Bogwood (How) ?

[mattbleasby]

Hey guys

And so begins my question's

OK so around a month ago i picked up a large piece of Bogwood for my tank thats currently cycling for the middle of may. But as it goes its not in the tank and im not really sure what too do with it.

Obviosly when i put it in the tank it should float and will tan the water like crazy. So...

In tank: Should i put it in the tank now. should i be running the filter 247... if im running the filter should there be media in it? or will this ruin the media...

Out of tank: I have a large bin outside in the garden thats currently full of algae and stale water If i empty out the bin and scrub it am i ok too fill this with straight from the hose cold water and keep flushing it for the next 2 weeks untill its stop's tanning so that i can then put it straight into the tank without any tan and let it cycle for a further 4 weeks before the fish fun begins on this new project

Any advice is greatly taken onboard im really unsure on this. i dont want to stain my tank or ruin the filter or filter media.

Thank's in advance.

 

[dabhoy]

Hey guys

And so begins my question's

OK so around a month ago i picked up a large piece of Bogwood for my tank thats currently cycling for the middle of may. But as it goes its not in the tank and im not really sure what too do with it.

Obviosly when i put it in the tank it should float and will tan the water like crazy. So...

In tank: Should i put it in the tank now. should i be running the filter 247... if im running the filter should there be media in it? or will this ruin the media...

Out of tank: I have a large bin outside in the garden thats currently full of algae and stale water If i empty out the bin and scrub it am i ok too fill this with straight from the hose cold water and keep flushing it for the next 2 weeks untill its stop's tanning so that i can then put it straight into the tank without any tan and let it cycle for a further 4 weeks before the fish fun begins on this new project

Any advice is greatly taken onboard im really unsure on this. i dont want to stain my tank or ruin the filter or filter media.

Thank's in advance.

I cant say if the colouring of the water will harm any bacteria or not as Im new at this.
I am cycling a tank at the boment and have in place a good sized piece of bogwood which I soaked a few times to remove most of the colouring before placing in my tank and had very little colouration of the water.
I would also say I had no problem with it floating while soaking it as it sunk like a stone but that is what I thought would happened with it being classed as bogwood.

 

[The Taffy Apple]

Hi there..i very recently (last week) completed my fishless cycle on my 110L tank. When i set up the tank, i bought a 50cm piece of bogwood. All i done was let it soak all afternoon out the back in a bucket, changing the water every 30 mins, then give it a good final rinse with my hose pipe.That was no-where NEAR enough cleaning required if i wanted to avoid tannis. I have since learnt that even boiling the bogwood (which, along with drilling into it for whatever reason) only gives off more tannis in the long-run.

My water (during it's cycle) went the colour of 'very weak tea' on a couple of occasions, 2/3 substantial water changes cleared it up, but it does come back. It has since been 6 days since my 100% water change prior to adding my first fish and the water is very slowly , but surely, going back to an ever so slight tannis (i expect it to look like weak tea again within 2/3 weeks).

I am going to live with it. It is a fantastic piece of wood, which took me ages to choose, and i like it being the centrepiece of my tank...so that is how it shall stay. I really love the effect of natural amazonian water, so i intend to chose my fish around that fact and effect in the future!

So you either accept it and style your tank around the tannis effect (which, incidentally, looks fantastic at night with low lighting) or you carry out weekly water changes to get the crystal clear water you desire, but either way, if you love how the piece of wood look likes in your tank, then stick with it!

Regards,
Terry.
PS- i even tried using bags of carbon in my external filter to get rid of the initial tannis. They didn't work at all during the cycle of my tank, but i think they may help once alot of the tannis has gone, but from what i have read on here it could take years if even at all!

####EDIT#### see the link in my signature for a picture of my bogwood.

 

[mattbleasby]

Thanks for your fast reply. I cant wait to see it in the tank and running its an awesome piece of bogwood ill have to get some snaps and get it up on here for you all too see.

But what im looking for is wether or not it will harm my tank if i soak the bogwood outside for a couple of weeks then place it in the tank. or if i just wash it out now then put it in the tank... and should the filter be running during this process... will it harm the filter with the murky water and i guess tiny pieces of wood or will it be fine... Should i use a spare filter media in this while doing it?

or am i best doing it outside. Hope this makes sense

Thanks

 

[jaylam]

I but some bogwood in my nan's tank and it leached tanning for ages. In the end I took it out, soaked it in hot water overnight then replaced the water with fresh. I done this for 3 nights and no more tanning.

 

[mattbleasby]

Ok mate. Do you think it would be OK for me too keep it outside? im just worried about things taking hold of it that may cause an issue in my tank?

 

[jaylam]

Ok mate. Do you think it would be OK for me too keep it outside? im just worried about things taking hold of it that may cause an issue in my tank?

It will be ok, I did the same. Put it in a bucket of hot water in the garden and changed the water for 3 nights then just gave it an hour soak in RO water before putting it in the tank

 

[mattbleasby]

Did this get rid of most of the tan... I dont mind having a little there as its going to be cycling first until mid may. so plenty of time for it to go

but just dont want to do any damag to either the filter if i do it in the tank or risk hurting the fish if i put it straight from the garden bin thing into the tank

Thanks for your advice mate. ill get it sorted tommorow :

 

[waterdrop]

I don't think you'll have any problems from having it soaking outdoors. Lot's of us do it. It is reasonable if you've left it a long time out there (I have one that's been out for a year on the back patio) to perhaps take a brush to it to get various algae off and to help you look it over for bugs or such, but a close examination should uncover most possible problems I'd think. Individual pieces of wood vary wildly in how long they'll continue to leach, and of course not only is it harmless, some think it is actually healthy for some species.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[jaylam]

Did this get rid of most of the tan... I dont mind having a little there as its going to be cycling first until mid may. so plenty of time for it to go

but just dont want to do any damag to either the filter if i do it in the tank or risk hurting the fish if i put it straight from the garden bin thing into the tank

Thanks for your advice mate. ill get it sorted tommorow :

No it still leached a very small amount but no where near as much as before.

 

[moochy13]

personally, i would give it the usual boil and scrub, then put it in the tank. the warm water is much more effective i think at removing the tannin. i fish in cycled with 3 bits of wood in, and it kept going tea coloured for about a month, though i quite liked it and it didnt affect my cycle. only thing different is that i was obviously doing lots of water changes as i was fish in cycling, so the tea stained water was being removed/diluted 2 or 3 times a week. also, as youre fishless cycling, you will have the temp higher than normal, which should help leach the wood even quicker.

 

[mattbleasby]

I think ill get it in the bin outside. et that scrubbed in a couple of hours, and get it all sorted that way i can have it outside for a couple of weeks before starting the cycle

Thanks for all your advice guys Ill get some snaps and get them uploaded once i have done it

 

[jkilby]

I put my large piece of bogwood in a bucket, left it soaking for a week on the side in the kitchen, no water changes or anything like that. I removed it a week later (lots of critters had come out the wood and promptly drowned) and popped it in the tank and then started the cycle and at no point did it leach anything into the water.

 

[Tizer]

it all depends on the wood, some leak for months, some get presoaked by the lfs for months and go into your tank with little leakage. All bar one piece of wood i have put in my tank have been fine. The most recent piece was a large piece of oak bogwood and that has discoloured my tank a fair bit. I've put filter wool into the filter and done a few water changes to clear it up and its looking quite natural now. I dont mind a slightly tanned water, it looks natural and is super good for the fishies.

 

[Skins]

I have a large piece in one of my outside water butts, when i drain off any of the water i put it on my acid loving plants.

Keith.