Comment by George Barrett on January 26, 2014 at 11:28pm

WHAT NOOO!! ive never heard of boiling the dirt ive heard baking in the oven if your really worried about anything bad being in the soil. also soaking it but that is to move the nitrifying process along. tannins are just a part of dirting a tank and with a decent filtration system you wont even notice it if your doing the proper weekly water changes. when your tank has balanced completely and you have a thriving tank after about month to a month and a half tannins are not noticeable. I wouldn't go boiling your dirt in other words

Comment by Tyler De Young on January 27, 2014 at 11:47am

Thanks for the reply! I have some diet soaking at the moment. I was just wondering of anyone has ever done that. Obviously I was miss led. That's why I'm on fig tank tv to learn from more experienced aquariumists! Thank you

Comment by Robert Jango on January 27, 2014 at 6:53pm

A lot of our favorite aquarium fish come from the blackwater portions of the Amazon. The term "blackwater" refers to the to water's color which resembles Coca-Cola or tea. This color comes from leaf litter at the river's bottom which can be as much as 100 feet deep! The leaves don't decay because the water is too acidic for even bacteria to survive. Discus fry feed off their parents because there is nothing for them to eat in these waters.

Tetra sells a liquid product (I think its called "Blackwater Extract") that breeders actually add to their tanks to induce spawning. I don't know what kind of vegetation it comes from but it makes certain fish more comfortable. 

Comment by hoyttt on February 1, 2014 at 2:35pm

I like tannins

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