Beginner Questions About Driftwood

HI everyone,

I’d like to use driftwood in the near future and I have some questions and concerns.

1) How do you know which driftwood is the right kind to buy? Are there some that are not truly good for aquarium use though advertised that way I should stay away from?

2) Are there any risks to using driftwood? I’ve heard it can change the water chemistry, are there times when it does so too quickly?

3) I’ve seen some people start off with driftwood and then complain of fungus growing on their wood, orsudden infestations of works or parasites. Is that normal and how do you prevent it?

4) How do you go about boiling driftwood, particularly large pieces? Does it take of the concerns in point 3?

5) Is there anything else I didn’t ask that I need to know about driftwood so I can make sure I use it successfully and safely?

Thanks!

 

See below.

I’d like to use driftwood in the near future and I have some questions and concerns.

1) How do you know which driftwood is the right kind to buy? Are there some that are not truly good for aquarium use though advertised that way I should stay away from? Easiest thing to do is go to the aquarium and get them from there. You'll pay a premium but at least you know it's for tanks. Avoid wood like cherry and pine due to the smell.

2) Are there any risks to using driftwood? I’ve heard it can change the water chemistry, are there times when it does so too quickly? The risk of water chemistry being effected is quite low. Your pH might drop a little bit.

3) I’ve seen some people start off with driftwood and then complain of fungus growing on their wood? Or sudden infestations of works or parasites? Is that normal and how do you prevent it? It's normal for the white stuff to come up...some woods do them and some don't. It depends on how water logged they are. The fungus will happen...the infestations and parasites. Those would have been taken care of if you properly clean the wood. That would be boiling them.

4) How do you go about boiling driftwood, particularly large pieces? Does it take of he concerns in question 3? Large bucket over the fire. If you don't have anything that big, most of us don't unless you own a restaurant. You can boil part of the wood in the biggest pot you have and have a side pot for hot water. Use a ladle and pour water over the wood. At least that will clean some of it.

5) Is there anything else I didn’t ask that I need to know about driftwood so I can make sure I use it successfully and safely? Soak the wood for about a month before adding to your tank. That might help get rid of the fungus that grows.

 

See below.

I’d like to use driftwood in the near future and I have some questions and concerns.

1) How do you know which driftwood is the right kind to buy? Are there some that are not truly good for aquarium use though advertised that way I should stay away from? Easiest thing to do is go to the aquarium and get them from there. You'll pay a premium but at least you know it's for tanks. Avoid wood like cherry and pine due to the smell.

2) Are there any risks to using driftwood? I’ve heard it can change the water chemistry, are there times when it does so too quickly? The risk of water chemistry being effected is quite low. Your pH might drop a little bit.

3) I’ve seen some people start off with driftwood and then complain of fungus growing on their wood? Or sudden infestations of works or parasites? Is that normal and how do you prevent it? It's normal for the white stuff to come up...some woods do them and some don't. It depends on how water logged they are. The fungus will happen...the infestations and parasites. Those would have been taken care of if you properly clean the wood. That would be boiling them.

4) How do you go about boiling driftwood, particularly large pieces? Does it take of he concerns in question 3? Large bucket over the fire. If you don't have anything that big, most of us don't unless you own a restaurant. You can boil part of the wood in the biggest pot you have and have a side pot for hot water. Use a ladle and pour water over the wood. At least that will clean some of it.

5) Is there anything else I didn’t ask that I need to know about driftwood so I can make sure I use it successfully and safely? Soak the wood for about a month before adding to your tank. That might help get rid of the fungus that grows.

Thanks for the detailed reply! I very much appreciate it. So pretty much anything at the local fish store (LFS) should be okay? The one I commonly find everywhere is ‘mopanI driftwood’ but I wanted to ask here to be certain and receive any forewarnings since we all know great the advice from LFS folks tends to be. Heh.

 

Thanks for the detailed reply! I very much appreciate it. So pretty much anything at the local fish store (LFS) should be okay? The one I commonly find everywhere is ‘mopanI driftwood’ but I wanted to ask here to be certain and receive any forewarnings since we all know great the advice from LFS folks tends to be. Heh.

You can go online and look for Malaysian driftwood or whatever floats your boat. I think fosters have a good selection. Just search for it online.

Also don't be afraid to go to other LFS and take a gander at them...you can also find fake wood too.

 

You can go online and look for Malaysian driftwood or whatever floats your boat. I think fosters have a good selection. Just search for it online.

Also don't be afraid to go to other LFS and take a gander at them...you can also find fake wood too.

Cool, thank you! One other question about the fungus, does that normally go away with time on its own and is it harmlsss to fish normally? Sorry to pester. Thanks for the help!

 

The mopanI wood you can boil to get rid of tannin's, the last couple of pieces I bought I didn't boil. I just set them how I wanted them and placed the wood in the tank. For larger pieces of wood I use my extra turkey fryer pot over the propane turkey fryer burner, works wonders.

 

The mopanI wood you can boil to get rid of tannin's, the last couple of pieces I bought I didn't boil. I just set them how I wanted them and placed the wood in the tank. For larger pieces of wood I use my extra turkey fryer pot over the propane turkey fryer burner, works wonders.

Ohhhh, thanks for the tip and for clarifying about the mopanI wood, that one seems to be most common in my area.

 

Cool, thank you! One other question about the fungus, does that normally go away with time on its own and is it harmlsss to fish normally? Sorry to pester. Thanks for the help!

The white fungus that grows on the driftwood once in the tank is safe...it just looks like a bunch of snot on the wood, but it's really organics.

 

Malaysian is good stuff, bought several pieces from Foster & Smith. It sinks easy, no need to soak for a long time. If you like tea colored water don't boil it too long, some people like the color and it doesn't hurt anything. Good luck and....

WELCOME TO FISH LORE!!

 

Thanks for the help and the welcome Pescado_Verde and Fashooga . Haha I’m glad to know I don’t have to be concerned about ‘snot’ on my driftwood! I’ve wanted to use driftwood for a while but I’ve been afraid to. So thanks for answering my questions. I’m tired of tying my Anubias to plastic decor.

 

Every piece of Malaysian driftwood that I've bought has had numerous worm holes and nooks and crannies where I was able to stuff the rhizomes into them. No need to glue or tie anything.

 

Every piece of Malaysian driftwood that I've bought has had numerous worm holes and nooks and crannies where I was able to stuff the rhizomes into them. No need to glue or tie anything.

That’s good to know! I definitely want something like that that. By any chance do you know anything about/have experience with Manzanita driftwood?

 

I'm not familiar with it. I know that from what I've seen the pieces are typically smaller, more "branchy" - if that makes sense. The Malaysian that I've bought has been chunks of wood but with lots of character, just not branchy. Manzanita is a desert/Western US tree. It's not actually a driftwood, neither is MopanI for that matter but they're both popular in aquariums. MopanI which is from South Africa is extremely hard, extremely dense and will last for years and years under water.

 

I'm not familiar with it. I know that from what I've seen the pieces are typically smaller, more "branchy" - if that makes sense. The Malaysian that I've bought has been chunks of wood but with lots of character, just not branchy. Manzanita is a desert/Western US tree. It's not actually a driftwood, neither is MopanI for that matter but they're both popular in aquariums. MopanI which if from South Africa is extremely hard, extremely dense and will last for years and years under water.

Thank you! All good information. Thanks for letting me pick your brain you’ve been most helpful. There’s definitely a large variety of woods out there, which I think is another reason I’ve been wary of it for so long.

 

Pescado_Verde MopanI is extremely hard and dense. I have drilled thru several pieces to make hole to tie plants onto or join pieces together.

 

Pescado_Verde MopanI is extremely hard and dense. I have drilled thru several pieces to make hole to tie plants onto or join pieces together.

Yep, it's one of the hardest woods there is. Compared to some of its "competition" in that regard it is hard to beat for the price. And it is very attractive too.

 

my mopanI has yet to grow that nasty white stuff, thank goodness. i've had it in my tank for over a month. it sank like a rock too. I boiled it for about an hour and then let it soak for a week or two. it's just the zoo med mopanI you see in pet stores. I did a lot of searching for a nice piece lol

 

Hello, not trying to hijack the thread but had a question also along this train of conversation.....I mainly want to add driftwood to lower the ph....my tank runs very high, 8.4 currently, lower sometimes to 8.0 or 8.2....tough to tell accurately with strips....

But once your ph gets lower, does it level out or just keep getting lower? I guess water changes will help in keeping it level?

 

In my experience, it'll level out. My pH was at 8.4, and my driftwood brought it down to a steady 8.0. It's been in there for two months and no ups or downs so far.

 

In my experience, it'll level out. My pH was at 8.4, and my driftwood brought it down to a steady 8.0. It's been in there for two months and no ups or downs so far.

Thanks for the quick reply......just the news I wanted to hear......