I also favour the Malaysian Driftwood as it is usually called. My tanks are full of this. I never boil it, just rinse it off under the hot water tap, or sometimes in a bucket as you can swish it around rapidly and dislodge most of the dust and dirt. I never worry about tannins, because they are not dangerous and I find that unless you have quite large pieces, or a lot of new ones, the tannins are almost unnoticeable. I personally wouldn't boil this wood because this may quicken the natural decomposition. It is fairly hard wood, and tends to last a long time as such.
Another member mentioned the white fungus...this can be very toxic or not, depending what it is. There are many species of fungus, and not all are harmless. I have never seen this with any Malaysian Driftwood, but I did see it on a piece of the lighter wood, a branch which I thought was Manzanita or something, but may have been grapewood, as grapewood is well know for toxins.
Byron.
