Driftwood floating

[Kathymockler]

I'm trying to set up my 26 gallon bow front tank. I bought some Malaysian drift wood for decoration but as I was adding water the wood popped up to the top. The small piece of driftwood is staying submerged. Will the larger piece eventually sink or should I get smaller pieces? Also the store recommended gravel with the bacteria already in it. Any one have experience with that?

Thanks for your help!

Kathy Mockler

 

[Coyne]

The wood should eventually get water logged and sink on its own.
In the meantime, you can use rocks to weight it down. If you're feeling crafty, you can use plastic tie-wraps or stainless steel screws to attach it to a rock in a more permanent fashion, and the bury the rock under the substrate so you don't have to see it.

I've never heard of gravel you're referring to, but my initial thought is that it sounds like a waste if money. Nitrifying bacteria is everywhere and is free. Well, I suppose it costs a little bit of time and patience, but other than that it is free.

 

[Kathymockler]

Coyne, thank you for your reply! I'm leaving the driftwood floating over night. Hopefully it will be in the bottom in the morning. Otherwise I may go purchase some rocks.

 

[Gourami_Girl]

Coyne, do you have to "cure" the driftwood first? I have been thinking of getting a small piece for my Otos, small so I don't have to worry about ph changes, but can you just put it in w/o curing? What about the tannins?

 

[Camescu]

Driftwood is meant to lower ph but I have several pieces in mine and the ph never changes. Tannins won't do anything other than discolour the water for a while. Again, this is something I haven't encountered.

 

[Coyne]

Some people pre-soak their driftwood so that it sinks right away. It will also leech out some of the tannin so that it has less impact on the color of your water. They arent harmful to the fish... in fact they have some healthful benefits... but some people dont like the darkening "tea effect" that it has.

As mentioned, driftwood may have a slight effect on lowering your pH, but it depends on how Hard your water is. For example: My tap water has a high mineral content, so any changes in my pH are difficult to achieve and relatively small.

 

[Gourami_Girl]

Glad to hear that, thanks to both of you. Florida water has a lot of mineral gunk in it, too, from the coral but in my area it's kind of soft and after Prime it's around 80. I am going to get one small piece and soak it a little just so it sinks, but try some of the ""tea" effect. It sounds cool and if it's beneficial that's just a plus.

 

[Kathymockler]

How long does it take for it to sink? It's been 24 hours and it's still floating in top.

 

[Supergummy]

It might take awhile with a large piece?

 

[martintanks91]

Mine took 3 days, i tied it with a rock, some say putting it in a bucket with boiling water helps

 

[Coyne]

It can vary. Mine have always sunk right away, but Ive heard from others that it can take days, weeks or sometimes months.
Ive also heard that putting it in boiling water can speed up the process, but I think it also make the wood start to break down prematurely.

 

[bogart]

You can also super glue it to a rock. If you are not comfortable with regular super glue any store that handles coral will have a version of super glue. It's used all the time to attach live coral to rocks.

 

[Kathymockler]

Thanks everyone for the ideas and suggestions!