Mopani Blues
by johnb on Jun.21, 2010, under General Ramblings
I guess we’ll have to write a new tune called “The Mopani Wood Blues” given the trials and tribulations of this week’s focus on my larger aquarium. I got this wonderful (WONDERFUL!) piece of mopani for my black water Amazon tank. I like that tannin thing with all the dark brown colorations: it makes the tank look realistic and helps to keep the water soft and acidic the way the fish like it. Two days after installation, the tank took on a lovely dark tone:
This morning the mopani had a healthy coat of slime (clear gel) all over it. I suspect a fast growing fungus from the wood’s intention to rot, as good wood should. This piece is huge though. It’s not the size to fit in my 5 gallon pot, or a bucket…. I could not boil it like I normally would. This is the result: one dead fish, a slimy mess and a lot of cleanup work.
- Wood removed and placed in bleach water solution in my bathtub. Yeah. Yuk.
- 8 Gallons of water flushed out of the tank and dead fish removed. I got as much slime as I could out.
- Drained the bathtub and replenished the water with fresh warm water and a mix of Stress Coat to reduce chlorine from the bleach and house water supply. Let it sit for two hours. Scrub, repeat, rinse, scrub, repeat.
- Replace wood in tank.
- Clean out the canister filter: added some carbon (I hate to use it) and some ammo-carb just in case things gets to cycling again.
- Sit and wait.
- I will let you know!
