Driftwood

[Owlbehere]

I would like to get some wood for my plec... but I don't want my water to change colors... what should I do?

[Friendly]

Some people stick the driftwood in boiling water, to release the 'tannins' (that's what the driftwood releases into the water, to give the water a brownish tint). But some fish stores also sell driftwood that already have most of the tannins taken out, so be sure to check your LFS.

[Red]

put it in a bucket change water very 3 days and do it for as long as you see tannis.

[PUNISHER VETTE]

Do people get tannins that often with driftwood? I've had 3 large pieces for my tanks and only had slight tannins in one of the tanks till the first water change.

[Red]

I got a huge piece of driftwood and it took about a month to get all of it out. It depends if it has soaked before and just on the piece of wood.

[SamAnthrax]

I boiled my piece of driftwood for about 10 minutes and rinsed it a couple times and it has been fine in my tank.

[Sir Tristen]

It depends on how weathered the wood is. If you get it out of the water in a local lake or river, you'll most likely be okay with 1/2 hour to an hour of boiling. If it's more fresh you may have to boil longer, or even soak for a couple weeks then boil. But tannins don't really make things look bad IMO, and if you boil your wood for an hour or so it shouldn't give you too many problems. I'm getting no tannins out of my wood anymore, and I've only had it in a few months. I just soaked it for a week or two until I was ready to put it in the tank, then boiled it for an hour. No problems yet.

[Owlbehere]

Thanks!... Wow it was too short to just post thanks.