# Tannin-less wood?



## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

Is there any wood I can use in my aquarium that gives off little to no tannins? My 29g is mostly leaf litter at this point, and I'd like to add hiding places for when my fish get too big to hide under magnolia leaves. 
I know wood can be boiled to remove tannins, but most of what I'd like to use won't fit in any pot that we have, and I'm not too keen on buying a really big (and inconvenient to store) pot just to boil some wood. Are there any types of wood that don't have much to begin with?


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## mistergreen (Dec 9, 2006)

plastic driftwood


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## someoldguy (Feb 26, 2014)

Try maple and birch .


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## lksdrinkerII (Nov 16, 2015)

Betta132 said:


> Is there any wood I can use in my aquarium that gives off little to no tannins? My 29g is mostly leaf litter at this point, and I'd like to add hiding places for when my fish get too big to hide under magnolia leaves.
> I know wood can be boiled to remove tannins, but most of what I'd like to use won't fit in any pot that we have, and I'm not too keen on buying a really big (and inconvenient to store) pot just to boil some wood. Are there any types of wood that don't have much to begin with?


Why are you so against the tanins? Just dont like the look? Did you not get any leaching from your leaf litter?

Think outside the box a bit if need be. The first big piece of driftwood I ever got was boiled over my bbq in a steel wash tub from home depot. A small metal garbage could work. Or think cheap for a big soup/stock pot. I picked up a set of pots at Harbor freight specifically for boiling driftwood. You could check thrift stores; or even a deli or restaurant might let you borrow or maybe even buy one.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

The Manzanita and Malaysian driftwood I have gotten barely leeched any tannins at all, and I never boiled them, just soaked a few days to water log.
Others have said they leech quite a bit, but not in my experience.

You can just pour boiling water over the driftwood to help some. Not effective as boiling in the water itself, but still of some benefit.

I guess you could use any driftwood and just use Purigen in the filter to strip the tannins out of the water column. Can't remember if carbon soaks up tannins also or not.


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## Rushdoggie (Jan 14, 2015)

And you can always add Purigen or charcoal to help reduce the tannins as they get released.


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## Daisy Mae (Jun 21, 2015)

Malaysian had the least tannins in my experience (compared to Mopani and spiderwood).

If you have a container big enough to soak it in hot water (several changes of hot water, soak for a day or two in between) it would help.


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## AquaAurora (Jul 10, 2013)

Go to a farm store that caries chicken/cow/horse feed etc and look for metal feeder containers/buckets. I bought this at tractor supply co. (16"+ tall I think it might have been 18") to boil large wood and did it over a propane burner.

I used up a whole tank of propane just for boiling this wood (rotated wood and dumped/refiled water every 1-2 hours).


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## wantsome (Sep 3, 2006)

If I have wood to big to boil buy a big plastic tub from walmart and soak it before putting it in the aquarium. I've soaked some wood for up to a year before I used it. I just put it in the basement and forget about it. I change the water once a month to see how much tannins it's releasing.


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

Hey, how about placing the large driftwood in a uninhabited tank or some large rubbermaid tub, fill with water, submerse wood, and throw in a aquarium heater set to max heat. Won't boil the water, but the higher temp the water will still leech out tannins faster. Not the most effective method clearly, but hey, it does something.


Hmm, got me thinking. I'm wondering if anything would bond with the tannins and help it release. Say chlorine bleach soak? Or would tannins bond with chlorine and evaporate with it (when air dried out)?

EDIT: Just searched it up. Didn't read over the article entirely, but scroll down to the "Other Methods of Removing Tannins" section. Didn't read it in full though, so not sure how effective it is really.
Tannin Removal | The Solutions Source of the Water & Wastewater Industry


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## Betta132 (Nov 29, 2012)

I have nothing against the tannins, in fact I like them. The problem is, my leaf litter is giving off more than enough. I have to do frequent water changes just to be able to see the fish when they aren't right up against the glass. I don't want to add to that with driftwood.


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## Rushdoggie (Jan 14, 2015)

Add Purigen to your filter. Here is someone's before and after:


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## Argus (May 22, 2013)

Don't worry about it. Whatever you get, soak it in a plastic tub. Change the water when it gets dark. Even if it is still giving off tannins when it goes into the aquarium, Purigen will remove the tea color in the water.


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## sohankpatel (Jul 10, 2015)

In my experience, soaking does A LOT to reduce tannins, i had a decent amount in my tank for 2 months, now it is almost unnoticeable. I use Malaysian driwtwood


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## al4n (Nov 18, 2008)

Soak in hot water if the piece is too big to boil, rinse and repeat when the water gets cold. Done. If you still have tannins, use purigen in your filter.

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