Driftwood, expectations vs reality

Canadian Fish

I'm pretty sure all the new wood I purchased was Malaysian, which would explain why I never had tannin leakage despite not boiling. I'm amazed at what came out of the piece JDM boiled.

I have a super low PITA tolerance, God hasn't made a piece of wood nice enough to motivate me to boil it for 10 hours.

On the one hand, I want to say DON'T DRINK THE TEA! But another part of me is curious.

Boredomb

LoL don't drink the "Tea"!

Mopani wood is the only wood I know of that is two toned being darker on the bottom and lighter on the top. It does look pretty in and out of aquariums. Its just too risky for me to use now that I can get Malaysian wood. Malaysian wood is lighter out of the water then in the water.

Ogre44

I boiled some wood in a cast aluminum pot like that, and the inside was permanently stained.
I'd be prepared to break out the brillos were I you.
On the other hand, that's a sweet looking chunk of wood you've got there.

Mikaila31

I've used many types of wood including the same kind the OP has. Its been years since I ever bothered with boiling wood regardless of tannins. If a tank become tea colored or not I don't really care, a lot of SA fish do really like tannins and they are helpful.

JDM

I know that the tannins are not an issue for the fish, purely aesthetic for the people.

I actually scooped out some water into a white mug. It looked like a hot toddy! I was tempted just to taste, out of some weird curiosity, but I resisted. The tea remains untasted. I would imagine that it would be unbelievably bitter. Interestingly there is an ad for Lipton green tea in my sidebar right now. Contextual advertising or what.

I will probably put another smaller piece of wood in even if only as a counter point to this behemoth (relative to the tank size) and to compare between the two. Something leaning against the side in the rear corner, nice hidy hole space

Seeing as I am upgrading to the double bright light I am not as concerned with some discolouration of the water causing low light levels to be too low at the carpet plant level.

Jeff.

Nilet699

Just as a side note I'm oddly wanting very much right now to know what tannins tastes like. Next piece of wood, I'll let you know.

JDM

I still have some weak tea sitting in the pot... But I think I'll just pour myself a scotch. I'll let you know if I get curious enough.

Jeff.

fish monger

Jeff, I actually thought you were talking about PETA. Of course, that would have been PETD. It took a lot to admit that. It's been a long week.

JDM

Hilarious!

People for the Ethical Treatment of Driftwood.

I like my acronyms to not have extraneous words, those PETA characters don't have a great acronym. 5 letters for 7 words is terribly inefficient.

Jeff.

JDM

Nope, not going to get curious enough.

"Tannins may give a tangy or tart aftertaste to water. They may also cause water to have a musty or earthy odor."

That's good enough for me.

Back to enjoying my scotch.

Jeff.