soaking wood

[dudeofrude]

I've just got some pieces of mopani root and bogwood, just wondering about the soaking process? I have an old plastic 2ft tank to do it in and I'm planning on just putting them in cold water and leaving them for a few weeks? Do I need to change the water, heat it or anything? Also is there a quicker way to get it in my tank?

 

[maxwellag]

I've just got some pieces of mopani root and bogwood, just wondering about the soaking process? I have an old plastic 2ft tank to do it in and I'm planning on just putting them in cold water and leaving them for a few weeks? Do I need to change the water, heat it or anything? Also is there a quicker way to get it in my tank?

It is best to fill it with water that's as hot as possible. It's closer to boiling it then.

 

[DragonFish71]

I soak mine then put it in the dishwasher (no soap) then soak it some more. But changing the water while soaking does help, at least with the odor that can come from stagnant water.

It will still leach tannins for awhile, mopani is a heavy tannin wood.

 

[dudeofrude]

Great :-l I was hoping to get it in there within a week lol

 

[PC1]

Change the water as is gets darker. With mopani that will be every few days probably depending on the size of it. Mopani leaches quite a bit of tannins.

 

[Convict2161]

Boil it and every 20 minutes change the water. I did that and in a day it was in my tank no issues.

 

[dudeofrude]

Boil it and every 20 minutes change the water. I did that and in a day it was in my tank no issues.

Sounds good but what did you use to boil it in? I have 3bits that are around 2ft long, don't think I'd fit that on the cooker lol

 

[Convict2161]

Sounds good but what did you use to boil it in? I have 3bits that are around 2ft long, don't think I'd fit that on the cooker lol

Haha true. I used a huge lobster pot

 

[Tigroscr]

I soak mine then put it in the dishwasher (no soap) then soak it some more. But changing the water while soaking does help, at least with the odor that can come from stagnant water.

It will still leach tannins for awhile, mopani is a heavy tannin wood.

No doubt! I boiled my Mopani for several hours so long even that it ruined my pot. I've been soaking it in a bucket of water for 3 weeks now, I even change the water in the bucket every day and the water still looks like a dark tea. This is the first time I've bought Mopani wood and it definitely seems to take longer than regular old DW to release all the tannins.

 

[dudeofrude]

Well it's looking good, I've had them in an old tank in the bath since last night, been changing the water everytime I've gone to the bathroom. Last night the water was so dark I could barely see the wood in there but this morning after 2 changes its barely discoloured so hopefully in the next few days it might be good to go.

On a side note I've read that tannin can be good at stopping algae growth? Anyone had any results with that?

 

[dudeofrude]

Also if I got impatient and put them in, how long would it take to remove the tannin from my tank, roughly?