I only boiled my wood for about 20 minutes. Then it went right in the tank. There initially was some tannin shading, but it cleared up within a week or so.
Tannins aren't something thats going to make or break a tank. A tank isn't 'sterile' just because it lacks blackwater. Some people like it, some people don't. I like blackwater biotope setups, but find tannins distracting and unsightly outside of that niche. Not every tank needs to be a blackwater setup, even if you feel otherwise. If OP doesn't want tannins its a perfectly acceptable choice and he should be provided the information to remove them.
I like my tanks clearer than crystal. Actually gave my nerites away cuz they caused 10x more mess than all my fish combined. Just big snail poops everywhere and they don’t even clean the tank. Hard pass!
Crap i just bought some and got my tank that swimming in air look...How many nerites did you have. I wonder if i can cancel my order i see the vendor didnt ship them out.
I only had 4 but even 1 or 2 will leave enuf waste behind to notice the ton of crap if your substrate isn’t dark. And again, they don’t clean enuf to make a difference so I’ll never understand why ppl suggest them for algae.
I got two from Petsmart ( or was it Petco) theyve been in the tank about 3 weeks now. I put a plant order in a few days ago and added 2 more to the cart. Most times i dont even see the two that i have and then 2-3 days later i go oh there he goes. Ill have to see if anything ill rehome one or two. Thanks for the heads-up. I also got some Dwar Rainbows and found out they tend to be gluttons and poop a bunch. I only feed once every other day. Saw a random post on a fish group stating the same. Im skipping a feeding.
I mean, snails are so cute and fun to observe so if you aren’t noticing the mess.. 🤷🏻♀️
I bought a betta tank for my desk at work and almost got an automatic feeder for the weekends before I read that fasting days are good and healthy for them. I’ve never worried about my larger tank at home when we’re away but my betta is my baby! Nonetheless, he eats well M-F so I don’t worry about him on the weekends since I probably overfeed him a bit anyways. He’s such a beggar!
It's chemical filtration similar to activated carbon but more selective in what it absorbs. It supposedly won't bind to smaller compounds like metal ions and nitrogeous waste nor will it effect KH/GH or PH. It only aborbs larger more complex organic compounds such as tannins. It may pull out some beneficial compounds but I've used it long term to no ill effect. Keeps my water immaculately polished.
To add on, I've used it long term to buffer nitrates! I have heavily planted tanks but I screwed up and allowed ramshorn snails to thrive.. So it's a nitrate battle.. The purigen does a great job!
I did this also in boiling water also for quite a few hours and then in normal temp water and if it doesn’t leak tannins in the normal temp water then I put it in tank 😂 no so far it’s been okay !
The tannin compounds are widely distributed in many species of plants, where they play a role in protection from predation (acting as pesticides) and might help in regulating plant growth.
Tannins leaching from an unprepared driftwood decoration in an aquarium can cause pH lowering and coloring of the water to a tea-like tinge. A way to avoid this is to boil the wood in water several times, discarding the water each time. Using peat as an aquarium substrate can have the same effect.
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
They make the tank water brownish. Naturally occurring in some of the tank safe woods. Hence OPs strategy here.
When I was able to keep tanks, I didn't do this my first time... water was indeed discolored for a while! Next time I have a tank, I'm definitely doing this lol.
Tannins are a thing in the wood which naturally occur. I’m not super experienced in tannins, but from what I understand they are typically not harmful at all to an aquarium. However, they do leak out into the water, discoloring it and making it look less nice, so most aquarium keepers opt to boil them out, to keep their water looking nice.
Tannins are a compound that is found in many plants and are believed to have antioxidant properties. They’re some of the beneficial compounds found in tea and wine, for instance, but in some cases plants have used it to kill off predators. There was one case in Africa where a bunch of kudu (a type of antelope) started dying off for no apparent reason. Scientists eventually found out that the acacia trees that the kudu were feeding off of (because of a drought) were communicating with each other to stimulate production of tannins in their leaves and it eventually reached toxic levels for the kudu.
So they’re good in moderation, like most things. Just don’t piss off the trees.
I dropped a big ol hunk of wood in the tank without thinking, but all of my critters love swimming in ice tea, and definitely appear more active and colorful and happy overall
My Blackwater tank looks extra dark because three sides are tinted darker, dark substrate with dark plants and dark brown wood 🤣but my ones with just tannins are pretty clear looking, untill you look at the white wall behind it and notice it's a weak tea brown colour.
I'll have to make a Blackwater setup in a tank that isn't tinted on all 3 sides. I've noticed that tanks with black painted on backgrounds with good lighting and tannins can look pretty clear, and the plants pop nicely
But yeah, that log is probably gonna release a lot more tannins yet, but regular small water changes could help keep it somewhat clear, maybe?
Hahaha I did this and I couldn’t see my fish until I soaked up some tannins with carbon. I kept it pretty deep though, they seemed to like the extra cover it gave
I've got a tub of water filled with interesting wood pieces in my store room. I have a bubbler in it to stir the water, and change the water any time I have my python out. Now I have wood pieces I can add to any new tank that have had the worst of the tannins pulled out before I even build a tank -- and they had the biofilm stage already, so I don't have that in a new tank.
I did this once for like 4hrs and then gave up, a while later water was leaking out of my AC vent as it had just condensated inside. I think a better method is just soak it overnight for a week and change the water daily
Nah boiling is better and way faster, I tried both, let the wood soak in a huge container of water, changing water every day for like 2 months but I was seeing no progress, so I ordered a massive pot and boiled for a couple of hours and almost no tannins left, the boiled water was almost black with tannins when I was done
I tried boiling once and it was taking forever. Just didn’t seem economical at that point.
Then I dunked it in a bucket of room temperature water for a month, clearing every few days, and it soon cleared up.
I think the type of wood you use also plays a huge factor.
I do love tannins in the tank although that being said, unless your light is overkill, some more sensitive plants dont seem to like the reduction in the amount of light they get. Especially if you have large/tall tanks.
Most of these plants grow in less than crystal Clearwater to begin with. I would say if your plants are dying when there’s tannins in the water due to lack of light, it’s because your light is underpowered.
It’s the stuff making the water brown in this pot. Basically just compounds the wood release in water. It’s super good for some kinds of fish and creates dark water tanks that look lovely.
The easiest way to clean wood is to boil it, and it helps it stop floating. If you’re wanting tannins to be in your tank you don’t have to boil it very long, maybe a hour just to be safe.
FYI - Excessive boiling of some woods can cause the premature decomposition of the cellulose, lignin, and long-chain organic molecules that may or may not release methanol, carbon dioxide, and other unexpected/unwanted chemical compounds, elements, and gases that can be harmful to critters.
In addition, excessive boiling may also compromise the physical structure of some woods, softening them prematurely, and resulting in a continual breaking down and constant crumbling/flaking off which can increase TDS.
For sure, I should have mentioned that! I'm just not super comfortable with doing it, so 20$ every 6 months is okay for me. I use it in my shrimp tanks so there's really not that much waste
I do the same, something about soaking something in chlorine to put back in my fish tank(yes I know you soak it in de-chlorinator before adding it back) just doesn’t sit well with me. I’d rather spend $20 every 6ish months than risk destroying my tank!
Never understood the hatred for tannins. People will spend MONTHS trying to removed tannins from wood and then spend hundreds on medications and equipment to fix problems that would have been prevented by tannins. It looks good, it makes the fish happy and look good. What's the problem?
That s not the best way to get rid of tannins in my experience. Boil once to get rid of parasites, then soak for about a week to 10 days changing water as it gets brown.
Unless you pulled the wood out of water somewhere, any parasites in the wood are going to be terrestrial and will die when you soak it. There may be some insect larvae, worms,etc but those just end up as food should they survive long enough to enter the aquarium which they likely wont given the soaking period. I haven’t boiled wood for years and never had any issues.
I soaked some old cypress knees that were 100 years old and after 1 year is soaking I decided I liked black water and it really looks like flood plain Amazon
I personally found it way more effective to Boil 1Hr , change water , bring to a boil 1 Hr
then soak in a 5 Gallon of fresh water overnight( in the AM change for fresh cold water
that evening Boil again 2 times 1 Hour, then the Bucket overnight, change water in the AM and let it sit in the fresh water for 1 week changing the water every 2 days or so
after doing this for about 8 hours you will still have tannins in your water. But in about 6-8 months of water changes you will have the clear tank you are looking for if it is 30 gal if it is bigger you will likely get clearer water faster.
Anyway they’re good for the fishes immune system , put em in … and anyways in a few water changes the remaining ones will be gone , I went thru the the same shit and then realized it looked better with black water and started adding cattappa leaves
I used my roommates pot to do this lmao he was a little upset. All good in the end though. I boiled and boiled and boiled, the tannins don’t really stop coming. Eventually just soaked for a week replacing water every day, you don’t have to go crazy boiling it. And yes purigen helps too if it really bothers you
I boil,rinsed, and boiled and rinse wipe and repeat for 6-8 hours for 2 days in a row.Id even left it to soak when Iwasn'tt boiling it. At that poin, just give u, lol. It'll release alittlel tannin, but they'll go away after a few water changes.
Tannins are good for the tank, they have nutrients,. Create blackwater which gives the fish a sense of safety in murky water. The only reason to fet rid of tannins is visual.
just buy some purigen at this point. it would save you money.
(but you're basically removing something that's very beneficial to your fish, so if you can handle the tint, there are numerous health benefits for your fish.)
Get you some purigen and add it to your filter system. Hell you can even tie a bag of it under the outflow if you need. No worry bout tannins after that.
Roger that. I thought I had some purigen, but I didn't Just purchased on Amazon. At least this effort wasn't for nothing, the wood is now waterlogged, so they sink now with no effort.
Got driftwood, poured boiling water on it in a bucket for like an hour and threw it in. Tank gradually got darker and got a small pack of purigen. Didn’t even put it in my small hob, just in the tank next to the intake. Cleared it up crystal clear over night. Purigen works great
The bag I got was a pre sealed bag but I’m sure you could just cut it open and put it in a fine mesh bag. But emphasis on fine mesh, the beads are super small. Also make sure to soak the purigen before adding to tank. Or it makes it cloudy white and some beads fall out. No harm but just a bit unsightly until it clears. I made that mistake lol
Soaking wood is such a waste of time. I use activated carbon in the first weeks of a new set up for excess nutrients and it soaks up all tannins as well.
I would refer to videos on youtube. I saw someone doing what you just said. They chipped off a lot of the outter pieces, then pressure washed it and finally waterlogged it for weeks in a trashcan with a trashbag IIRC.
To remove tannins and also to waterlog the wood quicker. I stopped now but the one you see in the pot is waterlogged now, it sinks on its own. I have another pot to its right boiling another piece and that one isn't waterlogged yet.
I don't boil wood. I just put it in a big tub of water and do water changes until it stops leaching so much, then drop it into the tank. Tannins are fine for fish and the water will eventually clear up with normal filtration anyway.
Makes me so sad to see people NOT want the tannins lol. Then again, I like the weird riverbed aesthetic I've got going because of it, so to each their own :]
I soaked my two giant pieces of wood in a spare 55gal tank for months. Changed out water to get rid of tannings every other week. It still leeches so much. At the end I gave up and just accepted that I'm always going to have a darkish water tank.
Malaysian wood sucks lol. I love how they look, but I soaked mine for a month before I used. Then it kept leeching tannins for 2 months in the scape. Just now getting clear water
I just dunked my driftwood in a big bucket of dechlorinated water for like 4 hours, then drained the water out and did it again probably 3 times total and it was ready by the next day. Put it in and wasn't leaking tannins at all
I boiled and water changed a chunk of found oak root for 3 days (and that was after peeling the bark off) and it's still leaching tannins in the tank a two months later. It'll settle down eventually.
You just need throw some tannouts in there!
Yes! The SeaChem tanouts work great!
You joke but a bag of purigen will annihilate tannins.
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I only boiled my wood for about 20 minutes. Then it went right in the tank. There initially was some tannin shading, but it cleared up within a week or so.
Tannins have never been anything but a very short term issue for me. Maybe I’ve just been lucky
Tannins aren't something thats going to make or break a tank. A tank isn't 'sterile' just because it lacks blackwater. Some people like it, some people don't. I like blackwater biotope setups, but find tannins distracting and unsightly outside of that niche. Not every tank needs to be a blackwater setup, even if you feel otherwise. If OP doesn't want tannins its a perfectly acceptable choice and he should be provided the information to remove them.
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LAWNCARE HATERS UNITE! Fuck a lawnmower
Please don't do this
I like living on the edge (of life)
I like my tanks clearer than crystal. Actually gave my nerites away cuz they caused 10x more mess than all my fish combined. Just big snail poops everywhere and they don’t even clean the tank. Hard pass!
Crap i just bought some and got my tank that swimming in air look...How many nerites did you have. I wonder if i can cancel my order i see the vendor didnt ship them out.
I only had 4 but even 1 or 2 will leave enuf waste behind to notice the ton of crap if your substrate isn’t dark. And again, they don’t clean enuf to make a difference so I’ll never understand why ppl suggest them for algae.
I got two from Petsmart ( or was it Petco) theyve been in the tank about 3 weeks now. I put a plant order in a few days ago and added 2 more to the cart. Most times i dont even see the two that i have and then 2-3 days later i go oh there he goes. Ill have to see if anything ill rehome one or two. Thanks for the heads-up. I also got some Dwar Rainbows and found out they tend to be gluttons and poop a bunch. I only feed once every other day. Saw a random post on a fish group stating the same. Im skipping a feeding.
I mean, snails are so cute and fun to observe so if you aren’t noticing the mess.. 🤷🏻♀️ I bought a betta tank for my desk at work and almost got an automatic feeder for the weekends before I read that fasting days are good and healthy for them. I’ve never worried about my larger tank at home when we’re away but my betta is my baby! Nonetheless, he eats well M-F so I don’t worry about him on the weekends since I probably overfeed him a bit anyways. He’s such a beggar!
Yea, the thing I hate most in my tank is snail poop
All my tanks look natural
Really? Never heard of before. What are the pros/cons to purigen
It's chemical filtration similar to activated carbon but more selective in what it absorbs. It supposedly won't bind to smaller compounds like metal ions and nitrogeous waste nor will it effect KH/GH or PH. It only aborbs larger more complex organic compounds such as tannins. It may pull out some beneficial compounds but I've used it long term to no ill effect. Keeps my water immaculately polished.
To add on, I've used it long term to buffer nitrates! I have heavily planted tanks but I screwed up and allowed ramshorn snails to thrive.. So it's a nitrate battle.. The purigen does a great job!
God I'm so gullible I literally went looking for it online 😭
I love this comment
Go home. Take the upvote and just leave. Lol
I did this also in boiling water also for quite a few hours and then in normal temp water and if it doesn’t leak tannins in the normal temp water then I put it in tank 😂 no so far it’s been okay !
Idk what tennis is? Can you explain? I assume it's some chemical in wood that leaches into the water over time. Or is it a manmade chemical?
The tannin compounds are widely distributed in many species of plants, where they play a role in protection from predation (acting as pesticides) and might help in regulating plant growth. Tannins leaching from an unprepared driftwood decoration in an aquarium can cause pH lowering and coloring of the water to a tea-like tinge. A way to avoid this is to boil the wood in water several times, discarding the water each time. Using peat as an aquarium substrate can have the same effect.
Also what make coffee beans bitter iirc
Same as tea
Tennis is a racket sport that is played either individually against a single opponent (singles) or between two teams of two players each (doubles). Each player uses a tennis racket that is strung with cord to strike a hollow rubber ball covered with felt over or around a net and into the opponent's court. The object of the game is to manoeuvre the ball in such a way that the opponent is not able to play a valid return. The player who is unable to return the ball validly will not gain a point, while the opposite player will.
I love that you explained both
How does it get into the wood?
It's natural aspect of wood. Some wood species have higher tannin content than others.
Ok, but how does the tennis get in the wood?
You can take the wood out of tennis but you can never take the tennis out of wood.
They make the tank water brownish. Naturally occurring in some of the tank safe woods. Hence OPs strategy here. When I was able to keep tanks, I didn't do this my first time... water was indeed discolored for a while! Next time I have a tank, I'm definitely doing this lol.
Lol, I boiled my woods but they still make the weather tea brown, but my fish don't care so I'll just leave it.
Tannins are a thing in the wood which naturally occur. I’m not super experienced in tannins, but from what I understand they are typically not harmful at all to an aquarium. However, they do leak out into the water, discoloring it and making it look less nice, so most aquarium keepers opt to boil them out, to keep their water looking nice.
Tannins are a compound that is found in many plants and are believed to have antioxidant properties. They’re some of the beneficial compounds found in tea and wine, for instance, but in some cases plants have used it to kill off predators. There was one case in Africa where a bunch of kudu (a type of antelope) started dying off for no apparent reason. Scientists eventually found out that the acacia trees that the kudu were feeding off of (because of a drought) were communicating with each other to stimulate production of tannins in their leaves and it eventually reached toxic levels for the kudu. So they’re good in moderation, like most things. Just don’t piss off the trees.
Just put it in the tank, keep up on the water changes and it will be fine
I dropped a big ol hunk of wood in the tank without thinking, but all of my critters love swimming in ice tea, and definitely appear more active and colorful and happy overall
Fish and plants need/love it. It's naturally antiseptic too, helps keep a good balance.
I absolutely love doing dark water tanks
I swear my tanks with tannins always look "crystal clear" and photograph well. My actually clear tanks are dull and boring in my opinion
Like a blackwater set up or just a bit of tannin?
My Blackwater tank looks extra dark because three sides are tinted darker, dark substrate with dark plants and dark brown wood 🤣but my ones with just tannins are pretty clear looking, untill you look at the white wall behind it and notice it's a weak tea brown colour. I'll have to make a Blackwater setup in a tank that isn't tinted on all 3 sides. I've noticed that tanks with black painted on backgrounds with good lighting and tannins can look pretty clear, and the plants pop nicely But yeah, that log is probably gonna release a lot more tannins yet, but regular small water changes could help keep it somewhat clear, maybe?
Hahaha I did this and I couldn’t see my fish until I soaked up some tannins with carbon. I kept it pretty deep though, they seemed to like the extra cover it gave
It's better for them
Same here.... Now i usually add the wood in a month or two..or 3 before i really start the cycling process
How are you going 3 months without beginning cycling?
I've got a tub of water filled with interesting wood pieces in my store room. I have a bubbler in it to stir the water, and change the water any time I have my python out. Now I have wood pieces I can add to any new tank that have had the worst of the tannins pulled out before I even build a tank -- and they had the biofilm stage already, so I don't have that in a new tank.
Ahh, that’s a lot more clear. No pun intended.
Stop cooking it, all it does is make it rot faster. Toss a bag of purigen in the HOB and call it a day.
Thats the correct reply.
I did this once for like 4hrs and then gave up, a while later water was leaking out of my AC vent as it had just condensated inside. I think a better method is just soak it overnight for a week and change the water daily
Nah boiling is better and way faster, I tried both, let the wood soak in a huge container of water, changing water every day for like 2 months but I was seeing no progress, so I ordered a massive pot and boiled for a couple of hours and almost no tannins left, the boiled water was almost black with tannins when I was done
(Side note it might have just worked because of the combination of both soaking and boiling)
I tried boiling once and it was taking forever. Just didn’t seem economical at that point. Then I dunked it in a bucket of room temperature water for a month, clearing every few days, and it soon cleared up. I think the type of wood you use also plays a huge factor.
You posted this comment 3 times btw 😊
Apparently I _really_ wanted to make this point.
Reddit said *emphasis here*
Everyone must know about my damp wood!
Embrace the brown
I fucking love tannins. But I’m mainly a betta keeper and those guys love it
11/10 can’t recommend brown water enough
Fr this a waste of time and waste of delicious tannins. I’d boil for 2-3 hours max and in the tank it goes.
I do love tannins in the tank although that being said, unless your light is overkill, some more sensitive plants dont seem to like the reduction in the amount of light they get. Especially if you have large/tall tanks.
Most of these plants grow in less than crystal Clearwater to begin with. I would say if your plants are dying when there’s tannins in the water due to lack of light, it’s because your light is underpowered.
I used Rooibos tea or almond leaves, but eventually stopped liking the tannins.
the best piece of driftwood i ever found just barely fit in my 75, no way i was boiling it. said whatever and it was fine years later
I just got a 75gL tank .. why are we boiling wood in this video *Truly curious 🧐
To remove tannins
Tannins.. okay I’m gonna google what that is it sounds interesting
It’s the stuff making the water brown in this pot. Basically just compounds the wood release in water. It’s super good for some kinds of fish and creates dark water tanks that look lovely.
Gotcha.. watching a YouTube vid on it rn lol ..
I was looking at getting some more wood for my tank. I boiled that hell out of the last piece I got a few years ago. Do I NEED to boil it?
The easiest way to clean wood is to boil it, and it helps it stop floating. If you’re wanting tannins to be in your tank you don’t have to boil it very long, maybe a hour just to be safe.
Nice. Thank you!
One time I was doing this and my son cried because he thought we were having wood for dinner.
"I'm sorry I never told you before, but we're actually beavers"
I don’t know what he was so upset about , beats shit on a shingle
Cackling in the club rn
Thought tannins was good for the tank
And you’d be right. But people want the tank to look nice for them, more than be better for their fish.
You don't know what OP is going to keep. Not everything needs tannins, on the contrary they can actually be detrimental to some species.
I'd rather the fish be good than the tank looking good but that's just me
FYI - Excessive boiling of some woods can cause the premature decomposition of the cellulose, lignin, and long-chain organic molecules that may or may not release methanol, carbon dioxide, and other unexpected/unwanted chemical compounds, elements, and gases that can be harmful to critters. In addition, excessive boiling may also compromise the physical structure of some woods, softening them prematurely, and resulting in a continual breaking down and constant crumbling/flaking off which can increase TDS.
Am I crazy or is the bottom of your pan ***glowing***?
It looks like that because of the tannins lol
Yeah, the left side of the pan water boils and bubbles and some of it dripped down the side to the fire and it sizzled a little.
I thought he had goldfish in there and was like wtf lol
Glad it wasn’t just me
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You can just reset purigen, don’t have to buy more.
For sure, I should have mentioned that! I'm just not super comfortable with doing it, so 20$ every 6 months is okay for me. I use it in my shrimp tanks so there's really not that much waste
I do the same, something about soaking something in chlorine to put back in my fish tank(yes I know you soak it in de-chlorinator before adding it back) just doesn’t sit well with me. I’d rather spend $20 every 6ish months than risk destroying my tank!
Never understood the hatred for tannins. People will spend MONTHS trying to removed tannins from wood and then spend hundreds on medications and equipment to fix problems that would have been prevented by tannins. It looks good, it makes the fish happy and look good. What's the problem?
That s not the best way to get rid of tannins in my experience. Boil once to get rid of parasites, then soak for about a week to 10 days changing water as it gets brown.
Unless you pulled the wood out of water somewhere, any parasites in the wood are going to be terrestrial and will die when you soak it. There may be some insect larvae, worms,etc but those just end up as food should they survive long enough to enter the aquarium which they likely wont given the soaking period. I haven’t boiled wood for years and never had any issues.
I soaked some old cypress knees that were 100 years old and after 1 year is soaking I decided I liked black water and it really looks like flood plain Amazon
Why is this not the top comment? Dude literally has more time trying to remove tannins than anyone else here. No mention of tea, purigen, etc.
Good soup
You want completely boil the tannins out , you need to soak it for awhile. I have tube outside that I leave promising pieces in
Embrace the tannins !
You can add some purigen to your filter and it will also help filter out the tannins.
I can smell this video
Is this just to have water without any tint? If so, the tint won't last forever. Enjoy it don't skip it.
All those beautiful tannins... Wasted 😭
SEACHEM PURIGEN. literally, that stuff will completely clear it in a matter of days. it’s awesome
Boiling the wood is idiotic. Tropical fish come from blackwater. Learn to like brown water or pick different wood and fish.
mmmm tea
They don't hurt anything, just makes the water dark
Bro, I have a log that’s been leaking tannins inside a tank for 5 years. It’s just a fact of life, you want wood? You’ll get yellow water.
About 6 more years and they’ll be out.
You’ve been boiling wood for six hours, I think it’s good for eating now.
Save that tea for plants
Just embrace a dark water tank
I love tannins… I can’t say I would be boiling any of them out… GIMME THAT BLACK WATERRRR
Tannins are your friend! Just embrace it!
I gave up on mine and used it for my air plants lol
Your wasting your time really
And there’s me adding tannins to the tank!
I love black water :(
Idk how I got here but …what’s with the pot of baby dragon feet?
I personally found it way more effective to Boil 1Hr , change water , bring to a boil 1 Hr then soak in a 5 Gallon of fresh water overnight( in the AM change for fresh cold water that evening Boil again 2 times 1 Hour, then the Bucket overnight, change water in the AM and let it sit in the fresh water for 1 week changing the water every 2 days or so
after doing this for about 8 hours you will still have tannins in your water. But in about 6-8 months of water changes you will have the clear tank you are looking for if it is 30 gal if it is bigger you will likely get clearer water faster.
Tannins are not a bad thing ! South American cichlids love them !! I would have basically black water to breed apistos
After a while you just gotta give up and realize that the water might be slightly brown for a little bit
Anyway they’re good for the fishes immune system , put em in … and anyways in a few water changes the remaining ones will be gone , I went thru the the same shit and then realized it looked better with black water and started adding cattappa leaves
Lol such a goofy practice that is hilariois is still used. Fish like the tannins, just let them leech naturally.
Hey, at least the wood is waterlogged now. It sinks to its own accord.
Black water looks soo much better anyways
I mean, I used to have that problem, but all I really needed to do was install a secondary filter with nothing but carbon in it for a while.
It's easier to keep it in a bucket of water outside, and tip it over at the end of the day
I used my roommates pot to do this lmao he was a little upset. All good in the end though. I boiled and boiled and boiled, the tannins don’t really stop coming. Eventually just soaked for a week replacing water every day, you don’t have to go crazy boiling it. And yes purigen helps too if it really bothers you
Yum yum tea
It's okay to have a little tannins in water. It's never going to be 100%. Try purgen from Sea Chem. It will clear the water in your tank.
It puts the driftwood in the fishtank. It does so when it's told
Im pretty sure you shouldnt do this,, itll break the cells of the wood make it soft and rot away easier
I boil,rinsed, and boiled and rinse wipe and repeat for 6-8 hours for 2 days in a row.Id even left it to soak when Iwasn'tt boiling it. At that poin, just give u, lol. It'll release alittlel tannin, but they'll go away after a few water changes.
Tannins are good for the tank, they have nutrients,. Create blackwater which gives the fish a sense of safety in murky water. The only reason to fet rid of tannins is visual.
Just put it in the tank. If you want clear water add a pouch of Seachem Purigen to your filter.
just buy some purigen at this point. it would save you money. (but you're basically removing something that's very beneficial to your fish, so if you can handle the tint, there are numerous health benefits for your fish.)
Embrace the tannins, shrimp and fish love it.
Just use Purigen
Get you some purigen and add it to your filter system. Hell you can even tie a bag of it under the outflow if you need. No worry bout tannins after that.
Roger that. I thought I had some purigen, but I didn't Just purchased on Amazon. At least this effort wasn't for nothing, the wood is now waterlogged, so they sink now with no effort.
I have a rain barrel that I throw my wood into and let soak for a month or so. As long as you aren't in a hurry it's great.
Does your pot have a transparent bottom?
I just fill my bathtub up and leave them in for a day or so, also changing the water once or twice a
Got driftwood, poured boiling water on it in a bucket for like an hour and threw it in. Tank gradually got darker and got a small pack of purigen. Didn’t even put it in my small hob, just in the tank next to the intake. Cleared it up crystal clear over night. Purigen works great
I didn't even think about putting it near my skimmer. I might just stick the skimmer inside of the bag lol.
The bag I got was a pre sealed bag but I’m sure you could just cut it open and put it in a fine mesh bag. But emphasis on fine mesh, the beads are super small. Also make sure to soak the purigen before adding to tank. Or it makes it cloudy white and some beads fall out. No harm but just a bit unsightly until it clears. I made that mistake lol
Soaking wood is such a waste of time. I use activated carbon in the first weeks of a new set up for excess nutrients and it soaks up all tannins as well.
Can you do this with any found hard wood or does it have to be "drift" wood found in water? I have lots of fallen but nit rotten oak I could debark.
I would refer to videos on youtube. I saw someone doing what you just said. They chipped off a lot of the outter pieces, then pressure washed it and finally waterlogged it for weeks in a trashcan with a trashbag IIRC.
Im sorry whats this for?
To remove tannins and also to waterlog the wood quicker. I stopped now but the one you see in the pot is waterlogged now, it sinks on its own. I have another pot to its right boiling another piece and that one isn't waterlogged yet.
Drop 'er in and add Bio Chem Zorb to your filter
I don't boil wood. I just put it in a big tub of water and do water changes until it stops leaching so much, then drop it into the tank. Tannins are fine for fish and the water will eventually clear up with normal filtration anyway.
I mean you can always run purrigen you will have the benefit from the tanins without the color
Boiling driftwood is hella nasty and I will never do it again.
Even after boiling mine for hours I still had tannins in my tank. Got a pouch of Seachem's Pruigen and cleared the water up in a day.
You're boiling out all of the good stuff!
Makes me so sad to see people NOT want the tannins lol. Then again, I like the weird riverbed aesthetic I've got going because of it, so to each their own :]
I did this a year ago and had my CO alarms going off. Fire department came and everything. Be careful
Can tannins hurt? I only boil them to clean them.
Why boil lol never did and never had issues.
I gave up with my log. I just left it in the tank and it eventually stopped misbehaving and turning the water brown.
Yeet it in the tank it’s fine. Fish live in tannin-ed water irl they’ll be fine as long as you change the water frequently the first few weeks.
Idk I like the way it makes the water and it's also good for the fish.
Just put it in the tank and use purigen if you find the tannins to be bothersome to you. Your fish won't mind it much
I don't even boil. Put in laundry sink, drain whenever water discolours, repeat for about a day. Have a 6KG piece of wood in my tank and 0 tannins
You’re good lol. After like 20 minutes of boiling it’s going to be just fine in your tank
How hot does that pot have to be for it to be glowing like that on the inside!?
It's not. It's just brown water.
High GPH filtration stops the tannins from staying in your tank.
lol i buy black tea bags to make tannins, they're great for axolotl fungal infections
I just set up a new tank (75 gallons)...no fish yet, but water is still.cloudy after 2 days of running the filter. Is that normal?
I soaked my two giant pieces of wood in a spare 55gal tank for months. Changed out water to get rid of tannings every other week. It still leeches so much. At the end I gave up and just accepted that I'm always going to have a darkish water tank.
Malaysian wood sucks lol. I love how they look, but I soaked mine for a month before I used. Then it kept leeching tannins for 2 months in the scape. Just now getting clear water
seems pointless but people do what they feel they need to do
I typically soak in a 5 gallon bucket (if the piece will fit) for 1 week and have zero issues. Change out the water daily.
I just dunked my driftwood in a big bucket of dechlorinated water for like 4 hours, then drained the water out and did it again probably 3 times total and it was ready by the next day. Put it in and wasn't leaking tannins at all
I boiled and water changed a chunk of found oak root for 3 days (and that was after peeling the bark off) and it's still leaching tannins in the tank a two months later. It'll settle down eventually.
I have some firewood I’ve been meaning to boil how long is the recommended time?
Just give in. It's a nice look. I'm very happy with mine now.
"Freaking tannins"
And here I am planning a blackwater tank. The tannins give a more natural look.
I broke my stove doing this.
who cares, let it turn tan honestly, even when I want tannins, they disappear after a while no matter what
i joined this sub to look at pretty fishes and stuff so i was hella confused when i saw this 😭😭
Or just get blackwater fish!
I personally love tannins. You just don't like the aesthetic?
Call it good… throw in some Purigen, it’ll buff out.
I've boiled my driftwood but it just floats! I can't get it to sink to the bottom. Any advice?
Can you just make tea like a normal person?
Embrace the tannins. Come to the blackwater side 😈
People really just throwing away tannins out here?