wakingupnow

I'm currently cycling my 8 gallon tank fishless and when I started I added a piece of driftwood that has been in my house for about 5 years.

It's from the sea, so I don't know what type of wood it is..Probably shouldn't have put it in there? The Algae looks gray and it has long hair like thingies.

One thing that I've noticed with the pH is that it's been very high which seemed odd to me.

Does it look like algae and if so what kind is it? Should I worry about this when the cycle is finished and it's still there or should it just be removed and thrown away?

All answers are always appreciated.

CHoffman

That kinda looks more like mold not algae. I def could be wrong. I would wait to see if someone else chimes in to let you know for sure..What did you do to sterilize it before adding it to the tank..If you didn't I would take it out scrub it off and boil it really good. Some wood can't be used in the aquarium because it leaches sap, It might be a good idea to try to identify what kind of wood it is. Hopefully it's harmless. Good luck with it. Driftwood looks great in the tank.

wakingupnow

Thanks for the quick reply.

If anything it most likely will be a type of pine we call Casserina down here. I searched for it on-line, but I can't find it anywhere. I think I will take it out, but if it has leeched anything out, what does this mean for my tank?

Lucy

I was just reading about driftwood and came upon some info about the white fuzz.
I don't have first hand experience with it so I can't vouch for the information.....just something for your research.
The article basically said whether it was fungus or mold that it should be harmless and that it will eventually disappear. Scrubbing might help, but the fuzz might also come back.
Here's where I read it.
Driftwood Basics

wakingupnow

Thanks Lucy, but the link there just leads back to this page.

It looks scary to touch haha, but I will scrub it off and smell it to just simply see what it smells like...I don't know why I'm telling you that.

momo9700

XD I laughed when I read that. Made my day, and makes me want to go smell my driftwood... but my armada of ghost shrimp is hiding in there lol. I don't want to disturb them.

But yeah, I'd def take everyone else's advice on this, because I have non to give lol.

Chrisson

I sorta have something like that growing on my heaters suction pad (the thing that stick to the glass) I just rub it of with hot water and it comes of. It's all slimy though.

Also did you boil the driftwood and all that treatment stuff on it?

Lucy

LOL sorry about the link
Here's the correct one:
Driftwood Basics

I also fixed the link in my other post.

capekate

Ive read somewhere that pine is not a good wood to put into aquariums, as it can leach the sap into the water. I have driftwood from the sea in my freshwater tanks with no problems and its really hard to tell if they are pine or not. Did you scrub and wash the driftwood up real good before you put it into your tank? Do you have any fish that like to eat off wood? Im surprised how clean my striped raphael catfish keeps the driftwood clean once I added him into the tank. But I agree with others, it will most likely go away over time, but I would personally take it out and do a good scrubbing and either try again or find a non pine wood for the tank.

wakingupnow

Unfortunately, no I didn't scrub it or boil it first (dumb dumb me) because of how long it's been sitting in my house I thought it couldn't have anything in it.

But I'm going to take it out tonight and scrub it off and boil it for a good 10-15 minutes.

wakingupnow

Something very weird happened after taking out the fungus ridden piece of driftwood, all of my Nitrates Vanished.

What do I do?

aquarist48

I had cypress stumps for a long time. Same thing happened. White algae or fungus on it. I clean it and it came back over and over. I finally decided to leave it alone and it eventually went away on its own.

meg1220

That looks like the slimy stuff that grew on one of my pieces of driftwood. When I took the piece out, the "stuff" was transparent, slimy, and smelly. It got to be about an inch thick. I re-boiled it, but the stuff came back. Then I just scrubbed in tank water, and it (mostly) didn't return. I have seen a few small patches, but nothing overwhelming.

I have also read that pine, juniper, etc. (sappy, soft woods) are not aquarium-safe.