece of DW because its going into a clearwater tank. Its a process, but I'm trying to learn some patience. Good luck!

Chris7

It is Mopani wood, I should have read a little more about it before buying it. I paid $25 for that damb piece of wood! But I still plan on putting it in my tank after I boil it for a few hours then soak it even longer in a bucket and hope that gets rid of most of the tannins!

MinaMinaMina

You can't return it or exchange it?

brokenrules69

the LPS near me sells drift wood that is already boiled and sunken

i went foraging in a river near me and found a sick peice of red oak i have been trying to sink it for abour 3 months now it will not sink!!

i boil it about once a week do water changes in the 20gal tank im sinking it in once a week to with and every time i do a water change i fill it with boiling water (i tied it to a rock with fishing line in the tank )

any tips minaminamina???

Chris7

I can't find the bill!

MinaMinaMina

I'm sad to say- some wood takes forever to sink, some wood never sinks. You clearly have more patience than I, because I only tried sinking a piece for two weeks before I gave up and drilled it and attached it to a piece of slate. You could do that too, I could tell you how. Some people even drill a hole on the underside of the wood and fill it with cement to make it sink.

Anyway, lemme know if you want me to explain how to attach wood to slate to make it sink.

MinaMinaMina

Some places will let you exchange it without a receipt. It might be worth a shot! The worst they can say is "no".

Chris7

Mina I've been reading about this wood and I'am going to try it, I love the look of it! I will just boil the heck out of it and then soak it for a few weeks before putting it in my tank, I think it will look awesome with some java ferns growing on it.