soaking driftwood

[cich1]

how long should i soak driftwood i bought at my lfs?i have it in a 5 gallon bucket soaking in dechlorinated water.it already sinks but is still leaching tannins.i know tannins aren't harmful but i don't want a tea colored tank either.:confused:

[crazyfishlady]

Soak it until it sinks.
If you don't want the tannins in your tank then you'll have to change the water that the wood is soaking in & keep doing it every once in a while until the water it's in stays clear enough for you. I don't know how long this will take.

[Heyguy74]

soak it for a while. I bought a piece of "Malaysian Driftwood". I soaked it for a week, changing the water twice a day and yet it still gives the water a tea look. Its in a 45 gallon tank. Its been in the tank for almost 5 months and still tan water Altough its much less now. It probably all depends on the type of driftwood.

[cich1]

thanks guys,i've been soaking it for 3 days changing the water 2 or 3 times a day.it already sinks.sounds like it's always going to leach tannins so i will not worry about it.

[83Street]

Driftwood will always leach tanins, just varying in the amount depending on how much has already been released. Keep at it for about a week until the water seems clear.

[cich1]

thanks 83street ,i'll do that.

[salty]

tannins sucks. I have 3 decent sized pieces in my 65 g., and my water has turned to tea. I hate it. I had suspicion so I had my water tested. Everything checked out fine, but still tea.

[cich1]

thanks for the reply salty.i've had the wood in the tank for 2 days now,and haven't noticed any discoloring.when i had it in the bucket it turned the water a tea color within minutes.maybe it was just more noticable in a smaller volume of water,i don't know.i wasn't looking forward to a tea colored tank either,but the more i think about it,maybe it would give a more natural look to it.

[Heyguy74]

I think it gives a more natural look to the water. My angels have no problem breeding consistently in the tank . If you dont want the tea look, then just change your water more often.

[jdclarksc]

Activated carbon will remove the tannins. If you currently have carbon on the tank you will need to replace it a little more frequently until the drift wood stops releasing the tannins. Just a suggestion.

[cich1]

jdclarksc,that makes sense.it explains why i haven't noticed any tannins in the tank.i just changed my carbon in the h.o.t. magnum on saturday.thanks for the suggestion :ok:

[salty]

sorry, I didn't answer earlier, thanx for the help. I did a 20% water change, 3 days later I did a 40% change, It's been a week no more tea. thanx again-salty.

[theJoe]

Nothing wrong with tan water-I think it looks good.

[jennigypsy]

I think there are some fish that prefer the tannins..esp to breed (some of the SA fish..tetras, angels)...my tetras always seem to spawn in the tanks I keep wood in.

[cich1]

thanks for the input,everyone.i've had the wood in the tank for awhile now,and i haven't noticed any discoloration.i was thinking that in a wild environment the water would be saturated with tannins because of the fallen trees and what not.anyway it hasn't been a problem,and i'm not too worried if the tank does turn a tea color,it'll just be more natural looking.:ok: