help with driftwood ?

[mom2reds]

I bought a piese of Malaysian wood yesterday for my ten gallon tank. I have boiled it for about 4 hours total then let it soak all night in water and then have boiled it some more this am, I am still getting yellow water from it. How long do I need to keep doing this or is it ok to go ahead and put it in my tank?

Thank Tess

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

What kind of fish you got? some like the 'yelllow water'. I boiled mine for like 3 hours and 'yellow water' still came out and went ahead and put it in and nothing happened.

 

[fish 'n' fries]

The yellow is tannins...not harmful to the fish. It's only an aesthetic issue. Charcoal can take it out of the water if you care. That said...I added fish store Malaysian wood directly to my tank without boiling it and didn't really see any color change in the water. Boiling it longer can help get rid of it if you really don't want any discoloration to your water.

 

[Zagz]

I agree just add some active carbon to your filter. Some driftwood will leak tannins longer than others.

 

[JeffreyL]

driftwood

As fish 'n' fries said, the tannins leaching out are harmless, and carbon in your filter will reduce it. If you don't want to mess with it in the tank just keep your wood soaking and change the water every day. You will probably see the water start to clear in a a week or so. But it will vary. Boiling will speed up the process some, but it may still just take time.

This hobby offers so many opportunities for us to practice patience, don't it??