Buying driftwood

[iusefender]

My aquarium knowledge is about 2 weeks strong now and im looking to put driftwood in my tank. How should I go about getting said driftwood and how do I know if it'll be any good for my tank? Basically any information on aquarium driftwood would be greatly appreciated

 

[McLumpy]

You can find some really nice Mopani wood at Petco, (check their reptile section). They normally have a good selection of sizes/shapes to choose from and you should find one that fits in well w/ your tank. I prefer the Mopani due to the coloring, and how quickly it gets waterlogged.

As far as getting the wood prepared, this is the method that I used and I had no floating issues and it leached very few tannins...

Simply soak it in extremely hot water, (you can use a large bucket or your bathtub... just make sure there is no soap residue in either!). In the morning, fill your bucket/tub w/ hot water and repeat again in the evening. Do this for a total of 10 days.

On the 11th day, your water should be clear and you can test to see if it sinks. If everything looks good, soak it one more time w/ hot water, (only this time add Prime to the water). Let it soak for at least 5-6 hours. Take a sterile toothbrush and scrub lightly to knock off any debris. Spray it off w/ your showerhead, then let it soak for another couple of hours in the treated water. Then add it to your tank.

 

[Tim Wheatley]

I use Malaysian driftwood from a seller called Mikeswetpets on aquabid.com. Straight in my tanks.

 

[itsgracia]

Got one from him too and it sunk right away and did not leach and tannis.

Also there is this online store that has very pretty DW. www.thedriftwoodstore.com

 

[Tim Wheatley]

My tanks are full of his Amazon Swords, too. My Angelfish like to lay eggs on them.

Yeah, mine didn't leech anything either. I was pretty surprised by that... I don't actually mind the water changing color but it didn't anyway.

 

[Morgie]

I use DIY driftwood, which basically means I didn't buy it in a store. If you have some wood that would be appropriate for your aquarium (non toxic) you can use the soaking method to release the tannins and then there are several ways to keep it down in your tank. I put suction cups on the bottom of my tank in two places and tied the wood to the floor with fishing line. Covered up the suction cups with substrate and boom! instant sunken driftwood. You can use this method if your wood stops leaching but still won't submerge completely. :>

 

[toddnbecka]

I buy mopani and malaysian wood from petsolutions. Great prices, only downside is you don't get to choose the pieces individually. However, I've never been disappointed with what they send me. Either type will last for many years in aquariums, unlike the domestic wood that decays and either gradually disappears or just falls apart completely in a few years. The mopani wood does leach quite a bit, the malaysian not as bad IME.
http://www.petsolutions.com/storefr...quarium-cdecorationsGravel-cdriftwood-p1.html