bogwood

[lionheart]

HELP PLEASE,
i bought a piece of pre treated bogwood, wen i got home i stuck it in a pan and boiled it for 2 hours or more just to be on safe side alot of tannin came out, but in some places on the wood now there is really nice redish colours ozzing out which i am thrilled about,however i have placed it in a 5 gallon container of water now to remove more of the tannins, it as sunk straight away so it's definatley bogwood, but i was wondering how long should i leave it in soak for ? seen as ive boiled it prior to being submerged in de-chlorinated water,should i leave it in same water or should i change water periodically and do this till water stays clear ?,and wot sort of time limit am i looking at before it can go into aquarium.

 

[joy13]

I myself like the tannins in the tank, a lot of the South American fish prefer to have blackwater, which is just tannins. I actually buy bottled blackwater for a couple of my tanks. If you rather not have a natural tea colored water you can keep changing the water every day until it doesn't release any more tannins.

 

[kangster]

i soaked mine in a gallon of water (i got the smallest one they had which was intended for a small pleco i was hoping to get) for about 2 weeks and it still wouldnt sink
mine came with a small rock plaform with a nail screwed to it and i thought iron and rust might be bad for my fish and i removed it and used the platforms weight to hold the wood down and after about a month, it is finally sinking on its own (the total time is about 6 weeks)
as for the tannins i heard it lowers ph a little bit which is good for the fish?
i havent seen any noticeable tannins after the first week but maybe its my blackground i adhered to the back of my tank
so yes i heard the tannins are actually good for some fish but if you dont like the look of it, i guess more frequent and a bigger PWC would help

 

[GhostKnife]

It depends on what slightly raises the acidity of the tank. I put in a bunch of malaysian driftwood in the tank and for about a month straight was tannish(if you will) water color in my tank. If you dont mind the sight of it then it wont harm your tank. Clown loaches and plecos are some of the fish I have that like it. Certain plecos skim the surface of driftwood, skimming a layer of what has fallen on the wood...Im sure it helps keep it clean. Others of my fish I assume adapted somewhat to the difference. None seemed to be phased by it.
PS Slightly acidic water means your ph will be higher. Too much of a change all at once will/might cause problems with fish health.

 

[missileman]

PS Slightly acidic water means your ph will be higher. Too much of a change all at once will/might cause problems with fish health.

It's the other way around. Acidic = lower PH

 

[HooKooDooKu]

I don't have any experience with bogwood, but the wood I used for drift wood, I boiled it at least a dozen times, each time for at least one hour. After a month in the tank with weekly PWC, it still is releasing tannins.