Tannis in Tank: Yes or No?

[Az3rix]

Hello guys,

I plan on adding Cholla Wood and some type of driftwood (not sure which one yet, probably whatever my LFS has in stock) to my tank and I read that they release Tannis into the water. I was wondering if that is fine for my future inhabitants of:

10 Pygmy Corydoras
10 Albino Corydoras
20 Harlequin Rasboras
10 Cherry Shrimps

I know you have to waterlog them and I plan on just putting them into a bucket of hot tap water, not boiling (because I also read that will make it deteriorate faster) for a week or so and I heard that will help lessen the amount of tannis it releases it into the tank later on. I know tannis is beneficial to the shrimp, but is it okay for the Corydoras and the Rasboras? I've been trying to look into it and all I read is that it helps with recovery if they happen to get damaged, but nothing specifically states it is beneficial to them. I just want to know if they will do just fine with all the tannis in the water. I know they also reduce the PH and my current PH testing around 6.8 to like 7.2, and was wondering if this will also mess up the parameters for all of the fish planned for the tank. I rather not have the water get too stained and get really dark from the tannis release, which is why I plan on using the hot top water and the bucket method, but in the end, I wouldn't mind it too much if the water gets stained either way since they're beneficial for the fish, so I'll end up getting used to it for their benefit. If it ends up being bad for them, I am also okay with not adding the cholla wood and the diftwood. Any help would be appreciated, so thanks in advanced!

 

[Colin_T]

Tannins don't normally affect the pH.

Some Corydoras and rasboras come from blackwater and will be fine with tannins.

Boiling wood or even putting in hot tap water won't change the amount of tannins coming out. The wood will release tannins until it stops doing it. There is nothing out there to help speed things up. Just hose the wood off and put it in the tank. If it gets white fluffy fungus on it, take it outside and hose it off again, and do a big water change on the tank.

 

[CassCats]

No problems with tannins on those fish at all.

If *you* dislike the look of tannins, you can use carbon in your filter to remove it, but it's harmless.


Your pH won't be affected much by the tannins unless you have a KH of 0, which is unlikely unless you are using straight RODI water.

 

[Az3rix]

Tannins don't normally affect the pH.

Some Corydoras and rasboras come from blackwater and will be fine with tannins.

Boiling wood or even putting in hot tap water won't change the amount of tannins coming out. The wood will release tannins until it stops doing it. There is nothing out there to help speed things up. Just hose the wood off and put it in the tank. If it gets white fluffy fungus on it, take it outside and hose it off again, and do a big water change on the tank.

No problems with tannins on those fish at all.

If *you* dislike the look of tannins, you can use carbon in your filter to remove it, but it's harmless.


Your pH won't be affected much by the tannins unless you have a KH of 0, which is unlikely unless you are using straight RODI water.

Ah gotcha, thanks so much guys! I don't mind the tannins, so I'll be putting them both in with no worries then.

 

[MaloK]

It's a good idea to start those that have high release in a separate bucket, if the piece is chunky enough you can get very dark water, for a long time.

Wood Type	Tannin Release
Dragon Driftwood	High
Mangrove	High
Mopani Wood	High
Bogwood	High
Malaysian Driftwood	Moderate-High
Spider Wood	Moderate
Cholla Wood	Moderate
Hickory Wood	Low
Manzanita Wood	Low
Oak Wood	Low

 

[Az3rix]

It's a good idea to start those that have high release in a separate bucket, if the piece is chunky enough you can get very dark water, for a long time.

Wood Type	Tannin Release
Dragon Driftwood	High
Mangrove	High
Mopani Wood	High
Bogwood	High
Malaysian Driftwood	Moderate-High
Spider Wood	Moderate
Cholla Wood	Moderate
Hickory Wood	Low
Manzanita Wood	Low
Oak Wood	Low

Ah, that's very helpful, thanks for that!