driftwood

hi there anybody know how to stop the tank water from turning brown? love wood in the tank but hate the idea of brownish water, please help. i havent put any in yet but i want to

 

see this thread http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?t=2090

 

On the whole leeching issue i soaked mine for abt 8 hours filling a drum and covering the wood then wen it cooled filled up again with hot kettle water with some salt i did this until there was no coloured water left i added it to the tank and it hasnt leeched at all from day one and it sinks and does not float at all its 400grams and i know its on the small side so bigger pieces will take longer but this is what i have found to work. Hope this helps the piece has been in for 3 months now i dont use purigen or anything else just did the above and the water hasnt turned brown and there are no tannins watsoever being leeched

 

thanks will snyper will try your way

 

ja all u can do is soak it before hand for at least a week depending on size,no quick fix

 

i boiled mine after soaking it for 3wks and i boiled it until the water stayed clear. it seems to have worked mine hasnt leached since i added it.

 

It takes a long time for the tannis to be deposited in hardwood.
Don't expect to get it out in a hurry - there is no quick fix!
Patience is a virtue...

 

man i just am having no luck with my driftwood. Apart from the constant leaching, flakes of wood keep breaking off every time I boil it. Its about 2 years old i think. Boiled it a few times in the past and have had it in my previous setup. I've kept in boiling water for the past few days but no luck .

Cant i just buy a cured piece of driftwood?

 

Well I have some in a 1000lt flowbin and have noticed that the water has become lighter in color as opposed to a black coffee color,I can see the bottom of the barrel(so to speak) and they have been in there from December

 

I really dont want to put a piece in my new setup and then have it turn yellow.
I need a piece for a 3ft preferably with many small-medium width branches.

 

The Problem is that different pieces of wood leach different ammounts...

I have several pieces, some big, some small, one of the big pieces continuously leaches and if left unchecked would turn the water seriously dark brown.... Yet my other similarly large piece does not even slightly taint the water! The second piece I bought around 1 year after the first!

Then I have some small pieces that don't leach at all, some that leach a little, and one piece that turns the water deep brown within a day or so! All bought at different times, but the ones that leach the most are mostly the oldest pieces which have actually been in water the longest!

Go Figure!
Cheers
G!

 

Any chance of a small piece thats stopped leeching? I need one for my 3ft

@big G Im starting to think that as pieces break of more leaching occurs, maybe this causes the
fluctuations in leaching tannins

 

I really need to find out the exact type of wood im using for my tanks. Guys i know you say there are no easy ways out and i agree to some extent the internet is covered with stories of wood leeching and never sinking. I bought another 2 pieces of wood from pet n pond the same type as my first and I followed the exact instructions I gave you guys and the wood did not leech at all once it was in the tank and sunk to the bottom immediately both in kellys and my own tank. With so many varying opinions on this topic I think the problem lies in the type of wood as opposed to anything else dont you guys think so? I have had 3 pieces treated for 10 hours in boiling water and added the same day with no issues it must simply be the type of tree/wood.

 

I always used to have a problem until I tried a product called Purigen (R129 afaik) its used mainly for marine tanks to keep nitrates down and polish the water (which it does very well), so I bought some for my planted tank as well and walla, tannins gone ?! I initially soaked the driftwood for 2 weeks but when I put it into my planted tank the water went tea yellow after a day.

Tried carbon with a little luck, it sorted out the problem for a day and then the tannins came back. Purigen sorted it out quick quick, click my link to see my tank. Crystal clear and essentially thats a new piece of driftwood in there

Oh and you can recharge Purigen so its recyclable. Best aquarium purchase i've made to date

 

the latest price i got for purigen was around R500, where did you find yours for R129?

 

What ?! I bought mine from VIP in Northgate for R129.00 a pop AND I saw it for more or less the same price at the pet store in Boksburg (the one next to Flora Park), cant remember the name. But defs not R500

 

Yeah I bought the 125g pouches.

 

The most common wood seen in aquariums here is Mopani .. really nice shapes and a hardwood. Dependant on area of origin, some will leach more than others. The best way to get most of the tannins out is - the soak in hot water and frequent water changes for a week or two.

Wingerd stompe ( grape vine stumps ) also have great shape and are a hardwood. The problem here is chemicals used in the winelands. So the soak and water change method is a must.

A last resort is the plastic logs - but this offends many of the purists, so is a matter of choice.

Purigen works extremely well and it may seem expensive but if you regenerate it, the cost is minimal over time.

Personally I like the slightly tannin stained water - it produces a natural look for the South American species.

Plecos generally scrape the wood and you end up with fair amounts of wood shavings in the gravel, not a bad thing but it can be unsightly for some.

Not many suppliers will soak the wood before sale, so patience is the word here.