Mopani Wood :D

[twolovers101]

So I got my first piece of mopani wood today (a gift from my mother, bless her) and I was wondering what is the best way to prepare it for my tank? I know I'm supposed to boil it, but I don't know for how long or what else to do with it. It will be going into my 5.5 NPT on Sunday if that's okay...

I can't post a pic right now, but will later if you need me to :)

[Romad]

Here's an older link about preparing Mopani. I too had issues with the Mopani fungus and could not get rid of it after scraping and boiling multiple times so ended up leaving it out of my 10 gallon altogether.

Just something to be aware of. Hopefully, you won't have the same issue.

http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/f...ng-tank-44193/

[babystarz]

I never boiled mine, but I did let it sit in a bowl of water for a week. If you don't care about the tannins, you can add it after a day or two. If you don't like the tannins, let it soak for 2 weeks. Replace the water occasionally to discourage mold/fungus growth.

[twolovers101]

Alright, thank you :) I will be boiling it tonight then and soak it in a bucket of water until I get back to my apartment. Does the water need to be conditioned, or can I just use regular tap water?

[marktrc]

i poured boiling water on mine because i dont have a pot big enough for the wood. luckily no fiungus. then i let it sit in a tub of water for a week. now its in the tank for 3 weeks. it still darkens my water with tannins. i change half my water weekly. i used reg tap water at first. but now its in the tank with fish and plants i do condition the water. the fish seem fine with the dark water. plants look ok too. i suspect the tannins will be darkening my water for many months to come.

[registereduser]

I really like the stained water. Water changes will lighten things up if you think it's getting to dark.

[twolovers101]

I boiled it for bout 30 minutes to an hour this evening and the water got REALLY dark, almost black xD I'm so glad I boiled it. I've got it soaking in a 5 gallon bucket at the moment, and hopefully it will have leeched out enough tannins by Sunday that I can put it in the tank (I'm a REALLY impatient person and hate waiting for things lol)

[Tikibirds]

I just rinse it off and put in in the tank. Its been in there for several months and I don't have any issues with it...