Identifying/Soaking a Mopani Log?

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knyptozoologist

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I'm finally making some dents in setting up my tank and am having some issues...or at least paranoid concerns (wouldn't any new parent preparing for a new baby?)

I've been browsing various stores and websites for the best prices for the supplies I wanted and lucked out that my work does indeed sell Mopani driftwood (I'd thought they only sold grapewood), but half the logs weren't labeled! I found one that was beautiful, the exact shape and size I was looking for and it looked VERY similar to a smaller log that WAS actually tagged as a Mopani so......is there anything I can look for as I prepare it for my tank that would tell me if I bought the correct type of log or if I messed up and it will eventually disintegrate and make my tank disgusting?

I've also been soaking it as I'd read to do that to get all of the tannins to leach out before I put it in my tank and make delicious tank tea (ew). I was just wondering if anyone has had any experience doing that before and how long it generally takes?

I don't have a pot big enough to boil it (which I've heard can speed up the process), but I've been replacing the water with the hottest water I can get out of the tap as soon as the bucket starts to cool down.

Any tips or info would be appreciated!
 
Hey i have two mopani wood logs and after boiling them in a pot for 3 days, they still make the water brown, I dont think it ever stops i think it just doesnt come out AS fast if you boil it lol
 
Ah, boo. The brown water won't hurt axxies, will it? I plan to soak it as long as possible (it's going to take me a few weeks to completely build my tank so I have some time), but it will probably be over the course of two weeks before I'm ready to buy plants which I intended to attach to the log.
 
I soaked my mopani for three days in cold water. Boiling it will just leach out a lot of tannins, but it won't prevent more from leaching later. I've read that you should soak it in cold water until the water in the bucket is a light tea color, and then it's fine to put in your tank. I haven't had any problems with water discoloration, and mine has been in my tank for about 4 months. There haven't been any changes in the water's pH, either.

I've read that the tannins are actually good for axolotl's skin.
 
Yeah ive heard the tannins are good, dont get me wrong my water is not completely brown, just has a brownish tinge that doesnt go away haha!
Im not having wood in my second tank so at least ill have one clear one :D
 
Mortimer said:
I soaked my mopani for three days in cold water. Boiling it will just leach out a lot of tannins, but it won't prevent more from leaching later. I've read that you should soak it in cold water until the water in the bucket is a light tea color, and then it's fine to put in your tank. I haven't had any problems with water discoloration, and mine has been in my tank for about 4 months. There haven't been any changes in the water's pH, either.

I've read that the tannins are actually good for axolotl's skin.
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Bah, good thing I've been soaking it in HOT water for two days :/ or at least putting in hot, letting it get to room temp, then putting in more hot. Oh well, I'll start replacing it with cold water every few days now instead. I wish I could just let it soak for a few days straight but the log is so long it doesn't fit in my bucket and I have to rotate it.

Thanks for the info!
 
I'm really not sure it needed three full days of soaking, but I just wanted to be on the safe side. My guess is that 2 days would be plenty--or until the water is pretty light after its been soaking.

I just changed the water once or twice a day, depending on how dark the water was getting.
 
I don't understand though because, the tank water it goes into is cold, so how come when it goes into the tank, it still taints the water?
 
Haha i just picked up on it and didnt understand, becuase my water is coldish, but it still leaks out, yet when ive boiled the wood in the past, it still leaks out.
Doesnt make sense :confused:
 
Maybe boiling it opened up the pores in the wood so it leeches more? It seems weird, but now that I've switched to just cold water it doesn't seem to be leeching as much, I'll probably be putting it in my tank today (it's still turning the water a bit brown/yellow, but I don't mind if it's a little tinted).
 
Do you think it would work if i was to take it out the tank and put it in a bucket with ice-y water?
 
This thread led me to go buy some more mopani wood....haha. I've been soaking it for a few days. I probably change the water two to three times a day and use about the same temp water that is in my tanks. The water was pretty brown the first few days, but now it's a really watered-down tea color. I'm going to go ahead and put it in my tank today.

This is what I did last time, and my water isn't tinted at all really. If it is, it's not noticeable to me. I think the filter takes care of the rest of it.

Good luck!
 
I soaked mine about a week and the water was still SLIGHTLY tinted before I put it in my tank, but if it's affecting the color of my tank at all I'm not noticing it. I put the water in the bucket as cold as the tap would go and just replaced it every 12-24 hours (whenever I felt like the water was getting dark).
 
Yikes. I just bought some, didn't realise I have to soak it for THAT long. Haha I heard tannins are good for them, like a milder alternative to tea baths you use for soothing their skin
I'm not sure how long I should soak mine gah

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I soaked it for more than a week and still get tannins now. It doesn't seem to bother her and it doesn't bother me so it's just if the aesthetic of it bothers you.
 
Mine still leech and I'd been soaking them in boiling water, then just plain water, changing it every day for about a week. (I'm going to put them in boiling eat again before I put them in my tank because a bird pooped on one when they were out in the garden.)

They still leech tannins, but I quite like the colour, and no, I've not read of it doing any harm... It's probably rather beneficial for them, if anything, since we give axolotls tea baths to sooth their skin.

I have read that the logs sometimes grow fungus, but it doesn't seem to be a sort that can infect fauna too, but you could always remove it and boil it again if I bothered you.
 
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