How to prepare driftwood while KEEPING the tannins?

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Nicki Gaga

Aquarium Advice Freak
Joined
Jul 17, 2014
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235
Hi,

I found many amazing pieces of driftwood on the beach while on holiday and I would like to add them to my fish tank. I believe I would need to prepare it first before adding it, but I would like the tannins to colour the water, to give it a more natural look, so what's the best way to clean it while keeping the tannins? And is it true that darker driftwood contains more tannins than lighter driftwood? What are the different factors affecting driftwood, like shape, size, density, etc? Thanks.
 
When you say beach are you talking about the ocean or a freshwater lake?


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What I did was boiled the wood for a few minutes in the biggest pot I have. For pieces to big I poured boiling water over them. I then soaked and weighed them down til they became water logged (took about a month). I changed the water every day to keep it fresh. Yes i lost tannins through this process but still enough to give a tea color in my aquarium. If you don't need to soak the wood just plop it in your tank. Now over time through water changes you will lose the tannins. If you want to keep the color then I suggest getting media bags and stuff peat moss in them and do not use an carbon in your filtering
 
I would be worried about all of the salt in the wood. I'm not sure what it would take to remove it.


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If you soak them for a month then all the salts will dissolve. But i add aquarium salt every water change. It really wouldn't matter. Was the wood you found submerged?

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