What to do with bogwood and live plants??

[nshockeyplaya]

Hey guys im adding some bogwood and live plants to my tank with fish in it, and i dont want the ph or anything to be affected??? Should i like boil the bogwood or something so it doesnt affect the water?? What do you guys suggest???

 

[One_Trick_Pony]

well its upto u, as far as i know the thannins which will come out of teh wood will not effect teh fish. howver they will effcet the water calirty so teh nee to be soaked. boling them speeds up the process dramatically, but u need to cahnge teh water its boiling in as well, as the water can only hold so many tannins at a time. i put mine a a metal waste paper bin as it was too big for pans, but maybe a bucket would do, but be careful it will get dam hot

 

[nightlife20]

soak bogwood if u wish or add extra carbon to ur filter to help remove biggest part of it.. then do an extra water change per week.. it depends on what size bogwood ur going for realy... iv got a huge peice that was orig in my 4ft now based in my 3ft... because of the size of it it gives an almost murky cast around it even though no tannins are leaching.. if i place one of my smaller peices in it goes away... weird

plants.. basicaly just look through them for snails take off any dead parts ect hope u have the right lighting for certain plants... the plants section of the forum can help u more

 

[bunjiweb]

The plants will be fine, if anythingn they would make the water quality more stable. Just dont add LOADS of plants at any one time as it can mess things up.

As for bogwood, i cant stress enough how much problems i've gotten from Bogwood. Iitially it presented all sorts of stuff in my tank as i didnt have a pot big enough to boil it i just had to soak it. Obviously there was something in the wood as consequently it fecked up the chemistry and the fish got ICH.
Its now more than 6 months later and I am still taking the Bogwood out AT LEAST once a month to clean it and soak it again. Its such hard work/ The Tannins are finally clearing but it has taken AGES!!!
So, to save yourself all the hassle I have been through make sure you THOROUGHLY clean the wood, THOROUGHLY Soak it and if you can, boil it at least twice.

You will be happier in the longrun if you spend the time now to prepare the wood.

Ben

 

[nshockeyplaya]

Okay thanks guys, youve been very informative, i appreciate it. Thanks again.

 

[boozybears]

Last month we added mopini wood to our tank. We boiled all the pieces for 15-20 minutes, then soaked them for a week. They're still leaking tannins, but we're just going to wait it out and do lots of water changes until it clears up.

Good luck!

 

[Dragonscales]

I actually prefer the stained look, especially in a heavily planted tank. 9 times out of 10 you shouldn't have any problems with bogwood, in most cases it is probably wood that has been used in another tank causing the problems due to pathogens picked up. Either way, regular water changes will help greatly in keeping the amount of stain to an acceptable level. In regards to the plants, basic fluros should be sufficient enough for most plants out there.

 

[OohFeeshy]

So just soak it then? Could you, pour boing water on it, and soak it in that? Would that help? I've decided on some bodwood or similar for my tank, it is cheaper than other decos and makes a good centerpice.

 

[nshockeyplaya]

They should do all this before they sell it

 

[nc_nutcase]

They should do all this before they sell it

That would make it easier, as well as more expensive. I wish I had answers but instead I'm in the same boat. I just bought about 15 pieces of drift/bog wood that I plan on using in a couple different tanks. I currently have it soaking in a large (45 Gal) plastic garbage can (which has never held garbage, it's function is to use for water changes). I don't think this will be sufficient, but I haven't figured out what to do just yet. I really like the idea of pouring boiling water over it. It makes sense that hot water will be more effective at speeding the tannin process than cold water. I also have wood pieces larger than my pots.

 

[NinjaSmurf]

Well the one I want to use is from the wild, and I have yet to be able to find a pot big enough to boil a two foot peice of driftwood

 

[One_Trick_Pony]

u could alwasy go to a store such as B and Q etc and get a metal bucket or even a metal bin

 

[nshockeyplaya]

I would pay for it

 

[Discomafia]

What I did was pick up a 20 gallon Rubbermaid container, and soak two pieces in them. Filled it up just half, because I was too lazy to change all the 20 gallons at a time. Changed all the water every 2-3 days, and in a couple of weeks, the water I was changing didn't have any tannins in it, so in the tank it went...

The first ever piece of driftwood I bought didn't have the same problem for me, so I guess each piece is different. So for some people, removing the tannins from the wood using my method may take longer, you just have to judge for yourself when you can put it in your tank. I used hot water for every water change, and the reason I didn't boil the wood was because I don't have a pot big enough.

As for live plants, what sort are you planning on planting? I have some java fern, and that seems to be pretty popular and easy to grow.

 

[Matty]

so thats why my water's been stained looking...