TedsTank
- #1
I hope everyone finds this helpful. The information here is from my own experiences, and that of others here on the Forum.
Driftwood of course is totally organic. After being in your tank you may very well get a haze of bacterial growth around it or even what looks like white mold...IT IS OK, DON'T PANIC...leave it alone, it will have to cycle too.
The wood has to be "old" dead wood. If it's alive,like being freshly cut off a tree,then when it starts to die,it will decay rapidly in the aquarium,rotting and causing many many problems. The natural "seasoning" process by nature eliminates the rapid decay process drying it out,removing living matter, kind of like making beef jerky,preserving it.
CURING DRIFTWOOD
(curing is not absolutely necessary, but is a safe way to go)
There are many ways to cure your driftwood as has been listed in threads.. all are good valid ways to do so: (1.) Boil it if possible. (2.) Bake it, not over 250 F (3.) Rinse it with copious amounts of boiling water... on very large pieces. (4.) Wet it well then rinse it with a 10% bleach solution and let it sit a bit...(all these steps are not necessary' pick the one or ones that suite you))
AFTER ANY OF THE SUGGESTIONS 1. thru 4. Always, always follow up with a thorough RINSING and/or SOAKING
If your Driftwood gets a really bad or foul odor...boil and rinse again..it may have had occupants other than wood (doesn't happen often)
Store bought Driftwood ...follow the instructions given with the wood! There are a few types of wood imported that have never seen water. It is ok, for our purposes it all boils down to (no pun intended) placing beautiful pieces of wood in our tanks. Much of the imported woods sink rather easily, they are very dense and heavey.
Driftwood of course is totally organic. After being in your tank you may very well get a haze of bacterial growth around it or even what looks like white mold...IT IS OK, DON'T PANIC...leave it alone, it will have to cycle too.
TANNIC ACID (TANNINS)
After Rinsing, Soaking and placing in your tank, most wood will leach out Tannins . Tannins are ACIDIC and can change your water parameters to some degree based on how much Driftwood you are using, and discolor your water to a tea color. Charcoal in your filter can help clear the color out...I usually just leave it be...normal water changes will also help clear it.
Here in the States of course Red Oak, Walnut, Cherry and other dark woods would cause the most discoloration.
I personally recommend that you stay away from softwoods ie: Pines and Cedars. They have pungent oils and if it hasn't cured for years, not sure how the leaching out would effect your plants and fish...Old dried, bleached driftwood is hard to identify...if in doubt you can scrape below the bleached areas and smell it.. the beautiful red cedars keep the odor(oils) a long time.
CEDAR or PINE Driftwood ...both are very aromatic....find a place on your driftwood...preferrably on the bottom and cut it or gouge it and smell. Pine is usually very light in weight and light color if aged...Cedar is reddish if you scratch below the aged part...but smell it too...red oak is of course red from the tannins.
Maybe as a general rule and you are not sure...if it is pleasingly aromatic..dont use it. If not pleaseingly aromatic (stinks) don't use it!!
Tannins will not hurt your tank or fish....will NOT crash your Ph, it leaches out slowly....and regular water changes will clear your tank as the tannins leach out.
On a personal note I really like the slightly tinted water. I think the fish colors show better and it seems more natural.
I HAVE BOILED IT, COOKED IT, SCRUBBED IT, SOAKED IT, BEAT IT, SAWED IT, CURSED IT, BUT IT WON'T SINK!!!
Ah yes, how do I get the darned thing to the bottom of the tank?
Boiling Driftwood does not always (in my case often) waterlog it. I usually end up with a weightless piece that is not very secure to where I want it.
There have been many great ideas posted here on the Forum..next are a few methods that will work.
1.) Weight it down by attaching a piece of slate to the bottom, wired or screwed on...aquarium glue will not hold to wet wood.
2.) I use rocks on top of the pieces for additional hiding places.
3.) If there are holes in the wood, wedge some rocks into them away from the viewing side.
4.) If you have a small piece of driftwood, the weights that are wrapped around plants can be tied onto it.
5.) There are some nice ornaments that look nice on driftwood...even an artificial piece. After aging in the tank and some moss or algae it will all blend into one piece.
Now you have it in your Tank... Congratulations but remember: driftwood of course is totally organic. After being in your tank you may very well get a haze of bacterial growth around it or even what looks like white mold...IT IS OK, DON'T PANIC...leave it alone, it will have to cycle too.
Eventually your piece of wild driftwood will become waterlogged...but if you are like me, who can or wants to wait that long...ENJOY!
Driftwood of course is totally organic. After being in your tank you may very well get a haze of bacterial growth around it or even what looks like white mold...IT IS OK, DON'T PANIC...leave it alone, it will have to cycle too.
The wood has to be "old" dead wood. If it's alive,like being freshly cut off a tree,then when it starts to die,it will decay rapidly in the aquarium,rotting and causing many many problems. The natural "seasoning" process by nature eliminates the rapid decay process drying it out,removing living matter, kind of like making beef jerky,preserving it.
CURING DRIFTWOOD
(curing is not absolutely necessary, but is a safe way to go)
There are many ways to cure your driftwood as has been listed in threads.. all are good valid ways to do so: (1.) Boil it if possible. (2.) Bake it, not over 250 F (3.) Rinse it with copious amounts of boiling water... on very large pieces. (4.) Wet it well then rinse it with a 10% bleach solution and let it sit a bit...(all these steps are not necessary' pick the one or ones that suite you))
AFTER ANY OF THE SUGGESTIONS 1. thru 4. Always, always follow up with a thorough RINSING and/or SOAKING
If your Driftwood gets a really bad or foul odor...boil and rinse again..it may have had occupants other than wood (doesn't happen often)
Store bought Driftwood ...follow the instructions given with the wood! There are a few types of wood imported that have never seen water. It is ok, for our purposes it all boils down to (no pun intended) placing beautiful pieces of wood in our tanks. Much of the imported woods sink rather easily, they are very dense and heavey.
Driftwood of course is totally organic. After being in your tank you may very well get a haze of bacterial growth around it or even what looks like white mold...IT IS OK, DON'T PANIC...leave it alone, it will have to cycle too.
TANNIC ACID (TANNINS)
After Rinsing, Soaking and placing in your tank, most wood will leach out Tannins . Tannins are ACIDIC and can change your water parameters to some degree based on how much Driftwood you are using, and discolor your water to a tea color. Charcoal in your filter can help clear the color out...I usually just leave it be...normal water changes will also help clear it.
Here in the States of course Red Oak, Walnut, Cherry and other dark woods would cause the most discoloration.
I personally recommend that you stay away from softwoods ie: Pines and Cedars. They have pungent oils and if it hasn't cured for years, not sure how the leaching out would effect your plants and fish...Old dried, bleached driftwood is hard to identify...if in doubt you can scrape below the bleached areas and smell it.. the beautiful red cedars keep the odor(oils) a long time.
CEDAR or PINE Driftwood ...both are very aromatic....find a place on your driftwood...preferrably on the bottom and cut it or gouge it and smell. Pine is usually very light in weight and light color if aged...Cedar is reddish if you scratch below the aged part...but smell it too...red oak is of course red from the tannins.
Maybe as a general rule and you are not sure...if it is pleasingly aromatic..dont use it. If not pleaseingly aromatic (stinks) don't use it!!
Tannins will not hurt your tank or fish....will NOT crash your Ph, it leaches out slowly....and regular water changes will clear your tank as the tannins leach out.
On a personal note I really like the slightly tinted water. I think the fish colors show better and it seems more natural.
I HAVE BOILED IT, COOKED IT, SCRUBBED IT, SOAKED IT, BEAT IT, SAWED IT, CURSED IT, BUT IT WON'T SINK!!!
Ah yes, how do I get the darned thing to the bottom of the tank?
Boiling Driftwood does not always (in my case often) waterlog it. I usually end up with a weightless piece that is not very secure to where I want it.
There have been many great ideas posted here on the Forum..next are a few methods that will work.
1.) Weight it down by attaching a piece of slate to the bottom, wired or screwed on...aquarium glue will not hold to wet wood.
2.) I use rocks on top of the pieces for additional hiding places.
3.) If there are holes in the wood, wedge some rocks into them away from the viewing side.
4.) If you have a small piece of driftwood, the weights that are wrapped around plants can be tied onto it.
5.) There are some nice ornaments that look nice on driftwood...even an artificial piece. After aging in the tank and some moss or algae it will all blend into one piece.
Now you have it in your Tank... Congratulations but remember: driftwood of course is totally organic. After being in your tank you may very well get a haze of bacterial growth around it or even what looks like white mold...IT IS OK, DON'T PANIC...leave it alone, it will have to cycle too.
Eventually your piece of wild driftwood will become waterlogged...but if you are like me, who can or wants to wait that long...ENJOY!