Driftwood Cleaning???

[G_TAMMA]

Probably something easy but what do I need to do before putting a new piece of driftwood in my tank?? I have heard of the term bleaching???

Anyways, any info would be great.

Cheers.

[ILLUSN]

i like to soak it in a weak bleach solution over night (about 20mL/10L water). then i add a 5x dose of prime and wash 4 or 5 times till there is no chlorine smell.

[G_TAMMA]

Thanx,

Again i must sound pretty stupid :oops: but a 5X dose of prime is what and where can i get it?

Cheers

[ILLUSN]

prime is a water ager/dechlorinater, you can use any brand, just use a big enough dose to remove the chlorine in the bleech.

[G_TAMMA]

ok cool, thanx. :D

[Matt15]

Same as ILLUSN hit my last piece with a high pressure water gun before bleaching twice.
I was alittle scared of the whole bleach thing too so i did the process a few times.

1. Bleach/soak it in water. Ensure the container is sealed for maxium effect.
2. Dry (most of the bleach will evaporate)
3. (repeat 1.)
4. (repeat 2.)
5. Soak with water ager.
6. (repeat 2.)

No doubt a simular/lesser process will have the same effect, and GEESH it's soo much easier than the boiling processes you read about. :P

[iro11a]

after putting driftwood in my tank my water has gone a green tea sorta colour and i soaked my driftwood for about 3 weeks.any ideas how to stop it leaching?


Jono

[Matt15]

iro11a did you use bleach when soaking?

[JamezMan]

I think boiling it increases the rate at which the tannins leach from the wood which could help to remove some but I am not sure of how to stop the wood colouring the water altogether.

[revkev]

Try activated carbon replace about evey 2 weeks untill water stays clear.

[iro11a]

iro11a did you use bleach when soaking?

No bleach just used hot water in a bucket outside for 2 weeks

[Matt15]

Iro11a unless your driftwood was inside a bucket/container with a constant boil, the hot water method doesn't work very effectively.

I would strongly suggest trying the bleach method.
If you wish to continue the hot water process i'd takeon Revkev's info about using carbon.

Gl mate...;)

[ILLUSN]

after putting driftwood in my tank my water has gone a green tea sorta colour and i soaked my driftwood for about 3 weeks.any ideas how to stop it leaching?

why stop it? discus love the black water effect, its great for triggering spawning, the humeric acids also seem to give them a bit of pick me up and the softer more acidic water keeps bacteria down.

use carbon to remove the tannins if you dont like the look, but it will stop on its own after a month or so, enjoy the benifits whilst you can.

[iro11a]

after putting driftwood in my tank my water has gone a green tea sorta colour and i soaked my driftwood for about 3 weeks.any ideas how to stop it leaching?

why stop it? discus love the black water effect, its great for triggering spawning, the humeric acids also seem to give them a bit of pick me up and the softer more acidic water keeps bacteria down.

use carbon to remove the tannins if you dont like the look, but it will stop on its own after a month or so, enjoy the benifits whilst you can.

Cheers mate i know the discus like it but makes the tank water look unclean.
I went to a LFS and they had really dark water for the discus did't look to bad .