New Driftwood!

I ordered a piece of MopanI online and it looks good so far. There was a small piece broken off (I don't mind, I like the larger piece's shape.)
I treated both. The large piece is gonna soak for a lot longer but for now I have the smaller piece in there, using it to weigh down a slice of zucchini. My shrimp are already enjoying the driftwood and are grouped around it.

I will update about the larger piece!

 

I have a good sized chunck of MopanI wood for my tetras tank because I wanted the tannins for a black water set up. It is very hard heavy wood that will last forever. It took a long time for the tannins to stop which was fine for me. Alison

 

I have a good sized chunck of MopanI wood for my tetras tank because I wanted the tannins for a black water set up. It is very hard heavy wood that will last forever. It took a long time for the tannins to stop which was fine for me. Alison

That's cool! And yeah I don't mind black water setting either. As long as it's okay for the fish I'm okay with it. It's definitely nice and dense. Instant sinker. I used Almond Leaves too but they never darkened the water even a little.

 

I don't know. I have a piece of mopanI wood in my tank, but the yellow water is starting to drive me nuts.

 

It's supposed to go away eventually but some can be really persistent, especially if you get the heart of the tree and it's all sappy and stuff.
Here's the larger piece.




It's goin in tonight and we'll see how much the water changes.

 

Mine has been in the tank for 2 years. It did darken the water for a good year+ which I wanted, and on the good side it has antifungal and antibacterial properties which helps the fish that come from blackwater areas like tetras. Alison

 

Lookin good so far! Over 12 hours and no effect yet. I heard most of the reviews say that it quickly turned the water dark. We shall see what happens.

How does the placement look? I wasn't completely sure. The shrimp and snails are enjoying it though!

 

Lookin good so far! Over 12 hours and no effect yet. I heard most of the reviews say that it quickly turned the water dark. We shall see what happens.

How does the placement look? I wasn't completely sure. The shrimp and snails are enjoying it though!

Looks good! Did you boil it? Mine stayed clear for a couple days, then yellowed.

I bought a shrimp today and he seems to love it too

 

Looks good! Did you boil it? Mine stayed clear for a couple days, then yellowed.

I bought a shrimp today and he seems to love it too

I did boil and soak it for a while. I figured the water will probably darken over a few days. The shrimp really enjoy it, snails too.

I also have a piece of Manzanita coming in that I'll update this thread with when it arrives.

 

I like the looks of that chunk of mopani, lots of surfaces and places to hide. Tank looks nice. Alison

 

I think MopanI is some good looking wood, but it will leach tannins heavily.

 

I think MopanI is some good looking wood, but it will leach tannins heavily.

Yeah if the leaching is way too much I'll have to take it out. I was sure to treat it first so we'll see.

I like the looks of that chunk of mopani, lots of surfaces and places to hide. Tank looks nice. Alison

Thanks! And yeah I was pleased with the shape I got. Decent amount of nooks and crannies and places for shrimp to seek shade and privacy.

 

This seems to be the shrimp's favorite hiding spot. Convenient for me because it's near the front where I can watch them. They're pretty silly though...they all try and squeeze in at once haha. It's only big enough to comfortably accommodate 2

 

So, no signs of darkening in the water but, I'm doing frequent water changes because my tank is still cycling. But still, I think I may have gotten a lucky piece of MopanI and leached it well enough in nice hot waters.

Today I got a piece of manzanita and I want to see what you guys think of it. Not sure on placement but wanna get opinions, it might stay where it is.

You may notice the Amazon sword is looking smaller, yeah I had to trim some leaves off that were severely munched on by snails. Trying to control snails now and thankfully new leaves started growing two days after trimming so looking good.