Bogwood & Rocks

[Scouse Lee]

Hi all, I've just finished setting up my 145L tank and am about to start a fishless cycle, I bought 2 pieces of bogwood from my local aquarium shop today & I also have some rocks that I got from a river up on Dartmoor at the weekend and what I want to know is will it be ok to put them in the tank now. I've scrubbed the rocks and also had them in a sterilising solution for a day to make sure they're clean, the bogwood has been soaking for a few hours but do I really need to soak it for a couple of weeks like I've read elsewhere? At the moment all I've got in the tank is sand,(apart from heater & filter of course).
Thanks
Lee

 

[pablothebetta]

The wood will leak tannins for a while and may not sink straight away. If you don't mind tannins in your water or having to weigh the wood down for a while, you could add your wood. If the rocks have been sterilized, I would soak them in dechlorinator for a while to get rid of any chemicals. After that, I imagine it'd be fine to put them into the tank.

 

[Scouse Lee]

The wood will leak tannins for a while and may not sink straight away. If you don't mind tannins in your water or having to weigh the wood down for a while, you could add your wood. If the rocks have been sterilized, I would soak them in dechlorinator for a while to get rid of any chemicals. After that, I imagine it'd be fine to put them into the tank.

Don't mind them leaking tannins in fact I quite like the look of those I've seen colouring tank water, good idea on the rocks.
Thanks
Lee

 

[Gilli]

Check if your rocks are safe by dripping vinegar on them - if they fizz dont put them in.

 

[Scouse Lee]

Check if your rocks are safe by dripping vinegar on them - if they fizz dont put them in.

No fizz & they're soaking in some dechlorinator at the moment so should be good to go in the morning.
thanks
lee

 

[doresy]

Hi, only wish to add that some amount bog wood can lower the pH value of the water (acidic) which can slow up or even stall the filter cycling process.

Best to keep an eye on the pH while checking your ammonia/nitrite/nitrate levels during your fishless cycle