Drift Wood And Roots

Hi,

What are the Best types of drift wood or roots that sink with minimal prep and don’t leach many tannins?

I’ve seen a lot of what I think is mangrove root used in aquascspe set up videos that looks fresh and dry but stays submerged when filled straight away.

I’ve been there done that boiling and soaking drift wood and don’t really have the provisions where I currently live to be able to go down that path. Although I would if I had to for the right pieces.

Is there something that stays submerged straight away? Or close to? I could soak over night if needed.

 

Manzanita is pretty good if you're looking for durable, low-tannin wood for your tank. Depending on its shape, it sinks quickly and I've noticed little to no tannins in my tanks.

This site has a nice selection of manzanita and other kinds of wood: Manzanita-Driftwood.com - Stunning Aquarium Driftwood

 

Hi,

What are the Best types of drift wood or roots that sink with minimal prep and don’t leach many tannins?

I’ve seen a lot of what I think is mangrove root used in aquascspe set up videos that looks fresh and dry but stays submerged when filled straight away.

I’ve been there done that boiling and soaking drift wood and don’t really have the provisions where I currently live to be able to go down that path. Although I would if I had to for the right pieces.

Is there something that stays submerged straight away? Or close to? I could soak over night if needed.

Most true driftwood will sink on it's own within a day or so. Many fish stores just sell driftwood attached to a square of slate so your substrate will hold it down. All wood once it dries has tiny areas that get replaced by air, so the wood floats until it gets waterlogged.

 

Spiderwood is good if you are looking for a root/tree like appearance. It sinks within 3 or so days depending on the thickness of the wood.
Malasian is low tannins but it is very boring most of the time to look at, it sinks okay and pretty quickly.
Manzanita is interesting, very low tannins, branch-like structure, most of it is actual branches.
Oak striped of bark is lower tannins, sinks okay (depending on how well it is cured).

 

Many fish stores just sell driftwood attached to a square of slate

This is probably your best bet, Nubias. The wood will still get darker once it's waterlogged, that's unavoidable. If you can find some manzanita wood that's been attached to a weight, that'll probably do the trick for ya. Alternatively, you could attach a weight yourself.

 

I bought some driftwood out of my lfs stock tanks. That way I knew it didn't float and wasn't coloring the water. Also to help me seed new tank.