Cup Of Tea Spilled In Tank !

[The chilly dipper]

Hi guys So i went the LFS to get some decorations for my tank and found a lovely chunk of mopani wood.

i got up this morning and it looked like a cup of tea had been brewed in my tank , i was like WT hell!!!

i have since taken the wood out to soak, so in your experience... how long will it take for the tannins soak out of the wood?
the woods about the size of a human head.

your help is very much appreciated

thanks guys

 

[-FighterFishh]

Mine took about two weeks but it was a very small piece.
Just keep boiling it until the water runs clear.

 

[Verminator89]

This is normal and it can take anywhere from a week or so to maybe a few months. Depends entirely on the piece of wood, where it came from and how big/dense it is. Just keep on top of your water changes and it'll gradually remove the tannins. Believe it or not, but your fish will prefere it, however unsightly to you atleast its only temporary.

 

[OldMan47]

The time to have your mopani no longer obviously tint the water is often quite long. The rate that the water gets tinted slows over time but it almost never truly stops. After a while, the rate will slow enough that you no longer notice it because your water changes will keep you from noticing the slight tint.
On the other side of things, a slight tint to the water can be quite attractive if you are willing to accept that water in a wild setting is almost never perfectly clear but does indeed have a small color caused by leaves, etc. that exist in that water.

 

[BigbruiserAl]

Dont boil monapi

 

[Aqua Tom]

why not?

 

[The chilly dipper]

why not?

yeah how come?

 

[The chilly dipper]

The time to have your mopani no longer obviously tint the water is often quite long. The rate that the water gets tinted slows over time but it almost never truly stops. After a while, the rate will slow enough that you no longer notice it because your water changes will keep you from noticing the slight tint.
On the other side of things, a slight tint to the water can be quite attractive if you are willing to accept that water in a wild setting is almost never perfectly clear but does indeed have a small color caused by leaves, etc. that exist in that water.

at the moment OM i have the wood in a bucket of water soaking. i put the wood in straight away not knowing about the tannin.
ithe label on the wood said soak for 48 hours (i read the label after i put the wood in the tank lol) and it looks like a teabag has been dropped in the water .... in your experience willl the water look this bad after the 48 hour soaking period?
i want clear water really but dont mind a slight tinge,if the wood will forever be throwing out really brown water then i think i may have to resell the wood on

i really like the wood though. is there no other way of reducing the tannin release rate, other than waiting a long time?


thanks
dipper

 

[coldcazzie]

boiling breaks the wood down, it'll go all crumbly and flakey. You can pour boiling water over it, but don't actually boil it. Usually a 3 week soak before putting it in the tank will remove a lot of the tannins, the rest will be removed by water changes every week.

 

[jnms]

In the past I have soaked wood for well over a month.

It still released tannins into the tank, and was still staining the water 18months later.

 

[Jinkz]

Stick it in the dishwasher a few times, obviously with no soap...worked a treat on my wood.

 

[Fish are friends]

I have two nice pieces of mopani wood in my tank and all i did was boil them in a large pot for about 2 hrs then let them soak in a bucket of water (that had aqua safe in it) for 24 hrs and then i boiled it again for another 2 hrs and most of the tannins were removed... there was still a tint of brown in the water but i think that made it more natural...

 

[Aqua Tom]

I have always boiled my wood before putting it in the Tank. That was impossible with my new piece of wood as it is massive, so i just soaked it for 24 hours then bunged it in the tank. It is leaching tannins but I quite like the effect.

Tom