DIY manzanita wood prep

[hippokitty]

A friend and I recently obtained manzanita wood, mostly fresh off the bush. What can I do to make it safe for my tanks?? Thanks!


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[Puckhog429]

Not really sure what its like off the bush. If it has bark scrape the bark off. Then give a good rinse and you should be fine. Not sure if manzanita leaches a lot of tannins. If it does and you dont want brown water consider soaking it in a bucket for a few weeks or boiling it to help remove high amounts of initial tannins


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[AdamsAquarium]

If tannins are your only concern, purigen is the answer. Believe me, in 24 hours it will turn a yellow tank from tannins to crystal clear. I just got the stuff today after doing plenty of research and if you want I can post before and after photos

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[hippokitty]

Ok so bark is dangerous!? Do I need to worry about anything except tannins?
Where do you get purigen?
I would love pictures!!


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[Puckhog429]

Bark isnt really dangerous. It will just rot and create a lot of tannins. Purigen isnt necessary but does help with the tannins. Btw the tannins dont harm fish or plants.


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[AdamsAquarium]

Agreed with what was just said. Tannins don't harm the fish at all, just turns the water yellow and eventually brown.

Some people recommend soaking the wood for 2 weeks before putting it in the tank to help with removing the tannins or boiling it in a pot for an hour. I did the boil method and as most people would tell you, it didn't help as much as we hoped haha.

The tannins will go away eventually, and purigen is not 'necessary', but if you didn't want your water color to be yellow or brown, this is a good fix.

Here are before and after photos using purigen, the 2nd photo is ONLY 5 hour after I put it in. On average it takes about 24 hours to clear up the tank.

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[hippokitty]

Thank you guys! I'm not too concerned with mild tannins b/c I have betta community tanks and fairly high ph water but that's a great trick! I usually just add extra carbon but I've heard that purigen does the trick!

One more thing.. How would you recommend scraping the bark off? Sandpaper? A blade of some sort?


[emoji192]Hippo
[emoji216]Snickers, Kevin & Bacon
[emoji226]Grumpy Gills & Tramp + various pals
[emoji196]Webster