Manzanita Driftwood Prep..?

[Bree7]

What should I do to prep my manzanita driftwood (just won it on ebay from seller orchids9) before putting it in my discus tank? It's pretty huge... should I put it in the oven to disinfect it? Or soak it in the tub overnight? I think it will be much too big to boil. Also, does manzanita leak tanins into the water?

[Altum Nut]

Hey Bree,

Manzanita Driftwood will not leach tannins.
However, a word of warning......
- is the source you bought it from some kind of Flower shop?????because they treat this wood and rent it out for arrangment center pieces.
If this is the case, I would not use it with your Discus.
- Will be hard to boil, but can be power washed or submersed in a barrel or bath tub.
- You may need to attach a piece of slate to weight it down.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=64627&highlight=Manzanita+Driftwood
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=55713&highlight=Manzanita+Driftwood

...Ralph

[GrillMaster]

Get a large bucket or whatever ya have on hand and soak it for a couple weeks. Once it is water logged, (thats the thing, ya have to get it water logged) scrape all the nasty snot type things off it and you should be good to go... :)

[Bree7]

Hey Bree,

Manzanita Driftwood will not leach tannins.
However, a word of warning......
- is the source you bought it from some kind of Flower shop?????because they treat this wood and rent it out for arrangment center pieces.
If this is the case, I would not use it with your Discus.
- Will be hard to boil, but can be power washed or submersed in a barrel or bath tub.
- You may need to attach a piece of slate to weight it down.
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=64627&highlight=Manzanita+Driftwood
http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=55713&highlight=Manzanita+Driftwood

...Ralph

Thanks for the reply,
Nope, not a flower shop, it's meant for aquariums. I will soak it, though!

[Bree7]

Get a large bucket or whatever ya have on hand and soak it for a couple weeks. Once it is water logged, (thats the thing, ya have to get it water logged) scrape all the nasty snot type things off it and you should be good to go... :)

Oh, really? A couple of weeks? Darn... :( Okay. Is that just to water log it so it doesn't float, or is that to leach out any bad stuff? What is the nasty stuff that comes off after soaking it? Also, do I have to soak it in tank or dechlorinated water?

[1nvad3r]

i had success doing it in a 25 gallon barrel ,soaked it for a good 2-3 weeks. All the white fungus stuff that grows on it is not harmful my BN plecos ate it all up. I also took boiled water and gave it a good rinse before i used it in my 90g. GL

[Bree7]

i had success doing it in a 25 gallon barrel ,soaked it for a good 2-3 weeks. All the white fungus stuff that grows on it is not harmful my BN plecos ate it all up. I also took boiled water and gave it a good rinse before i used it in my 90g. GL

Do you soak it in dechlorinated/tank water or just straight tap water?

[DerekFF]

Doesnt matter much as any chlorine will be gone faster than it will matter.

[bstreep]

Oh, really? A couple of weeks? Darn... :( Okay. Is that just to water log it so it doesn't float, or is that to leach out any bad stuff? What is the nasty stuff that comes off after soaking it? Also, do I have to soak it in tank or dechlorinated water?

OK, having just started a tank with a load of Manzanita:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=80005

Here's what I would do (since I didn't!):

1) YES, you will get some tannins from Manzanita. Mine has been up for a couple of months, and I still get some staining - but a fraction from when it was new.

2) As suggested, soak it in a tub, change the water regularly. Tap water with chlorine is fine.

3) When it finally sinks (took some of mine a month!), wipe the "snot" off of it, and put it in your tank.

[Bree7]

OK, having just started a tank with a load of Manzanita:

http://forum.simplydiscus.com/showthread.php?t=80005

Here's what I would do (since I didn't!):

1) YES, you will get some tannins from Manzanita. Mine has been up for a couple of months, and I still get some staining - but a fraction from when it was new.

2) As suggested, soak it in a tub, change the water regularly. Tap water with chlorine is fine.

3) When it finally sinks (took some of mine a month!), wipe the "snot" off of it, and put it in your tank.

How much and how regularly do I need to change the water? It will be in a 30 gallon tub.

[DerekFF]

Change water often enough so as not to stain your tub ;-)

[Bree7]

Change water often enough so as not to stain your tub ;-)


Could this wood stain my tank if not treated for long enough? I mean, I intend on soaking it for 3 weeks, but if it will still leach in my tank a bit, will it stain? I have one glass tank and one plexi..

Thanks for all of the help guys!

[3dees]

I have a lot of manzanita in my tank. took about a month in a 40 gal trash can to soak them. had the tannin look for about two weeks. after enough water changes my water is now pretty clear which bummed me out as I wanted the stained look for my biotope. tannins will not leave stain marks.

[stephcps]

Mine leached tannins for about 3 weeks...strong at first then little by little gone. I only have glass tanks and doesn't stain. It took about a month to waterlog even the smaller pieces. I didn't want to wait a month for my big tank, so I siliconed larger type rocks to the bottom which were covered by sand anyway. That way it was sunk right away! The tannins are loved by the fish...

Steph

[bstreep]

How much and how regularly do I need to change the water? It will be in a 30 gallon tub.

Once a day works - or every other day. As others have noted, it takes 2-4 weeks for them to sink and for MOST of the tannins to leech out.