Mopani, leeching and water parameters

[SinkorSwim]

Hello all,

I have sourced a nice piece of mopani root and it's currently soaking so as I don't need to weight it down when I come to scape in the next few days.

I have noticed a scum appearing on the surface which doesn't concern me hugely as tannins always do leech into the water when soaking a new piece of wood, but I have been reading snippets around the interweb that Mopani can leech some sap and some naturally occurring fluids, which can be detrimental to inverts and possibly fish.

Now I haven't used mopani before and after a search on the boards here I haven't read of any reports but I do plan on adding some mosquito rasboras to the tank as well as a species of TBC shrimp so I suppose I am writing this to check if anyone has any knowledge or has used mopani wood in a scape and noticed changes in water parameters, or unexplained fish/shrimp casualties etc.

thanks for your time in advance.

Allan

 

[zozo]

I got +/- 9kg mopani in a 110 litre tank, never soaked it.. It indeed leaches massive amounts of tanins etc.. The first months, so much i weekly found a layer of dust in pocket areas on the substrate.. It's in the tank for over a year now still leaching, but less.. The first 6 months i did 2 water changes a week now over a year into the process i do only one 40% water change weekly and it still is leaching.

Tho it leached so much it never affected the pH this stayed nutral.. It might be it's a Savanna wood found in Africa, it likely never saw any water before it ends up in someones tank. And there for less acidic. Bogwood is different, this gets concerved in acidic peat layers for who knows how long.

Anyway, the fish do not mind.. And since i still see it leaching 17 months later.. Than pre soaking wont make much of a difference if you don't pre soak it longer than a year..

 

[dean]

I've found the hotter the water you soak it in the faster it soaks it up and the faster it stops leaching

I've a mate who puts all new wood in the dishwasher- his wife has no idea what he gets up to while she's out shopping


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[SinkorSwim]

Hi folks,

thanks for taking the time to reply!

I can see a daily water leech so have been changing - the piece is no where near your sized Zozo, although it is superbly detailed and I' looking forward to using it. Your post has given me confidence to use it and be less concerned although i will be duly diligent during my daily checks. I am hoping it doesn't leech so much that frequesnt water changes are that required very frequently as I do like clarity n my tanks - although I do understand the tannins do provide a level of natural habitat to the inhabitants.
I'll take a photo later of it and post it up.

Dean I've been soaking the piece in a 13 Litre Bucket of boiled kettle hot water for about 2 weeks and have noticed a lot of tannins but the dishwasher is getting used tonight and not for plates *note to brain do not insert fairy liquid tab*

To be honest I also have a fair amount of finger Manza wood and was toying with the idea of securing a few pieces together but the detail on the mopani far excells anything I could manually put together.
I'm still not 100% decided, and it does depend on the rock I am using if I can make it work, but it's likely I'll use the mopani.

cheers for now.
Allan

 

[dean]

Allan show us what you've gone with


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