Removing tannins from driftwood

Hello everyone,
I need ur advice to know how long how should i boil my peice of driftwood and when is it safe to add in my aquarium.. i saw couple of videos but everyone says different things, so i figured out best reliable source could be this forum as i have had great experiences earlier.

Please ket me know prodecure i could follow to remove tannins before introducting wood to my tank.

 

I'm sorry I can't resist.

You should just evict the tenants if you don't want them.

 

Do you mean tannins? I personally don’t boil mine because I feel it makes the wood rot faster. I just soak them and change the water to new hot water daily. That looks like a piece I have and I’ve been soaking it for a month and tannins are still coming out.

 

Good luck with getting the tannins out of that piece. It looks pretty dark.

 

Oh my bad, there was typo.. i meant "tannins"from driftwood..

Do you mean tannins? I personally don’t boil mine because I feel it makes the wood rot faster. I just soak them and change the water to new hot water daily. That looks like a piece I have and I’ve been soaking it for a month and tannins are still coming out.

Ohh thanks for the advice, i was thinking to boil for 20 mins, and follow what u mentioned on daily basis.. asding driftwoood in tank, seems to be a nightmare..

 

Oh my bad, there was typo.. i meant "tannins"from driftwood..

Ohh thanks for the advice, i was thinking to boil for 20 mins, and follow what u mentioned on daily basis.. asding driftwoood in tank, seems to be a nightmare..

Lol it can be a long process. That’s why I usually only use spider wood. They barely put out any tannins so you just have to soak till they sink

 

I have been soaking some dark wood over a month. Havent checked it for a few days, but last i looked the water was still pretty dark. I try to remember to change the water out once or twoce a week to check the progress.

 

Lol it can be a long process. That’s why I usually only use spider wood. They barely put out any tannins so you just have to soak till they sink

Oh, good to know.. i kinda have 4 driftwoods for two tanks.. don't know when i will be able to add.. huh

 

I bake them in the oven

 

I bake them in the oven

Interesting! Does that speed up the process or rid the tannins in one quick go?

 

Interesting! Does that speed up the process or rid the tannins in one quick go?

I’m pretty sure that just kills the germs on it. I think only soaking releases tannins

 

Interesting! Does that speed up the process or rid the tannins in one quick go?

I guess he was kidding... don't tell me he actually puts it in the oven.. that would be way more interesting..

 

There is nothing wrong with tannins. They are not harmful to fish. It may soften your water a bit and discolor it. Personally, I boil driftwood. There isn't any time limit on the boil. I do it for pest control more than anything else. I soak the wood in a Rubbermaid tub for a week and change the water daily to get some of the tannins out. Then I add it and roll the dice. If the water looks like weak tea, I live with it. It will clear up in a month or so.

 

I guess he was kidding... don't tell me he actually puts it in the oven.. that would be way more interesting..

Do you know what, after I posted that I saw the 'haha' reactions to his post so I though doh... maybe it was a joke

 

I guess he was kidding... don't tell me he actually puts it in the oven.. that would be way more interesting..

I am NOT kidding! I put it in the oven and bake at 200F for 20mins. It's not gonna set it on fire if that's what you are thinking.

Do you know what, after I posted that I saw the 'haha' reactions to his post so I though doh... maybe it was a joke

No Im not joking! And no it does not remove tannins, only kills all the germs in it. Soaking and changing out the water multiple times is the best way I know of to remove tannins

 

No ive heard alot of people "baking" wood in the oven for sterilization purposes.

 

Hi,
It can be difficult to completely remove tannins from a piece of driftwood.
Activated carbon can help remove tannins from the aquarium water.
Additionally a number of aquarists recommend Seachem Purigen for tannin removal.

Also multiple boilings of the wood as opposed to one long boil. i.e. boil for 5-10 minutes, replace the water, boil again for 5-10.... repeat until less and less leaches out.

EDIT: I've also changed the thread title for you

 

Hi,
It can be difficult to completely remove tannins from a piece of driftwood.
Activated carbon can help remove tannins from the aquarium water.
Additionally a number of aquarists recommend Seachem Purigen for tannin removal.

Also multiple boilings of the wood as opposed to one long boil. i.e. boil for 5-10 minutes, replace the water, boil again for 5-10.... repeat until less and less leaches out.

EDIT: I've also changed the thread title for you

Thanks.. I made silly mistake forgot to edit title.. yes, i have been doing water changes.. lets see how it goes..

 

No ive heard alot of people "baking" wood in the oven for sterilization purposes.

And then boil to get rid of tannins hahahaha.

I really don't get the urge to remove the natural protection of wood, which a lot of fish love as well. Mother Nature adds tannins to her rivers and lakes all the time.

As stated before I started the LTLT-movement (Learn To Love Tannins) a few years back. A lot of members joined in and stopped boiling, nuking, radiating, baking, burrying, soaking, etc etc their wood and start loving the look of brownish water that eventually will go on its own and the fish that love to be in there.
Some fish simply color.up more nicely in a bitnof darker / colored water.

A change of mind makes the world an easier place !!!!

 

Lol it can be a long process. That’s why I usually only use spider wood. They barely put out any tannins so you just have to soak till they sink

I wish I read this before I dropped a c note on a log of Malaysian driftwood.