Can U Have To Much Drift Wood?

[Buddy33]

hey guys i just would like to know if there is such a thing as to much drift wood in a tank??

 

[three-fingers]

Simple answer is: it depends.

If you have soft water, and are trying to keep fish that like hard water and a high pH (like mollies and Malawi cichlids), lots of wood isnt a good idea as tannins released will lower the pH.

Obviously stuffing a tank full of wood (or any decor) is going to reduce water volume, which will decrease the dilution of toxins like ammonia, so extreme amounts of wood are bad in those situations too too.

Lots of fish love tannins and a low pH though (like betas and rams), so in some cases it's practically impossible to put too much wood in the tank, as the chances of the pH dropping below 5 or 6 are very low.

Remember, driftwood and bogwood are different things. Bogwood tends to sink and releases lots of tannins, driftwood floats at first and generally releases less tannins.

Also, for freshwater tanks, it's advisable not to collect any wood from sea beaches .

 

[Buddy33]

so is there any point of having drift wood, or is it just decor
and what are tannins

 

[fatheadminnow]

Tannins are a natural extractive from wood. When wood is submerged in water the tannins will leak out of the wood dying the water a gold/brown color.

Tannins are harmless to fish and the biological filter.

People soak/boil wood weeks before adding it to their tank to get as many tannins out as possible.

-FHM

 

[Super Dude]

plecos also nibble at it for xtra fibre in their diet.

 

[Buddy33]

so other than extra fiber do they do anything else

 

[LauraFrog]

In my opinion the tannins are beneficial to most fish, especially tetras, Amazon dwarf cichlids (apistogrammas, rams, acaras) and the Asian softwater fish (gouramis/rasboras). A lot of people actually add 'blackwater extract' to their tanks - you can get the same effect, naturally, with wood. I also like the look of it, IMO a tank with tannin stained water looks more natural. If you want crystal clear water, like most people do, then it's not for you. People go to extraordinary lengths (and pay extraordinary amounts!) to get driftwood that's free of tannins. Seems a bit odd to me... but each to their own.

 

[waterdrop]

wikipedia has an excellent read on "tannin" if you want to more about what it is technically.

Its very easy if you've not experienced it much, to lump any kind of "blackwater" or brown/gold/yellow water into the same jumbled up idea as "muddy" or "turbid" water. I've certainly been guilty of that myself, so I know what it feels like.

A while back I took a week down in the Okefenokee Swamp in southern Georgia/northern Florida in the U.S. to see the alligators, water snakes, fish, plants and phenomenal birds and other animals down there. I swam in a couple of the main rivers (definately the Suwannee and I think the St. Mary's river) and I remember having one of those "ahaa!" moments about the blackwater experience. In the river, you couldn't see your own body after a few inches because the water just got too dark to see through, a very dark gold to brown kind of effect like tea. But when I would bring handfuls of water up to my face I was amazed at the pristine clarity (somehow!) and freshness of the water. I'm telling you, it really needs to be experienced to be believed! There was no smell or muddiness to this water, its really pretty amazing stuff.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[Buddy33]

so with the brown water will that go away

 

[fatheadminnow]

After a while, the wood will stop leaking tannins.

The only way to get the tannins out of the water is by water changes or activated carbon, or something like carbon in the filter.

-FHM

 

[Buddy33]

yeah i have a carbon filter but still is heaps brown??

 

[Miss Wiggle]

another point to consider is the type of fish you want to keep (not just their pH requirements)

particularly larger species like big cichlids/catfish/bala sharks etc etc all need a good amount of swimming room, if they're having to duck in and out of bogwood all the time this will distress them.

small community fish need to feel secure and therefore need some cover so they often struggle if there isn't enoughd ecor in the tank, not specifically driftwood but you have to tailor the decor to the type of fish you want to keep.

 

[fatheadminnow]

yeah i have a carbon filter but still is heaps brown??

If you did not soak the wood in water for a couple of weeks before putting it in your tank, or boil it, than it is going to be a while before the tannins stop leaking out.

Also, carbon gets all used up in about 3 days, and after 3 days or so, it will start leaking what it has collected back into the tank. So if you want to keep carbon in your filter, you must change it every 3 days or so. That is why most people don't keep carbon in their tank, just because it is unnecessary unless they really need it.

I have carbon ready for use when I need it, but I do not have it in my filter all the time, only when I need it I use it, i.e removing meds from my tank.

-FHM