Boiling driftwood.

[kashif314]

I want to know if boiling driftwood has some effects as soaking it in water for weeks? I want to remove tanins so I can use it to lower ph. I can't wait for weeks so please advise if boiling is the solution and if to boil then for how long? Thanks.

 

[ZxC]

I want to know if boiling driftwood has some effects as soaking it in water for weeks? I want to remove tanins so I can use it to lower ph. I can't wait for weeks so please advise if boiling is the solution and if to boil then for how long? Thanks.

Boiling will remove many of the tannins, it is a stinky process so be ware

 

[BBradbury]

Driftwood

I want to know if boiling driftwood has some effects as soaking it in water for weeks? I want to remove tanins so I can use it to lower ph. I can't wait for weeks so please advise if boiling is the solution and if to boil then for how long? Thanks.

Hello kas...

Boiling the piece will soften it, so it won't hold together as long. Just rinse the piece well and leave it outside for a couple of days. It's very unlikely there is anything on it to harm your fish and a day or two in the direct sun will kill anything that might be living there. Use some local rocks to weigh it down in the tank if necessary.

B

 

[V227]

Most of the driftwood I have was too big to boil, or soak for that matter. I just cleaned it off as best I could then put it in the tank. Yes it did stain the water, and still does 6 yrs later but to a lesser degree. You get used to it.

 

[kashif314]

Hello kas...

Boiling the piece will soften it, so it won't hold together as long. Just rinse the piece well and leave it outside for a couple of days. It's very unlikely there is anything on it to harm your fish and a day or two in the direct sun will kill anything that might be living there. Use some local rocks to weigh it down in the tank if necessary.

B

Boiling will remove many of the tannins, it is a stinky process so be ware

Most of the driftwood I have was too big to boil, or soak for that matter. I just cleaned it off as best I could then put it in the tank. Yes it did stain the water, and still does 6 yrs later but to a lesser degree. You get used to it.

Thanks a lot for the replies and advise.

 

[Potluck]

I boiled mine to remove the tannins which also helped it to sink, I don't know about it breaking down faster I've had it for over 6 years, if you don't like the look of tannins you can get purigen (if the tanks planted, if not planted you can get another type of activated carbon) which will remove them, just rinse the wood off good before you add it, my last piece I got was to big and branchy to boil so I just rinsed it off good and added it, yes it did leech tannins I don't use activated carbon and my water isn't really that brown it's a lighter shade so it doesn't bother me too bad.

 

[kashif314]

I boiled mine to remove the tannins which also helped it to sink, I don't know about it breaking down faster I've had it for over 6 years, if you don't like the look of tannins you can get purigen (if the tanks planted, if not planted you can get another type of activated carbon) which will remove them, just rinse the wood off good before you add it, my last piece I got was to big and branchy to boil so I just rinsed it off good and added it, yes it did leech tannins I don't use activated carbon and my water isn't really that brown it's a lighter shade so it doesn't bother me too bad.

Thanks a lot. I was actually considering buying purigen as my tank is heavily planted. However I want to know if purigen will effect tds or GH or KH of water? I want my water parameters undisturbed.

 

[Potluck]

Thanks a lot. I was actually considering buying purigen as my tank is heavily planted. However I want to know if purigen will effect tds or GH or KH of water? I want my water parameters undisturbed.

I have read that it does trap humic acid so I'm not entirely sure, there's a couple threads on Google saying it will absorb the humic acid from buffering substrate which makes it null and not being about to buffer any longer.

 

[kashif314]

I have read that it does trap humic acid so I'm not entirely sure, there's a couple threads on Google saying it will absorb the humic acid from buffering substrate which makes it null and not being about to buffer any longer.

I see then I think its not good for my tank as I need my substrate to buffer pH.

 

[fishenthusiast]

If your driftwood does leech a lot on tannins, just put some activated carbon in the filter for a day or two until the discoloration is gone. Activated carbon is great at removing tannins.

 

[kashif314]

If your driftwood does leech a lot on tannins, just put some activated carbon in the filter for a day or two until the discoloration is gone. Activated carbon is great at removing tannins.

Alright. Thanks a lot for the advise

 

[Potluck]

If your driftwood does leech a lot on tannins, just put some activated carbon in the filter for a day or two until the discoloration is gone. Activated carbon is great at removing tannins.

But activated carbon removes buffers from his substrate which he needs, and a couple days won't do anything since wood can leech for months even years, I say if it's not unsightly like dark brown I wouldn't even worry about it as tannins won't hurt anything.

 

[kashif314]

But activated carbon removes buffers from his substrate which he needs, and a couple days won't do anything since wood can leech for months even years, I say if it's not unsightly like dark brown I wouldn't even worry about it as tannins won't hurt anything.

Thanks. Actually my substrate is buffering good. It was my test kits showing wrong readins. Now I switched to liquid test kits.

 

[fishenthusiast]

But activated carbon removes buffers from his substrate which he needs, and a couple days won't do anything since wood can leech for months even years, I say if it's not unsightly like dark brown I wouldn't even worry about it as tannins won't hurt anything.

Oops! My mistake. It pays to read through the entire thread. In terms of using activated carbon for only a day or two, the main point in that is to use it after so many tannins have accumulated. Continuous use of AC would defeat the purpose of dosing plant fertilizers. As Potluck mentioned, Purigen would be the best option to reduce water discoloration in this case. It doesn’t work as well as activated carbon, but it is efficient. If tannins accumulate in tank water, water changes will eventually reduce water discoloration.

 

[kashif314]

Oops! My mistake. It pays to read through the entire thread. In terms of using activated carbon for only a day or two, the main point in that is to use it after so many tannins have accumulated. Continuous use of AC would defeat the purpose of dosing plant fertilizers. As Potluck mentioned, Purigen would be the best option to reduce water discoloration in this case. It doesn’t work as well as activated carbon, but it is efficient. If tannins accumulate in tank water, water changes will eventually reduce water discoloration.

Thanks a lot