Bogwood Should I Get Some?

[marieukxx]

I have Platys and 1 female Betta. My PH is high at 7.4 I've heard people mention Bogwood on here, what exactly does it do? What are the benefits? Is it a good idea to have some? What do I do with it.

I heard it turns the water brown, does it make the tank look bad?

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions.

 

[leecasey]

I have Platys and 1 female Betta. My PH is high at 7.4 I've heard people mention Bogwood on here, what exactly does it do? What are the benefits? Is it a good idea to have some? What do I do with it.

I heard it turns the water brown, does it make the tank look bad?

Thanks to anyone who can answer my questions.

This is how I understand it:

Bogwood is completely cosmetic or for hiding places etc. It can leak tannins, turning your water like a weak cup of tea. Some people believe that this is actually good for the fish but from what I understand there is no proof of it being beneficial or harmful. There are steps you can take to reduce or maybe completely stop the discolouring of your water, such as leaving the wood to soak for a long period of time (days), constantly refreshing the water until it no longer stains it.

I have two very large pieces of bogwood in my tank at the moment, I've tried soaking, scrubbing etc but it still stains my water. I am now considering other alternatives.

Hope this helps and apologise if any of my information is inaccurate. Fairly new to the hobby/obsession!

 

[fluttermoth]

Sorry lee, but your post is mostly inaccurate.

It is true that bogwood leaches tannins but there is a lot of evidence that fish, at the very least, prefer it, even if it hasn't been scientifically proved that it has health benefits.
Some of the plec species need lignin from bogwood in their diet and will die without access to it.

You can easily remove the the tannins if you don't like them by putting some activated carbon or charcoal in your filter. In a small tank like yours it will acidify the water slightly and drop the pH by maybe 0.1 or 0.2, but your fish do fine in higher pHs anyway; I wouldn't worry about trying to change it.

Buy a piece if you like it, but you don't have fish that need it, like tetras, dwarf cichlids or plecs.

 

[leecasey]

Sorry lee, but your post is mostly inaccurate.

It is true that bogwood leaches tannins but there is a lot of evidence that fish, at the very least, prefer it, even if it hasn't been scientifically proved that it has health benefits.
Some of the plec species need lignin from bogwood in their diet and will die without access to it.

You can easily remove the the tannins if you don't like them by putting some activated carbon or charcoal in your filter. In a small tank like yours it will acidify the water slightly and drop the pH by maybe 0.1 or 0.2, but your fish do fine in higher pHs anyway; I wouldn't worry about trying to change it.

Buy a piece if you like it, but you don't have fish that need it, like tetras, dwarf cichlids or plecs.

No worries! no offence taken, I am no expert and don't claim to be.

Do you have any links or sources to the evidence that a fish "prefers" tannins? I'm just curious how you could possibly measure or determine a fishes preference over very good water conditions and very good water conditions with tannins.

You say that the activated carbon will remove the tannins, as I understand the activated carbon last only a few days before it is nothing more than a mech filter sponge? What happens after that and the bogwood is still leaching tannins?

Thanks

 

[fluttermoth]

Well here's a link to the aquarium Wiki page on the matter; http/theaquariumwiki.com/Bogwood (it's normally quite a reliable source)
I know from my days of breeding neon tetras that they spawned more readily in tannin-rich water and I got a better hatch rate (many tetras eggs are light sensitive and need to be kept in the dark to hatch)

If the bogwood is still leaching tannins by the time your carbon is used up (and you're right, it does only last a few days) you'd just have to replace the spent carbon with new.

I'm not sure it's worth the hassle of removing the tannins tbh; if you don't like the 'tea' look of tannin stained water, don't get bogwood! Get some other sort of decoration that doesn't stain the water

 

[Tizer]

I got loads of bogwood in my tank and i recently added a piece of old oak bogwood that has been leeching tannins for weeks now. Fortunately the last water change has helped and its slowed down quite a lot, but it still looks alright to me, i like a bit of discolouration, crystal clear water isnt my cuppa tea anyway, it doesnt look natural in the slightest.

Ah and Marie, your Ph is fine, whats the problem?

 

[seadog]

I actually purchased a medium-large chunk of driftwood for my new tank today... which I am assuming is the same thing or similar to bogwood.

When I got it, the guy at the aquarium store suggested I boil it. He mentioned the tannins that can leach into the water and change the color a bit but told me if I boil it for a while most of the tannins would be leached out by that, preserving my water color significantly... but not entirely. He also mentioned the benefit that many fish prefer it and that it can soften then water naturally.

The main reason I got what just because I liked the look, and since this guy is an enthusiast with his shop I trust his advice on the boiling to limit any water impact.

Just another suggestion that might help!

 

[leecasey]

I actually purchased a medium-large chunk of driftwood for my new tank today... which I am assuming is the same thing or similar to bogwood.

When I got it, the guy at the aquarium store suggested I boil it. He mentioned the tannins that can leach into the water and change the color a bit but told me if I boil it for a while most of the tannins would be leached out by that, preserving my water color significantly... but not entirely. He also mentioned the benefit that many fish prefer it and that it can soften then water naturally.

The main reason I got what just because I liked the look, and since this guy is an enthusiast with his shop I trust his advice on the boiling to limit any water impact.

Just another suggestion that might help!

I would need a witch's cauldron to boil my bits in lol