Tropical Fish Forum

Tropical Fish Keeping Help and Advice => New Fishkeepers => Topic started by: Andy64 on October 21, 2018, 11:06:29 PM

Title: Mopani wood
Post by: Andy64 on October 21, 2018, 11:06:29 PM
Hi, I got myself a couple of pieces of mopani wood for the tank, i've been soaking them in hot water for around three weeks now, changing the water a couple of times a day. They are still leaking a lot of tannins. Anyone got any experience of this or can say roughly how long this will go on for. I'm not to bothered about a tint of tannins in the tank, but at the moment it is way too dark to have in the tank.
Thanks Andy.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: uv on October 22, 2018, 07:30:49 AM
Have you boiled the wood? You better do this for ~2 hours. If you can't fit in a vessel then try  boiling one side for an hour and other side for an hour.

This should reduce the time of soaking significantly.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: uv on October 22, 2018, 07:36:24 AM
I did brush my wood before boiling.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Cod_only_knows on October 22, 2018, 08:24:56 AM
They leak tannins for a while, but it's nothing to worry about. I'd pop the wood in your tank and if the colour is getting too dark, then do a water change. I was hoping for a slightly tea stained appearance when I added my last piece of wood, but unfortunately the water colour remained pretty much unchanged.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Andy64 on October 22, 2018, 08:52:35 AM
Thanks for the reply's , I suppose i could boil the two smaller pieces but the main piece is quite large and i don't have anything big enough, even putting the piece on its side, it would still be too big. I have it in a large white tub at the moment and it just about fits in there, i'm wondering if the colour maybe looks darker against the solid white background ?? maybe i will just put it in the tank and deal with the consequences. As long as it doesn't go too dark i will be happy  :)
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Sue on October 22, 2018, 11:05:33 AM
Boiling causes wood fibres break down faster - the wood disintegrates sooner than it would if it hadn't been boiled. If this doesn't worry you, you can try boiling it, but I want my wood to last as long as possible  ;D
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Andy64 on October 24, 2018, 08:52:11 PM
Words of wisdom  :) thank you Sue, i'll continue to soak the wood in water for another week or so, i waited long enough for the tank to cycle so a bit of wood, is not going to bother me ...........  ;D
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Helen on October 27, 2018, 08:15:57 AM
Instead of boiling it, try using boiled water to soak it in. If you've only soaked in cold water, you will notice a difference to just boiled water.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Sue on October 27, 2018, 09:47:54 AM
Yes there is a difference between putting the wood in a bucket and pouring boiling water over it then letting it sit in the hot water; and putting the wood in a large pan of water on the top of the cooker and actually boiling it like you would with a pan of vegetables, which a lot of people do. It's the second one that makes the wood fall apart faster, and that's what I assume people mean when they say to boil wood.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Helen on November 06, 2018, 11:17:36 PM
Inspired by @Matt 's aquascaping project with @Littlefish (or should it be the other way round?), I have bought a couple extra bits of wood to try and improve the shape of the aquascape in my tank (without completely reworking it).

My question is, how long do I soak the wood for? I am not at all averse to tannins in my tank, but want to make sure the wood doesn't introduce any nasties.
Title: Re: Mopani wood
Post by: Matt on November 07, 2018, 03:39:24 AM
I've not really heard of there being any problems after introducing new wood other than a mould growing on the wood and tannins being released (both harmless and disappear with time). I soaked my Mopani for a week in a bucket of water which i changed daily, replacing with boilinh water each time if memory serves.