Ideas for an aquarium decoration.

[Lady Hobbs]

OOPS. Sorry about that. It helps if people fill out their profile location so dummies like me don't give unuseful information.

[talldutchie]

I don't live in the US of A either. Still... most places in the northern hemisphere now seem to have fish stores or pet stores with a good fish department. Countries that don't may have woods you can pick up and use.

[aquatic-life]

I live in Lebanon,it is not only the problem of finding a driftwood ;my problem is that i am afraid to get a driftwood that will color my water.. The last time i bought a driftwood i passed a week boiling it everyday! And before this i bought another one that didn't cause any problem...
That's what i am worried about :P
Any clue how to know the type of driftwood? will it release tannin in the water?

[talldutchie]

Lebanon your main concern is avoiding woods with resin in them. It's difficult to predict what will leak tannin and what will not. Something in a local dry creek (do they call them wadi over there?) has more chance of not leaking.

Even so, coloured water tends to bother the humans much more than the fish

[aquatic-life]

I do find driftwood in pet store,no need to search for some of them in nature.
But the major cause is that i am afraid of is the tannin.
I had one that didn't release any tannin,it color is lighter than the one that i got that released tannin...
Is it a general rule? can we know if this type of driftwood will release tannin or not?

Thanks for your help

[Goes to 11!]

Tannins are harmless to fish, What is your concern?

[aquatic-life]

I prefer to have a clear water,rather than a yellow water

[Goes to 11!]

Ok, Tannins are removed via water changes or chemical filtration [Carbon]. They are not generally not a permanent fixture. Mission accomplished.

[~firefly~]

I've introduced bogwood to both of my tanks. One was HUGE and too large to boil so it had to be weighted down with some very large, very heavy rocks. Tannins were kept under control with daily water changes (around 25%) for two or three weeks. After two months the wood stayed under and tannins were less.

The other tank is a nano and the wood fit in a pot so I boiled it for 4-5 hours on the hob, changing the water each hour. After an overnight soak in a bucket it stayed down and leached very little. Easy

[aquatic-life]

Yeah i know that with time and water changes tannin won't be released anymore.. but i surely have to pass by the level where the driftwood will release tannin,that is what i want to avoid
Anyway I will keep you updated about anything new
Have a nice day! :)