Bogwood Advice...

[harryc]

Hi,

I'm starting a new FW tank and have bought 3 nice pieces of bogwood as the centrepiece.

I've never used it before and know I need to cure it first, but have some questions....

Do I need to use dechorinator with the water?
Is boiling necessary? (I've heard it really stinks and I don't want my flat reeking!)
How long should I soak it for? (Starting the tank cycle tonight so I have time on my side).

Thanks in advance!

Harry

 

[uh.oh...]

I soaked my in a bleach and water solution for a few days. A week would be more than enough. Then I soaked it in water laced with declorinator solution, at a 3/1 ration of the normal dosage. Thats to get rid of the bleach. But i get all my bogwood from our local forest. So, since you bought yours, i'd just rinse it really well and through it in.

As for boiling it, if its small enough to fit in a pot of yours go ahead, some of the tannins will leak out, but its not really that necessary.

 

[harryc]

Great, thanks. I think it might need treating, got it from a big pet department store and they recommeneded it, it's a bit "barky" so I think it will need it. Do you get much tannin leach from yours after bleaching? I don't really want a blackwater look, I just love the look of the natural bogwood. Thanks again!

 

[jcolon]

Actually you don't have to boil DW ... but boiling does help it release the tannins which will stain your water a tea color. No worries ... it's completely harmless to fish. A nice trick is to run it in a dishwasher ... minus dishes and detergent .... twice in high heat setting. I recommend running the Dishwasher first on empty to rinse away any soap residue, then run the DW twice.

Some members scrub it then drop it in a tub / bucket of regular tap water for a couple of weeks which does two things ...

1. Releases tannins so you'll need to change out the water every 2-3 days
2. Get it waterlogged so it'll sink better when you put it in your tank ... very annoying when DW floats.

Usually any chlorine will burn off in that time. However, when it's time for it to go in the tank, give it a final soak with dechlorinator to neutralize and chlorine/ chloramine residue.

Hope this helps.

 

[harryc]

OK that's great, thanks jcolon... Don't have a dishwasher at home but there's one here at work... might commandeer that for an afternoon!

 

[The Editor]

I had never even thought to put DW in a dishwasher... Brilliant!

I left mine in a bucket in the bathroom for about 2 months while my tank cycled, changed the water for fresh hot water twice a day. Got rid of most of the tannins and water logged it...

Was a PITA though...

 

[harryc]

Thanks... I've seen some recommendations online to use some aquarium salt whilst soaking, is that something I should be looking at considering it's for a FW tank?

 

[The Editor]

Salt will raise the osmotic pressure within the DW forcing the tannins out quicker..

I've no idea how much it speeds the process up, you may find you need a huge salinity to effect a discernible difference in the time it takes. It should be fine for FW however, just make sure you change the salty for water for FW for a few days before you pop it in your tank. Most of the salt will go then, any residual salt should be at a sufficiently low concentration in the tank it makes no difference.

 

[harryc]

OK cool, will get started on it next week i think!