Mopani Wood

[mobeyone]

I bought a piece of mopani from the local pet shop, placed in water/old tank water for around an hour and then put into the tank.

Was I ok in doing this? The tank is now a lovely tan colour and looks very natural but I am worried about the release of anything that could be of harm to the fishes?

They all seem to be getting on fine with it and the tank has cleared up since I put the wood in.

TIA!

 

[merry78]

The lovely tan colour is from tannins released by the wood. They (tannins) are very mildly anti-bacterial (good for your fish, won't harm your beneficial bacteria), and will slightly reduce your pH, but water changes should help this if you do them frequently, so your fish don't suffer giant pH swings.
Most people recommend soaking new wood for up to several weeks, but it's not the end of the world if you dont, your fish should be fine, don't worry. If the wood was releasing something toxic, your fish should have shown symptoms of distress within a few days, so if they still seem fine, you should be ok.

 

[mobeyone]

Thanks!

The fishes seem to be very happy and are all swimming, no signs of stress or agression etc.

I will be doing another water change tomorrow so this should clear up any excess.

 

[Chris_qld]

You may find that the tannins might take weeks to clear up. I actually think it adds a nice natural look to the tank.

 

[mobeyone]

I actually think it adds a nice natural look to the tank.

Certainly does and I do quite like it!

See what happens after the water change and a few weeks.

 

[Jonno]

i've heard adding a carbon sponge into your filter removes it, never tried it myself though!

 

[ab420]

I added a SMALL piece of driftwood (about 10"x2"x4") to my tank about 3 months ago. When I first go it, I boiled it for a while and soaked for a couple of weeks outside the tank. Then I put it in the tank, and now 3 months later, it is still lowering the ph and coloring the water slightly, so it can take quite some time, just keep an eye on the pH, and make sure it doesn't swing to much. I just focused on increasing the hardness a bit, nice and slowly, and that keeps it much more stable.

 

[mark.w.jones]

In my experience, mopani wood releases less tannins than bogwood or driftwood. I never soak mopani wood. Just give it a really good scrub and rinse for 15 minutes before adding straight to my tank. Tannins usually go within a fortnight.