Tannins

[CBTF]

Does anyone else here have tannins that just wont fade? Ive boiled my wood tons but to no avail. I think ive learned to accept it 0_o

Its actually not so bad, but one day I hope they go away.

 

[wuvmybetta]

You can use carbon. I like the look myself. Several of my tanks are blackwater and I think they look nice )

 

[soritan]

It has also been suggested on the 'beginners' forum that over-boiling the wood could cause it to break down much faster, thus creating a paradoxical effect by making it leach more tannins. Of course, I had to be told that after I boiled my own wood for 8 hours a day for 3 days.

Carbon really does work for ridding yourself of, or lessening the effects of, tannins. I use carbon in my tank all the time, whenever I remove it, my water gets quite chock full of tannins. I don't mind tannins in moderation, but there is a point where enough is enough, for me.

 

[Bloo]

Ive boiled my wood tons but to no avail.

And this is probably where your problems lie.
Wood should only be soaked in hot water or boiled for 10 minutes or so max. Any more than that and it will start to "disintegrate". After soaking the wood for a couple of weeks, the brown colour will start to disappear from the water (if doing regular weekly water changes) and using carbon will almost certainly help to some extent. But that depends on the wood / water ratio and amount of tannins it's leaching.

Bogwood is generally better and leach less tannins (as it's been lying in a bog for many years) but mopani wood (that most of us buy) have not been in contact with water, and will therefore leach a lot lot more.

 

[chishnfips]

The tannins will eventually fade away, I have had my mopani wood in my tank for about 4-5 months now and they are still visible but not as bad as it was. As mentioned before carbon does help and regular water changes help aswell.

The tannins have some sortt of anti bacterial property too which is good for the tank, if you can bide the colour.

 

[morgan]

I soaked my large mopani in cold water only for a few days. It did not leach any tannin. Which surprised me. I do have a carbon sponge in all the time (except for once in my old tank when I had to medicate). The tannin is harmless but I like the water crystal clear. My smaller piece of mopani leached a lot more, strangely. It cleared in a couple of days.