# Boiling Driftwood



## 5-O Cummins (Sep 4, 2008)

I have some old driftwood that I got with my tank and had not put it in yet because I hate the water turning brown. I read the article on driftwood and how to prepare it, so i began to boil. I've boiled the wood 4 times now and the coloration is still coming out. Any ideas?


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

no need to keep boiling it. just toss it in a bucket and change the water until the water stays clear. it can take a while depending on what type of wood it is.


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## 5-O Cummins (Sep 4, 2008)

Ok I'll try that, thanks


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## shumway (Jul 12, 2006)

I would keep boiling it to hopefully speed up the process.

Driftwood can leach tanins for a year or more depending on the wood and the size of it :wink:


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## moneyman6891 (Sep 4, 2008)

I soaked a peice in a large cooler(only thing big enough) for a week and I changed the water twice, never turned my tank any color.


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## hey_wood1981 (Apr 7, 2004)

yes, it all depends on the size of the drift wood. provided you have an ample size container for your piece, you can bleed it free on tanins anywhere from 2 days up to two months. i recently purchased a large piece and it was about 2 weeks of changing the bucket of water two times a day.
as far as boiling i'm not too sure if that really speeds up the process. maybe someone else does?


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## booba5 (May 3, 2008)

I have 6 peices of driftwood in my 90 and i boiled them all...it took quite awhile tho, i think i boiled them about 15 times for an hour each, accross 4 days. i have 2 logs, one has a hole down the middle for my loaches and such to hide in, the other doesn't. The one that is solid took FOREVER I'm not exagerating when I say I boiled that stupid thing 30 times. The solid log took about 2 weeks, and whenever I wasn't boiling it, I was soaking it in a bucket, trying to get it to sink...about 15 boilings into it it sank, but i wouldn't be able to see the bottom of the pan because it was so brown. Be advise i have for boiling is to boil the water in 2 or 3 smaller pots, then pour them all into the large pan. If you start out with all the water in one large pot, it'll take 45 min-hour just to start boiling, and 2 hours to bring it to a rolling boil...but then maybe my stove sucks lol.

Hope this helps


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## blairo1 (May 7, 2006)

I boil my driftwood, it naturally draws the tannins out of the wood, not only that but it it also helps the water to penetrate the wood, hence getting more tannins out and allowing it to sink sooner.

Unless it's a well treated piece, or a piece without much tannin (mopani root wood doesn't take long) it takes time, boil it and speed it up by a week, or just leave it to it and be patient, either way it takes some time.

Carbon filter material and a polishing cloth in the filter for a couple of weeks will keep your water nice and crystal clear whilst the worst of the tannins leach out.


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## skyline (Sep 21, 2008)

hmmm... shoulda read this before adding the wood. I purchased 2 pieces of malaysian wood (1.50lb) and 2 pieces of mopani (1.40lb). I added all the pieces and set them up in my 30Gal tank after only thoroughly washing it. Didn't know I was suppose to boil them and pet store didn't tell me either. Is it really bad if I don't boil it? The water has changed colored just a little bit but looks good. I guess after I go through bi-weekly water maintenance, it'll be fine after a couple of months. But, should I worry about boiling the wood? If the boiling is done just for the purpose of sinking it, then I won't need it because the wood sank pretty well and stayed at the bottom.

have got 4 african cichlids, a gourami and a pleco. they all seem very happy so far and it has been about 16 hours since the wood was added.


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## fmueller (Jan 11, 2004)

There is absolutely no need to boil wood before putting it in a tank. Boiling it can help to make the wood sink, and it can reduce the brown coloration the wood can give off to the water. Boiling wood can also contribute to make the wood rot faster. For the most part I don't mind the brown color, and I NEVER boil my wood. I am getting a bit tired of the tea color in my Tropheus tank though, which it has had for about a year now, and there seems to be no end in sight. Surprisingly, the Tropheus don't seem to mind it at all. The tank has a huge piece of wood in there, which I picked up in the forest, scrubbed with a dry brush, and dumped in the tank, weighing it down with sandstone. The grand plan is to install an automatic water change system, which will be sure to solve the tea color problem once and for all as long as there is enough water changeover, but I haven't got around to that little project jet...


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## RyanR (Apr 29, 2008)

We just have a big muck bucket on the front porch next to the garden hose. Simply throw the drift wood in, and let it soak. Periodically, dump and refill. Give it a few weeks to a month.

Seems like we're constantly running drift wood through. 

-Ryan


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