Driftwood

[mrV]

The discoloration won't really hurt anything, and will dissappear after a few days usually.

No, it's not harmfull and as i remember, you have fish in you tank, which appreciate soft/acid water. Wood has tannic acid that is good in your tank. No problems at all...

I usually soak wood at least one week in water before i put it in aquarium. It does still colour water alittle.

 

[slt]

i had a piece i want'ed to use i soaked it a couple of days then boiled it,
think the carbon in my filter helped to clear the colour of the tank water,
it did'nt harm the fish,

 

[cichlidmaster]

Another perspective...

I never worry about soaking driftwood. I do rinse it well outside with a pressure hose though.

I only use driftwood in S/C American tanks due to it having somewhat of an effect on the ph of the tanks water.

I really like the yellow tint it gives to the water as this is in keeping with the natural beauty of these fishes natural environment.

 

[wetwetwet]

Master, isn't driftwood different from bogwood?

 

[Great Lakes]

Good question WWW, I always wondered if there is a difference. I walk right down to one of the lakes to get my driftwood.

 

[wetwetwet]

and then there's also mopani(sp?) wood ?

which I think is a harder/denser wood that tends to have lots of holes/caves in it on one side?

 

[cichlidmaster]

WWW,

You are correct. There are several types of wood suitable for the aquarium.

Bog Wood
African Root Which I believe is aka mopani
Driftwood.

Driftwood is commonly found on banks or shores of bodies of water. It usually consists of tree branches or any other type of wood that has been submerged in these bodies of water for long periods of time

Bogwood is similar to driftwood only in the respect that it has been buried in bogs for many, many years.

I could not find much info on Afrrican root, but it is so dense it sinks immediately. This is the wood of choice for me, but very expensive.

Here is a link giving some info on Bogwood bogwood

HTH

 

[wetwetwet]

Usefull stuff master,

I think it is only Bog Wood that tends to leach out the most tannins and not such a problem with mopani and even less so with driftwood. But would there be any problems with using driftwood from the sea in a fresh water aquarium? - salt?

Obviously not a problem for GL who gets it from his local lake lol

 

[Great Lakes]

The bogwoods probably leach more tannins into the water because by nature, most trees and wood found in a swamp/bog would be of the sappy/coniferous/softwood type. In the UP of Michigan, their are rivers that look like tea because of all the pine the water runs through.

 

[silveradam]

What affect does driftwood have on the ph of the water?

 

[Great Lakes]

I have a 50/50 chance here, but I believe bogwood and pete are generally added to lower ph. The master or someone will correct me if I am wrong. B)

 

[Gibbo]

It dosn't seem to alter the pH of my water, only the kH. Like eating a bag of Cheese and Onion Crisps (potato chips) with a pint of Lager, all the fizz goes out of the Beer because of the reaction. Fish still love it though (the wood, not the Lager)!!

 

[cichlidmaster]

Some people say driftwood will lower the Ph, but I have never found this to be true.

It may be the tannins in it. The driftwood you buy from your LFS has usually been treated to go straight into your tank.

I have found some nice pieces in my time that were not treated. I simply hose them down and into the tanks they went. Back then I was keeping S/C American cichlids so it was not a problem if the ph lowered. The tannins on the other hand gave the tank a nice weak tea coloration which for us purists really made the tank look natural.

Alas though after several weeks of filtration with carbon all the tannins are out of the water. There are items on the market (Black extract) and such that aid in providing this natural look.

One of these days when I have true tanks for myself I will be going crazy setting up my Au Natural tanks again

 

[StiX]

Interesting topic this

Just a quick (and probably stupid) question about driftwood...if it 'drifts' when how do u get it to sink to the bottom of the tank ?

 

[reg2k2]

You have to weight it down 'til it waterlogs. Takes weeks, even months, I think. Not sure, I always buy mine at store, good to go.