Azalea Root soaking…

[Oli]

Hi guys, getting the 55 gallon up and going soon and got a large piece of azalea root by Aqua One today. Is it worth starting to soak it now to get rid of the tanins (baring in mind there is no filter in the tank) or do you think by the time it has cycled it will be clear and ready for fish anyway? I am aware tanins aren’t harmful but I want a nice clear tank when the time comes to add fish and plants!

 

[Slaphppy7]

That kind of DW, commonly referred to as "spiderword", has little to no tannins...should be fine as is

Nice piece, BTW

 

[DoubleDutch]

That kind of DW, commonly referred to as "spiderword", has little to no tannins...should be fine as is

Nice piece, BTW

Agree.

 

[Essjay]

I would soak it. I bought some Aqua One azalea root a couple of years ago. It got that horrible white goo all over it, and the water went so cloudy I couldn't see through it. Luckily I did soak it in an old tank in the garden so it didn't affect the main tank. After several weeks of almost daily total water changes and scrubbing the goo off, the water still went cloudy overnight. I finally gave up on it and bought some different wood.
Yours may not do this, but it's worth finding out first.


It didn't turn the water brown either, just white.

 

[Oli]

How would I soak it? The only thing big enough would be the bath really unless I used this tank?

 

[Essjay]

Hmmm, it is a bit bigger than the pieces I bought.

You could try using the tank for a few days which would give enough time to see if it makes a cloudy mess or not. If it doesn't but it floats, you could use a piece of rock to hold it down while you get the tank ready then by the time it's cycled the wood should stay down by itself.