Mopani Wood

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Sausage

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Hi all,

I recently bought some Mopani wood which has stained my tank a rather unsightly brown colour. I have read up on the stuff and realised that it is best to soak for a couple of weeks or boil it. Well being inpatient i decided to boil it then soak it for a couple of days then plopped it in the tank. The wood looks great but the slight brown water is annoying me. Does anyone know how long it takes for the carbon foam to filter out the colour or even if the carbon can handle getting rid of all the colout staining?

Thanks in advance
 
Don't want to upset you ... but mine coloured the water for about two years, only solution other than what you have done is water changes ;) loads of them.

Paul.
 
Don't want to upset you ... but mine coloured the water for about two years, only solution other than what you have done is water changes ;) loads of them.

Paul.

Cheers for the depressing news. I had a feeling that would be the answer. Hmmm i guess i either live with the slight brown colour or replace it with a normal wood/rock like ornament. Shame the mopani woods looks awesome in the tank.
 
take it out and boil it a few more times, then add some carbon to the tank once the wood is reinserted.
 
If it makes you feel any better, I've heard that the fish enjoy the tannins. :)
 
I wouldn't worry with regular H2O changes it will be fine, mine is about 5yr old and still looks great - plenty of places now for the plecs to hide also.

Paul.
 
I wouldn't worry with regular H2O changes it will be fine, mine is about 5yr old and still looks great - plenty of places now for the plecs to hide also.

Paul.
Thanks guys i think i might persevere with this, it's a great decoration and the cory cats seem to love it.
 
Yes, some take them out and give them the boil and soak treatment in a bucket for an entire week or more, just leave it in the bucket and hit it with kettles of boiling water whenever you are home and have the time. Then, as said, after you get it back in the aquarium, just buy yourself a big box of carbon and switch a tray of carbon out every 3 days or so.

~~waterdrop~~
 
Hi all,

I recently bought some Mopani wood which has stained my tank a rather unsightly brown colour. I have read up on the stuff and realised that it is best to soak for a couple of weeks or boil it. Well being inpatient i decided to boil it then soak it for a couple of days then plopped it in the tank. The wood looks great but the slight brown water is annoying me. Does anyone know how long it takes for the carbon foam to filter out the colour or even if the carbon can handle getting rid of all the colout staining?

Thanks in advance
I recently added Mopani wood to my tank as well.

What I did first was soak it in hot water for exactly 2 weeks. After the first week of soaking it, I boiled it for about 1 day, then continued soaking it the rest of the second week.

After the two weeks were up, I boiled it for 3 days, then I soaked it again for another 2 days.

After that I put it in my tank, it barely died the tank at all. I just added fresh pouch of activated carbon, and 1 week later the tank was completely clear of tannins.

When boiling the wood, or putting it in hot water, the hot water opens the pores on the wood allowing for the tannins to get out. The hotter the water, the more the pores open, thus, the more tannins come out.

So after boiling it, you DO NOT want to add the wood immediately to your tank, because the pores will still be open a lot. Instead, put the wood in a bucket of water for a day that is at or around the same temperature of your tank water, I put a heater in the bucket with my wood in it. This will allow the pores to close in relation to the current temperature (the water is colder than boiling water), and since the water is at the same temp as your tank water, the pores will be open the same amount as they would be in your tank. Allowing for only a certain amount of tannins to get out. After all the tannins have got out of the wood with that temp, then no more tannins will come out, unless you boil it again.

And then like what waterdrop said, add some carbon for a week or so to get out the remaining tannins.

-FHM
 
Very few people on here will be using as much wood as me, or as many different types. I never pretreat or boil any types of wood that I use , yet my water stays crystal clear 100% of the time, from the moment all the wood is added. The answer is simple....Seachem Purigen! Give it a Google. :good:

Dave.
 
Very few people on here will be using as much wood as me, or as many different types

Lol there's a challenge I'd take you up on...

I do agree though, seachem purigen is awesome for clear water.
 
Heck, I just wish I had the -sources- for good wood like you've got over there in UK! Every time I look at the meager choices here in US/web I dispair of finding the "right look" for my tank (not that I'm going to quit looking :) ) .....and while I'm on the wish list, sigh, I wish I had my giant yankee basement back like when I was a kid and I'd have a "Dave Spencer" tank in a flash, complete with wood, purigen, powerheads and tons of plants! (I'm allowed to dream, right? :lol: )

~~waterdrop~~
 
Seachem Purigen! Give it a Google. :good:

Like waterdrop said, I wish there was stuff like that over here in the US. It says it works for six months! Do you really keep in in there that long? If so, it beats carbon hands down. :lol:

-FHM
 
It says it works for six months!

That totally depends on your tank. Mine only last about a month at most before it's full....however, it won't release what it's trapped back into the water no matter how long you leave it in the filter, unlike carbon and also unlike carbon it's rechargable as well...it's a bit of a pain to recharge in all honesty but well worth it.
 
It says it works for six months!

That totally depends on your tank. Mine only last about a month at most before it's full....however, it won't release what it's trapped back into the water no matter how long you leave it in the filter, unlike carbon and also unlike carbon it's rechargable as well...it's a bit of a pain to recharge in all honesty but well worth it.

Even one month, and it does not leak back into the tank.

Yup, that beats carbon for sure! :lol:

-FHM
 

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