Malaysian Iron Driftwood. What to do??

[fishboy87]

So I just bought this for 70$ and lfs. I never had driftwood before and I thought this would look cool in a planted tank.. (right now my tank isn’t planted but I’m thinking about the future). How do I cure this thing ?
The guy at the store said to put it in water and vinegar. He said don’t power wash it bc it could split the wood and don’t boil it because it can get the wood soft. I still would like to boil it depending on your guys advice. Another guy at that store said no matter what you’ll always have tannins in your water despite what I may do.. I still bought it because that didn’t make much sense to me lol.. what do you guys recommend?

 

[SaraB]

I soaked mine for about 2 weeks. Just change the water every couple of days. Never had tannins.
Tannins aren't dangerous, they just stain your water.

 

[fishboy87]

Did you just soak it in plain water ?

 

[SaraB]

Yeah, soaking helped it sink too.

 

[earhtmother]

Ironwood *should* sink without soaking. My Mopani still gives off tannins after 5 years, my Spider wood too

 

[V227]

Maylasian will eternally stain your tank water. I have pieces of it that have been submerged in tanks for years that still cause tannin stained water. Just rinse it off in a big bucket of used tank water, then drop it in the tank. If it's Maylasian, it should sink like a rock. BTW, good looking DW.

 

[fishboy87]

Maylasian will eternally stain your tank water. I have pieces of it that have been submerged in tanks for years that still cause tannin stained water. Just rinse it off in a big bucket of used tank water, then drop it in the tank. If it's Maylasian, it should sink like a rock. BTW, good looking DW.

How bad is the stain? Does your water always seem brown ?

 

[V227]

This is what it looks like. There are three very large pieces of Maylasian and a few good sized pieces of Manzanita. The light tea stained water doen't bother me & the fish seem to benifet from it.

 

[earhtmother]

The only time I really notice the tannins in my water is when I take pictures of my tank as it make everything look yellowish. When just looking at the tank I don't really notice it. I've been told using Purigen will lessen or alleviate the colour but it doesn't really bother me that much so I may try this and see if it really makes a difference to my enjoyment of my tank.

 

[fishboy87]

Nice to know.. if I don’t like it then I’ll just take it out .. I’m thinking about boiling it before I put it in

 

[King Fisher]

If you run carbon it takes tannins out of the tank

 

[fishboy87]

I can probably run carbon in my aqueon 75 filter

 

[earhtmother]

I'd personally use Purigen since it can be recharged

 

[DTWGulo]

I'd personally use Purigen since it can be recharged

I'll second this. Purigen works well for tannins in my tanks.

 

[fishboy87]

I'll second this. Purigen works well for tannins in my tanks.

Never heard of it .

 

[earhtmother]

Like a.silica bead, tou buy it either in it's own small.pouch or in a plastic tub so that you can DIY. Place either in filter or in a hidden spot. Cour changes as it abaorbs the *bad stuff* then recharge/clean it with bleach and your good to go again.

 

[King Fisher]

https://www.seachem.com/support/forums/forum/general-discussion/989-purigen-and-what-it-does

This should explain things a little better.

 

[Mikesmmrs]

I embrace the stain, but I am going for the flooded amazon look. In past tanks I just soaked it in a bucket til i could not wait anymore.