What if i want the tannins?

I'm starting to look at getting a piece or 2 of driftwood for my aquarium, and can't help but have issues with the ways people have described preping a piece of wood for the aquarium by removing all the tannins they can. I have some neon tetras and cherry shrimp in a dirted, planted 20 gal, and my PH is WAY too high for them to be comfortable. I know tannins will lower the PH and are generally good for them so I'm wondering, is there ways to sterilize a piece of wood without losing all the tannins, or is boiling the tannins out the only way?

Thanks in advance!

 

You could also use a tea bag (without any specific flavor) to get the tannins in once you've boiled the driftwood. Or use dried leaves.

 

I know tannins will lower the PH and are generally good for them

No, this is not to get you to do a blackwater tank but please read up here. It covers most questions about water chemistry and humic substances.

Boiling is mainly to get the wood waterlocked quicker not for extraction of . The amounts of humic substances vary with the types of wood and often in individual batches. So you might pick a piece that loses all in a week of soaking or one that will release HS for months.

 

I've got 5 different tanks with wood In them right now. I've never boiled them, just rinsed off the debris in dechlorinated water and used a rock to weigh it down. 4 of my tanks have spiderwood with one of them containinga small pieceof Malaysian driftwood as well, and one is a 10 gallon with a good chunk of mopani wood in it. The only one with the "blackwater " look is the one with the mopani wood and it's slowly going away with each water change. How you choose to waterlog it is up to you but i would skip the boiling if you got it from a safe source. I definitely recommend reading the piece macz posted about. It's well worth it.

 

Quote emeraldking
“You could also use a tea bag (without any specific flavor) to get the tannins in once you've boiled the driftwood.”

Is that something you do or your club does emeraldking? Because” internet “ forum groups have always said not to use ordinary tea. I like many other people just regurgitate what I read.
GagonElisha I know from using it in my own tanks rooibus tea is safe and often recommended but it is not the same species of plant as tea ( camellia sinensis ) It’s an African bush

Making a collection of tannins in a bucket (or glass jar in the refrigerator) is a way of maintaining the tannins at ever water change. Keeping the water should you decide you want to boil the wood would be a great start to a jar of tannins.
Like all water added to an aquarium you need to add a conditioner before use.

 

You dont have to boil the wood if you dont want to.

Get a good size chunk of Mopani wood. Tannins galore.

 

I'm starting to look at getting a piece or 2 of driftwood for my aquarium, and can't help but have issues with the ways people have described preping a piece of wood for the aquarium by removing all the tannins they can. I have some neon tetras and cherry shrimp in a dirted, planted 20 gal, and my PH is WAY too high for them to be comfortable. I know tannins will lower the PH and are generally good for them so I'm wondering, is there ways to sterilize a piece of wood without losing all the tannins, or is boiling the tannins out the only way?

Thanks in advance!

Hello,

What is your pH? I'm not so sure about the neon tetras, but unless it's exceptionally high (like over 8.2) the shrimp should be fine.

Also, do you know your gH and kH? It's my understanding that if your kH is high enough then tannins will have very little effect on pH.

 

I just rinse, scrub, repeat. A lot of my drift wood is too large to boil.

 

Same....mopani and spiderwood in most of my tanks.

For the mopani, I simply rinse with a garden hose, scrub, repeat until clean. Then toss it into the tank as its heavy enough that it won't float.

For spiderwood I do the same and try to soak it in a 5 gallon bucket. When that fails, and it often does due to the size of the wood, I break out my drill, a piece of slate and a ss screw. Instant fix for floating wood screwing the slate to the wood where I want it. (Or you can skip this by buying a piece of spiderwood with slate already attached).

Haven't tried boiling the wood as its simply not feasible for the pieces I use.


Now my water does turn tea colored for a few days but the filters generally catch up and clean it out. Should see my filter media as its tanin colored

 

I only have wood in one or two of my tanks, but I didn't boil it either. Rinse with hose and drop it in. If it doesn't sink right away it will eventually.

 

Is that something you do or your club does emeraldking? Because” internet “ forum groups have always said not to use ordinary tea. I like many other people just regurgitate what I read.

It's something I do but also what a lot of others do. But you shouldn't be using those modern flavored tea bags. Thusfar, it has always worked without fish getting problems.

 

Not going to lie to you , I filled my clean hot tub with fresh water and lobbed my wood in to water log it. Couldn’t boil as it’s a pretty girthy piece of driftwood. The hot tub was tea ( without milk ) coloured in a month. I did this only to water log not to remove tannins, I couldn’t have that size of wood floating about. Besides I’d never of gotten the lid back on.

months later it’s not leeching anything in the tank now. Shame really .

 

I don't know what kind of wood I last bought, but I soaked it repeatedly just to get it to sink. Had it in a 5 gallon canner for a month, and it still wouldn't sink. I swear it was cork or something! I don't care for dark tannins and have always soaked and kept changing water out, but only for up to a week. I don't mind a light tea color but not dark, I want to see what's in the tank. I did have mopani once and it was too much, I gave it away. People all have different tastes about the color (COLOUR for you Brits!) of their water, but I don't know how much it really changes the PH. I have much to learn about all of that.

 

Us brits ( and European) folk Thankyou for your correct spelling of colour hah !

I genuinely love tannin stained water. I think I’m the only person ever to not have Mopani wood not stain water strongly .. the kh plays a massive part of if tannins lower a pH.

what I wonder is which wood’s contribute the highest level of beneficial humic acids or if leaves just provide a better , more controllable level .

 

Us brits ( and European) folk Thankyou for your correct spelling of colour hah !

I genuinely love tannin stained water. I think I’m the only person ever to not have Mopani wood not stain water strongly .. the kh plays a massive part of if tannins lower a pH.

what I wonder is which wood’s contribute the highest level of beneficial humic acids or if leaves just provide a better , more controllable level .

Yes if you have a high KH tannins and peat or whatever wont lower it at all. I had a piece of Mopani like Marlene. I couldnt see into the tank it was so dark. It was very leechy...

I still have it do you want it? lol

 

which wood’s contribute the highest level of beneficial humic acids

Bogwood.

or if leaves just provide a better , more controllable level .

It doesn't matter, really. I recommend doing it all: wood, leaves and other botanicals together, because the number and types of acids can slightly vary. This provides the widest range.

 

I still have it do you want it? lol

Yes ! The postage may be a little tricky though

Bogwood.

I find that interesting as it’s widely said to be mopani. Personally I’ve found it to leech the most but I haven’t exactly tried every type of wood or tested it in a controlled way !

It doesn't matter, really. I recommend doing it all: wood, leaves and other botanicals together, because the number and types of acids can slightly vary. This provides the widest range.

You know when someone says something and it clicks something in your brain ? Like a puzzle piece that gives you a bigger picture ? That’s what your comment has just done Thankyou !

Also sorry op, derailed your thread a little there. Long story short you don’t have to soak if it’s clean, it may float but you have options and depending on your kh the tannins may affect your water parameters.