How Long?

[snake007]

Im getting a big bit of driftwood soon and was wondering how long you have to soak it for to get all of the dirt out so it doesn't make your tank go brown?
Also is £5 a good price for an average size bit of wood?

 

[botia]

Im getting a big bit of driftwood soon and was wondering how long you have to soak it for to get all of the dirt out so it doesn't make your tank go brown?
Also is £5 a good price for an average size bit of wood?

its not dirt thats in the wood its actually tannis and youre never going to get all of it out i soaked my piece of wwod for about 4 weeks and then put it in my tank about 3 months ago and it is still giving of tannis

 

[soybean]

Depending on the size, £5 isn't that bad at all.

Tannins can actually be very beneficial to the tank and depending on the fish you have in there, they may even prefer it. Regular water changes remove it over time. If you want to get the worst of it out, soak it in a bucket and change the water every day, a few days should do it. Give it a scrub with a bristle brush to get any dirt off. Don't boil it.

 

[snake007]

Thanks

Should I soak it in normal warm water or cold?

 

[soybean]

Cold is fine, it'd go cold anyway.

 

[Mowbz]

As above its going to go cold anyway, but if you use hot water and can be bothered to change the water every hour or so, hot water will get the tannins out quicker. Depends on your preference on tanned water. I quite like it.

Prices vary on wood type and where you buy it, and how big it is. There was a beautiful 3ftx2ftx2ft piece of mopani root at my local the other day. Its £6 a kilo, and it must have weighed about 50kg. Expensive wood.

 

[minnnt]

Hot water will remove the worst of the tannins alot quicker than cold will. As will carbon in your filter. But it still leeches out for months afterwards.