Bogwood And Gallons; Us Or Uk

[TheChards]

Hi all,

Firstly, I bought a small bit of bogwood at the weekend (along with a couple of rocks and some plants) which I had intended to add to my tank at the same time as the rocks and plants. I boiled it several times but the brown stuff just keeps leaking out of it. I've been bringing it to the boil and letting it simmer for at least an hour or so every day since Saturday but the water still looks horrible. When will it be safe to add to the fish tank without it discolouring the water? Do I need to keep boiling it until the water looks relatively clear after boiling?

And secondly, when people talk about tank capacities in gallons, are they usually talking about US gallons or UK gallons? I have a 120-litre tank which is either 26 UK gallons or 32 US gallons. This is a big difference. If I was stocking this tank by the one inch per gallon rule I could either be over-stocking or under-stocking by 6 inches or around 15cm of fish which could be very significant.

Many thanks,
Dan

 

[saltynay]

It will always lead to slight discolouration try putting it in a bucket outside and way it down change the water every 12 hours (within convenient limits to your schedule ofcourse) and it should be fine within half a week to a week. tannins are actually good for some fish and causes them to spawn and can act as a general tonic improving water quality. Once put back in the tank run some carbon in your filter for a while.

I go by UK gallons. The one inch per gallon rule is not an exact science it depends on filtration and maturity of a tank. Start off with around 5" of fish then a week later add a few more keep doing this until you reach your 26" limit. Don't forget to work it out by max size of the adult fish not the juevinile size. Once you are more experienced and stocked up at the 1" per gallon rule with stable conditions then you can possibly start increasing again but remember being slow is key! Some of the more experienced and heavily filtered tanks owned by members here are at 2" per gallon but as your a begginner slow and steady wins the race.

 

[greenscooby]

Hi there, i recently asked the same question about bogwood, and was told that the tannins can leach for about a year, i soaked mine in a bucket of boiling water for about 4 days - changing the water 2 - 3 times per day and giving it a good scrub on every water change, the first 'boil' is only needed to get rid of any 'nastys' that may be lurking in or your wood, i've put mine in the tank now and it's still leaching tannins, BUT i must admit it does look quite good and some plants and fish like it (it won't do either any harm at all), it's just a matter of taste, and if your not keen on tea coloured water then a few extra water changes will help clear the water.

As for the 1 inch per gallon, it's US gallons, and thats only to start of with, when your tank is mature - 6-8months(ish) this can be upped to 2 inches per US gallon. Someone with more experience will correct me if i'm wrong.


Hope this helps,

Mark.

 

[Schmill]

Hi,

BOGWOOD:

What worked well for me was doing the same as you, boiling it, then leaving it in the hot water, chuck it away when it gets too dark, then boil again...
The thing to remember is that the boiling water will generally pull the colour out faster than the tank water anyway. After boiling the wood a few times put it into a bucket of warm water instead and see if you get much colour coming out. If you don't then it will be fine in the tank.
Not sure if you know or not, but the colour isn't harmful anyway, it's just that we generally don't like seeing it in our tanks

GALLONS:

For some reason pretty much everything in the aquatic world seems to be in Litres and US gallons

 

[TheChards]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it is very much appreciated.

I have read about stocking according to 1cm of fish per Litre of tank capacity which seems much easier to go by as it avoids any discepencies between US/ UK gallons. Does anybody else use this?

 

[backtotropical]

If I use gallons, I always state which I am referring to. Saves any confusion.

 

[Davo86]

Thanks for all the advice guys, it is very much appreciated.

I have read about stocking according to 1cm of fish per Litre of tank capacity which seems much easier to go by as it avoids any discepencies between US/ UK gallons. Does anybody else use this?

in a 100L tank for example going by the litre per cm method you would obviously have 100cm/40" of fish
but in the same tank going by the inch per gallon method you are only looking at 26 inches of fish (only 66cm)

Personally I recommend going by the inch per gallon method for the first 6 months as this is the time when most problems will occur,
it also makes sure the filters are fully matured before the stocking gets too near to full capacity.

After the initial 6 months going to 1cm per litre or even 1.5" or 2" per gallon is acceptable provided filtration and maintenance is good

 

[Miss Wiggle]

the 'rules' such as " per gallon and watts per gallon are all calculated on US Gallons, however it is helpful to just state which one you are talking about in your posts for the avoidance of doubt!

 

[TheChards]

Thanks for your contributions everyone! Hopefully the following conclusions are correct:

- The Tannins contained by Bogwood are not harmful (and may even be beneficial to some fish and plants) but are boiled out to prevent the water from changing colour
- Regularly leaving the Bogwood to soak in boiling water 2 or 3 times a day for up to a week should be enough to get rid of most of the Tannins
- Even after boiling, the Bogwood may still leak Tannins into the tank water but the effect of this can be reduced by regularly changing the water

- It's always best to make sure you state whether you're using US gallons or UK gallons
- The “Inch per Gallon" rule should be applied using US gallons rather than UK gallons and should be used when first stocking a tank
- The “Inch per Gallon" rule can be stretched to 1.5" or 2" per (US) gallon after the tank has been cycled for at least 6 months provided water parameters are very good and the tank is well looked after

Many thanks,
Dan

 

[Craster]

For bogwood, I'd say soaking is more important than boiling - you say that you're boiling once a day but then only leaving for an hour. I'd say that you've boiled it enough, now you want to leave it for a significant period to soak - several days at least, replacing the water every 12 hours or so.

The wife hates the fact that the bath is often taken up with soaking bogwood for days on end.

 

[Davo86]

Best thing is to buy redmoor/sumatra wood which does not leak tannins into the water and IMO looks far better

Even with things like Mopani I simply boil it once and leave it for around 3-4 hours and then add it to the tank, The tannins soon fade and the fish seem to get a sense of calm from them