# How long to boil Malaysian driftwood?



## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

How long do you usually have to boil small pieces of Malaysian driftwood to get most of the tannins out?
TIA.


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## LSBoost (Jan 21, 2010)

Tannin isn't bad for fish so why waste time trying to get rid of it?

To answer your question: 3 hours to get rid most of it but it will still tan your tank for about a week or two more.


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## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

LSBoost said:


> Tannin isn't bad for fish so why waste time trying to get rid of it?


Because I don't want my crystal clear, high water flow river tank looking murky. Therefore not a waste of my time. And it turns out it only took an hour or so...


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## RaizedWICKED (Feb 10, 2010)

you could boil wood for months non stop and it could still leach tannins into the water.

I have had Mopani wood in my tank(s) for years and it still turns the water a light tea color. Now, it is not as bad as it used to be but after 2 years I am surprised it still leaches.

With the type of wood in your tank i am unsure how long it would leach. Could be a week or months or even years.

Good news the tannins are not harmful to the fish, but if you want that crystal clear water, take the wood out/or do not put it in. I personally like the tea colored water. 

Good Luck

RW


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

New carbon weekly may help if is does color the water. It's one of those things we each need to decide how much we really want it. I like large wood but I do have a price to pay when I first start a chunk.


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## rarefaction (Aug 6, 2009)

well like I said, I only boiled 3 small pieces at high heat (250f) for about an hour and plunked it in the tank... No tea color leaching after 24 hrs and no carbon in the filters. The first piece I bought about a year ago and did not boil it. It took 6 months to get the tank back the way it was. Obviously there is more than one type of wood out there and I'm sure size matters 

But my point is 60 minutes of boil got most of it out... this time...


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## PfunMo (Jul 30, 2009)

I use large pieces most of the time so boiling has never been an option for me.


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## upthecreek (Dec 27, 2009)

Hi,

I just finished boiling a 25 lb chunk of mylaysian wood Did not have pot big enough so put the wood in a rubber maid tub with fitted top. Every morning for a week I boiled water and dumped it in the rubber maid tub and let it sit till next morning then repeated. I have had the wood in my tank now for 5 days and no tannin yet but I assume I may get a slight trace soon.


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