# Prepping wood for the tank



## Notator (2 Nov 2012)

So, I found a lovely piece of wood at my LFS for the centrepiece of my new tank...
Any advice on how best to prepare it so that everything doesn't look like tea?
It's too large for a bucket, so I bought a tub - but can anyone tell me the best way to make sure it's
tank safe and ready to go please?
Thanks!


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## BigTom (2 Nov 2012)

Just bung it in. Give it a bit of scrub with hot water first if you prefer for peace of mind.

Inevitably it'll leach tannins, but how much and how long for is pretty much impossible to say. If that's an issue for you then add some Purigen or carbon to your filter to absorb the tannins.


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## ceg4048 (2 Nov 2012)

Hello,
        Assuming this is confirmed to be typical aquarium driftwood, and not some unknown wood from the nearest forest, the tea color has no health concerns for the tank. It is merely a nuisance aesthetically. The only preparation necessary to avoid the other nuisance, i.e. that of the wood floating, is to soak it for a longer period. Otherwise just put it in the the tank and get on with it. Large and frequent water changes will fix the tea color in no time flat.

Cheers,


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## Notator (2 Nov 2012)

Thanks Big Tom & Ceg...

Yeah, it's definitely NOT a piece of junk wood from the side of the road...
I don't know the name of it - but it is immensely heavy and the "reverse" is deep, dark "whorls" - I have seen
then in plenty of aquaria...

So it's tannins that make the water brown ?? In other words it IS tea!
I'm sure I'd heard/read that tannins were toxic to fish (not that there any in there I haasten to say!)

Is it safe to assume that once the water in the tub stops going brown in a day that it would be ok to put into the new tank?

(I hate to appear impatient...but I AMMM! I've been waiting a year to get this tank on the go!)
Thanks for your help - any and all information would be most gratefully accepted!


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## Notator (2 Nov 2012)

*I've just searched piccies on the net* It's Mopani wood...


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## krazypara3165 (2 Nov 2012)

I can be k to go straight away! The tannins will take a few weeks to be fully removed from the wood but if you have carbon in your filter it should take care of it. Either way its not toxic to the fish


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## Notator (2 Nov 2012)

Thanks so much...
It can have two weeks in the tub - Soak, Flush, Scrub, Soak...repeat..lol
I'm so paranoid about making a silly mistake 'cos I've sepnt so much on my aquarium I think
My Mrs would divorce me if I killed everything!


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## ceg4048 (2 Nov 2012)

It is  a silly mistake to worry about tannins in the water. The fish that you most likely will put in the tank originate from tannin stained rivers and streams. The tannic acids contribute to cleaning the water, keeping the fish healthy and in controling the population of pathogens.










Cheers,


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## Notator (4 Nov 2012)

I suppose in nature allsorts of things drop into the water/rot/leach etc - but on the other hand there is "new" water on the way down all the time...
I was just worried that in the confines of my tank it wouldn't be "flushed" in the same way - but point taken!
Partly I think I'm also thinking that I've NEVER seen a tank in competitions* with anything less than gin clear water, certainly not the weak tea coloured stuff I've got bubbling away in a tub as we speak! 

_*I've been looking at loads of competition entry tanks for ideas, inspiration and generally making myslef feel completely inept and incompetent!*_


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## BigTom (4 Nov 2012)

A lot of competition tanks are a very long way from ideal places to keep fish...


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## ceg4048 (4 Nov 2012)

Notator said:
			
		

> I suppose in nature allsorts of things drop into the water/rot/leach etc - but on the other hand there is "new" water on the way down all the time...
> I was just worried that in the confines of my tank it wouldn't be "flushed" in the same way - but point taken!


Yeah , no kidding. Competition tanks have nothing to do with nature or with fish. Our tanks are ornaments and are for our viewing pleasure. In fact no tanks have anything to do with nature. 

So I think you might be missing the big picture. "New" water that flows into these rivers and streams comes from rain, and when it rains on the water it rains on the land. The rain on the land absorbs the tannins from fallen leaves, bark and sediment, and this effluent then flows into the bodies of water. So the "New" water has a higher concentration of tannins, not less. It seems like you are equating the tannins with pollution, and this is incorrect. The pollution happens when WE dump things like fertilizers and detergent and petroleum products into the bodies of water. The tannins are a natural part of the Amazonian estuarine systems and they are important  to the health of the systems. 

Just like tea, tannins are a mixture of antioxidants, natural "phenols" and other components which together produce a type of prophylactic. Many of the trees use these compounds to protect themselves from leaf eating animals and to protect themselves from infection. The waters surrounding these trees evolve to use these tannins for all sorts of purposes - and they clean the bodies of water as well as keeping the pathogen population (which multiply quickly in tropical temperatures)  under control. So the idea about "flushing" them away somehow is misguided. The more it rains and the more "New" water enters the estuaries, the more tea stained they get and the healthier they get.

For us, the tannins are an inconvenience, you certainly don't want to drink it and it's annoying to look at, but that's about it. In any case, you should be doing large and frequent water changes in your tank, because there are a lot more dangerous things that you yourself put in the tank than tannin stains from Mopani wood. That food you put in every day does more damage than tannins, that's for sure.

Cheers,


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