Driftwood Tannins

[corylover5]

I got 2 medium sized pieces of Malaysian Driftwood today so I could make a little cave for my clown pleco and I was wondering what I should do so I don't get too much tannin in my water. Thanks! I was soaking them for a bit and found a silverfish and 2 spiders in the wood so far

 

[AquaBarb]

I soak mine in a bucket of water for around a week or so normally changing the water every couple of days.

 

[corylover5]

I soak mine in a bucket of water for around a week or so normally changing the water every couple of days.

thanks!

 

[Fishiemang]

Depending on the size of the chunks of wood, the fastest way to remove tannins.is.to boil the wood for a bit. It will pull them out in a half hour or so of boiling. All my wood I boiled for 2 hours.

Some say it weakens the wood, but I think that depends on what the wood is. If it is dense, it will be fine,.and.help it to sink even. If it is already flimsy, then soaking it in a.bucket over a longer time is the way to go.

 

[Utar]

@Fishiemang I totally agree with boiling driftwood to sterilize and remove tannins. I boil mine a couple of hours also, and I have not found any problems at all with doing this. So what if it does soften the wood a bit, my Plecos love it. The wood has been in my tank now for seven months now and have not seen any desegregation of the wood due to boiling before using.

 

[GlosGraham]

Controversial here now and not something that I would do as I believe that beneficial bacteria works within the wood however...
You could lacquer it. If you were to fully cover it then it would leech out any tannins. Not would it change the pH.

 

[Utar]

Controversial here now and not something that I would do as I believe that beneficial bacteria works within the wood however...
You could lacquer it. If you were to fully cover it then it would leech out any tannins. Not would it change the pH.

True a person could coat the wood with something to stop tannins. But in an effort to create as close as possible a natural environment for our fish pets to live and thrive, raw natural wood and live plants is very important.

 

[corylover5]

Controversial here now and not something that I would do as I believe that beneficial bacteria works within the wood however...
You could lacquer it. If you were to fully cover it then it would leech out any tannins. Not would it change the pH.

Sounds like a good idea to test however, I need the wood for the pleco as a food source. It's a neat idea though!

 

[GlosGraham]

Sounds like a good idea to test however, I need the wood for the pleco as a food source. It's a neat idea though!

Yep. Then coating it isn't an option.
Personally none of mine are coated and have a nice amount of greenery attached