mopani wood

[norbie]

i have some of this:

Mopani wood is one of the hardest, densest woods in nature so it will sink like a stone un-aided. Like bogwood it will release tannins in the water initially; this can be reduced by boiling in water for a min of 20mins and soaking overnight before placing in the aquarium.
It is naturally very gnarly and it has dark and pale streaks running through it. Compared to bog wood it can be expensive and is often sold by weight rather than by piece.

in what kind of water should it be soaked in overnight?

hot to begin with, or just cold?

if i sort it out today, can it go in tomorrow morning?

 

[CFC]

Personally i never bother to boil or soak any of my bogwood (i have over 50 pieces weighing up to 20 kilos per piece), they will release some tannin but this is good for the water (unless you are keeping African Cichlids but then bogwood has no place in your tank anyway) and is eventually removed in the normal course of weekly water changes. Unless you really really cant stand your water having any colour to it then all that is needed is a quick rinse under a fast running cold tap.

 

[freddyk]

Soaking it won't help very much at all, mopani leaches tannins for a long time in my experience. Boiling may help speed the process, but don't expect any miracles.

Also, as a warning just in case, when this wood collected on land (as opposed to submerged under water) tends to grow a white fungus for a while - it smells funny and looks bad, but it goes away after a few weeks and is harmless to the livestock.

 

[yvez9]

I put a piece of bogwood (small piece for 5 gallon tank), i just rinsed the dust off and never had anything leach.

I think Mopani wood is the worst though, because it is so dense. Boiling might shave a few days off the period it will leach, which can be for a week or a year. It depends on the wood!

 

[norbie]

ah so it will go eventually then?

i had this in my tank before with some fire bellied newts. it made the water so orange and that white furry stuff did grow on it. i was convinced the wood had killed the newts when they died! (they had white fur on the too)