driftwood leeching out tannins despite boil/soak

[Guest]

AAAAHHHHH!!!!

my water is already so ridiculously soft i have to add crushed coral to my tanks just to stabilize it.

however i found the perfect piece of driftwood for a planted application I have been planning, so i bought it, thinking if i boiled/soaked it enough (pre-soaked when purchased even, mind you) that it would not cause too much greif in my tank.

So, i did just that. Boiled for 2 hours, then soaked for 2 days with some water changes. the last rinse looked clear.

I plunked it in the tank today and in less than an hour, i got that nice, blackwater, tea hue.

it isn't quite blackwater yet, but i figure it will be by morning.

This tank is already established. Stock includes angels and a BGK.

What is the danger factor here for these fish?
I know the angels will likely enjoy the blackwater, but what about the BGK? will he be ok? I also have some ghost cats in there... will they weather it alright?

also, how will this effect other things like my biofilter?

should i remove the piece? I love it, it is stunning and perfect for what i plan for the tank. but my fish mean more to me than my petty plans.

my BGK does not seem entirely pleased with the addition. he seems lethargic. Perhaps I can move him to a less blackwatery tank?

suggestions appreciated. I was not entirely prepared for the DW to color my tank so much.

 

[Speakerman]

From what I understand, your not in any real danger just by adding some driftwood that discolors your water.

It may be unsightly, however not detramental to the ecosystem.

Someone correct me if I am wrong.

 

[src]

Also, soaking for 2 days isn't going to get rid of all the tannins, even if you do boil. You need to soak for weeks if you want to be _sure_ that you get no tannins.

 

[JohnPaul]

This may be a matter of personal taste, but I kinda like the slight coloring the tannins give the water. Seems more...hmm..."natural," for lack of a better word. (This is assuming a planted tank; the effect might not carry over to a non-planted tank.)

Anyway, as others have said, all the tannins will eventually leach out, it will just take weeks, not days.

 

[exodus]

As far as I know, tannins don't do anything other than discolor your water. I just put 10 pieces of driftwood in my 55, water has been brown for a few weeks now and nothing has gne wrong. I kinda like the look, actually.

 

[Voodoo Chilli]

I don't forsee any real problems either, although I would keep a close eye on your pH. Really soft water has no buffering capacity; the tannins may cause a drop in pH.

Probably nothing to worry about, but it's good to be aware of the possibility.

 

[maxwell1295]

No doubt about it...tannic acid will cause a pH drop, but only if your water isn't sufficiently buffered. Adding crushed coral to the filter will probably offset a potential pH drop.

 

[petunia100]

The tannic acid did cause a drop in my tank but not by much, about .2 if I remember and it wasn't all at once. I would keep an eye on it though. I've heard putting a carbon filter in will help remove the tannins, but you may have to change it frequently. My dad soaked his driftwood for over a month and it still tinted the water in his 90 gallon. Over time and with regular water changes it will become clear.

 

[tjudy]

All wood will release tannins, some more than others. What type of driftwood did you buy? Malaysian driftwood usually leaches tannins that are dark adn they do it fast... but for a shorter period of time. Mopani/swahala/african root tended to leach for longer periods of time... I have had some pieces that were still leaching a year after going into a tank.

 

[Devilishturtles]

I boiled my rock for a day straight, doing water changes in between. It leeched for a while, then stopped.

The tannins won't do much of anything. Like everyone else said, it may drop the pH an insignificant amount. No danger.

 

[newfound77951]

Not sure about this, but activated carbon might remove some or all of the color from the water. So that might be something to try if you don't already have carbon (or fresh carbon) in your filter.

But no, it won't hurt anything, only thing I would worry about would be the aforementioned pH effect (which your CC will handle) and if you had any really temperamental high-light foreground plants that might complain of less light. I don't think you do so you should be all set.

 

[Sicklid]

I solved the problem by adding carbon. But not the amount that goes in a hang on power filter, I use a HOT magnum... Cleared it up in an hour or two...

 

[beepboop]

You Lye

I have been boiling and soaking some driftwood for weeks and it's still leaching. So, I'm trying some lye now. I haven't been able to find anyone else anywhere who has tried this, so it's an experiment. I recently bought some food grade lye (which is very alkaline). You can use a base to neutralize an acid (like baking soda and vinegar, or even baking soda and tannic acid in driftwood). But, baking soda is weak and wasn't working very well, so I'm trying lye now. Baking soda is a little higher than 8 on the ph scale. Sodium Hydroxide (lye) is about a 14. Since each number is 10 times more powerful than the previous (like the Richter scale or the decibel scale), that would make lye about 1,000,000 times more alkaline than baking soda. So, I'm guessing it will leach tannins a lot faster.

I haven't bought fish yet. I'm not adding the lye to the tank. The driftwood is soaking in a five gallon bucket with the water and lye.

I'll let you know how things turn out.

Sorry to update such an old thread, but I feel this is new information that could help more people that have this problem. While you can just add carbon or purigen to a filter, I'm going to have a plant filter instead, so I won't be using carbon. So, I need to take care of the tannins before I put the driftwood in the tank.