GardenBanter.co.uk - View Single Post - Driftwood bought from PetsMart do I need to boil it first to remove...

10-10-2003, 11:22 PM

(Andy Louie) wrote:

I heard that you have to boil it first to remove the impurities.. is
it need as they say that it will discolor the water... so by boiling
it it will prevent the aquarium from being colored.. suggestions

My approach was the soak the wood in a bleach solution for several
hours, not to remove the tannins but rather to kill any organisms that
might be on the wood.

Then I soaked the wood for a couple of weeks, changing the water every
other day or so. When the water no longer picked up much of the tannin
coloration, I put it in my tank.

No matter what you do, some leaching of tannin coloring is probably
inevitable. A bit of charcoal in the filter will help keep the water
clear.

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