drift wood

hi guys need some advice on preparing drift wood for my tank how dose the wood become brown like many that i see .these are the pics of the wood

 

The wood goes dark when it becomes saturated with water.

Here's a link to "how-to" driftwood. http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?14231-How-to-make-your-own-driftwood

 

how long can i keep this wood in the tank

 

Until some pleco eats it all... Wood doesn't really need to be changed unless it starts to rot.
What type of wood is it?

 

The wood might change colour, but it looks like a light piece so it wont go to dark, start soaking it for a few weeks until it sinks - then you will also see what colour it will be. Wood can stay in a tank so long as it doesnt become soft - so far I have had a few pieces in about a year almost now and they are still hard.

 

i don't know what tree it was but i found it and look like a good addition to the tank , how long should i leave it to soak

 

It is a nice piece of wood but it wont get all that dark. You should cover it in moss.... it would look great!

 

That depends on what you want to do? Do you want it to sink only? In that case you can let it soak for a day or two untill it sinks. Try using the hot water tap only. I found that wood gets waterlogged much quicker with hot water than cold water. Think the cells of the wood opens with the heat. But I'm no scientist, So I'm only speculating.

If you want to remove tanins you can soak it for a month or two. Or if you can fit it in a pot you can boil it for 4 hours. Remove, add clean water and boil for another 4 hours. Most of the tannins would be removed this way, but might still be present.

 

Yes +1 try and get a nice number 5 or 6 potjie pot make a nice fire and boil the wood as much as possible, this is what I will be doing soon.

Probably start treating my wood next weekend.:woot:

 

i intend to cover it with moss , but i don't know what moss to cover it with

 

Well the easiest moss to use would be java moss but it grows a bit too wild. I like the look of christmas moss. But not sure how it would look on that particular piece of wood.

 

hi guys there is some type pf grey thing growing on the wood

 

fluffy grey stuff ?
thats normal will go away in couple of days / weeks

 

here's a link which should help: http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/s...-my-driftwood/page2&highlight=slime+driftwood

 

It's a normal thing that happens to wood when it is put into an aquarium.

 

Java Moss is the way to go - works perfectly