Mopani Wood

[mishka83]

Hi folks,

I bought a beautiful piece of mopani wood, got it for only £2.90 online from my fav shop and am delighted with it, HOWEVER i've been boiling it for 3 hours (changing water every 15 mins) and it's still giving off very dark tannins.

I'm now soaking it in the sink full of water.

Am i doing everything right? I don't want my tank to be brown.

 

[micko]

Your just going to have to keep soaking it and changing the water. This can take weeks, months for it to not colour your water.

 

[fluttermoth]

You could always put some activated charcoal in your filter. Some fish prefer the brown water though

 

[BigbruiserAl]

My two bits have been in water since january 11th guess what, tannis still very much there

 

[Aqua Tom]

Patience, it will soon stop leaching. I know it can be annoying but you will just have to keep soaking it.

 

[L_Plates]

I have been soaking mine for nearly 2 weeks now

Stick with it, but remember your tank water will not make the wood release as much tannin as boiling water does.

LP

 

[Caprichoso]

Just put it in your tank. You are boiling it too much and it will break down in your tank faster. The tannins can be removed by carbon filter and by doing weekly water changes of 50%,(which is what you should be doing anyway). Some tannins in the water are nice and give it a natural look, plus the fish like it too.

 

[OldMan47]

If you don't mind the look of it, the tannins will do no harm to most fish. I simply add new wood to my tanks and do water changes if the water gets too dark for my tastes. I really don't think the fish care what color the water is.

 

[Geoff-]

yeah stop boiling it you'll just break down the wood and release more tannins in the process.

put it in the tank, if the water gets too brown then put a bag of biochem zorb in your filter. i did that and tannins disappeared overnight. carbon would probably work too, and be cheaper.

 

[KateT]

I've had a massive piece of mopani wood in my tank for the duration of my tank cycle (so far 48 days). For the first couple of weeks my water was very, very brown, but now there is only the very slightest tinge and I quite like it.

 

[Squidward]

I recently added a whole lot of new wood to my tank.
Soaked it for a few hours in very hot water to kill any potential nasties, and then in it went. There is so tannin in the water, you can hardly see a few inches into the tank

But my Angels must like it. They haven't stopped laying eggs. Unfortunately it's a community tank and the Plecs I got the wood for have been eating the eggs.

 

[mishka83]

Thanks to everyone for your replies.

I've got it soaking in water but i don't see any brown.

Think i'll pop it into the tank. If it gets too brown i'll take it out again.

 

[joeskandal]

hi Mishka, i bet you soon get sick of adding the days of your cycle on your sig!
haha.
We have just bought an amazing piece of mopani wood to go in our tank, soaked it overnight but hardly any colour came out.
Gonna put it in some hot water, and see what happens.
If not a great deal, then we will be putting it in along with some slate substrate tomorrow.

not too bothered if it comes out a bit in the water, as long as it gets better with time.
We just wanna try and get all the work done in one go, disturbing the fish as little as possible.