Driftwood Questions

[jersysman]

keep reading about driftwood/bogwood. I want to put some in my tank (20 gallon), but every time I read something in this forum, I keep changing my mind. The questions that I have are these.

1. After the wood has been in the tank for a while, is it still necessary to keep testing for KH or does the tank stabilize after the wood has been in there for a while.

2. I won't have any rocks in this take so what will be the best method to get this wood to sink?

3. Has anyone purchased any wood from Big Als? Was it decent?

I want to put a piece of wood in my tank because I think they look cool.

 

[Vip]

1st off you dont need to do further testing after a week, it will all be fine, 2nd the wood sinks right away as soon as its put into the tank.
As for big als i dunno cause im in australia and we dont have them!

 

[jsoong]

Driftwood don't necessarily sink - mine still floats after almost 6 months ..... it all depends on what species of wood .....

You can buy wood with slate already attached so they will sink ..... some will need to be soaked for a few weeks to be waterlogged .... you can speed this up by boiling 8-12 hrs ... <pressure cooking will probably be faster .... never tried that tho>.

I sank mine by attaching a piece of plexi to the bottom using stainless screws, then hide the plexi by piling gravel on top of it.

Big Al's looks OK in the store - don't know if you'll get the same by mail order.

 

[bzbee]

Jchillin jus bought driftwood from BigAl's IIRC. Check with him.

 

[Jchillin]

Hello! Yes, I did purchase a lot of the wood in my tank from BigAls. It comes attached to slate. I soaked the wood for two days, placed it in the tank and found that it still floated. I then placed some of my rock decor and other stone work on top of the slate to keep it down. It has been two weeks and both of the large pieces are still bouyant.

Since this type of wood is pre-treated, it will not leech tannins or other minerals into that in any significant amount to change KH levels.

I've attached a pic of the tank. The pieces from BigAls are the huge piece on the right and the long one in the rear.

 

[jersysman]

I've heard that if you get mopani wood that it sinks better? I've never heard of this type of wood. Any thoughts on this? As I will not be having any rock work in the tank, I need the wood to sink.

 

[prettyvacant]

The wood I have is Mopani from Big Al's. I let mine soak in a large bucket of warm water over night, and replacing the water when it would become brown. I did this until the water became clearer. When i put the wood in the tank, it had no problem sinking.

 

[Rocket Girl]

I have a piece of mopani wood I bought. I bought it at Petland (Canadian store). It has sunk and stays at the bottom. I soaked it approximately 24 hours in a tub of dechlorinated water and then put it in the tank. After about 72 hours it was fully submersed of its own free will. I haven't had other types to compare it to but the mopani definitely will sink. It colored the water a slight yellow for the first month or so but now it would seem to me that I can't hardly discern a discoloration of the water.

 

[cougaran]

I am also concerned about using driftwood and wondering if it will alter the chemistry of the tank. I found this marina driftwood (on the bottom of the page)
http://www.aquariumguys.com/aquarium-driftwood.html that claims,"This driftwood is manufactured from a safe inert material and can be used in aquariums and terrariums.
It has a natural appearance, will not affect water chemistry or clarity, light-weight, ideal for attaching Jave Fern or Anubius, etc." I havent tried it, but is seems relatively inexpensive.

 

[severum mama]

I use driftwood in my 55, 29, and 20 gallon tanks. I haven't noticed any changes in water chemistry, maybe you have to use a lot of wood to notice a difference? If you don't use a ton of wood in your tank I don't think it will affect your water chemistry that much, at least not enough to affect your fish much. All my tanks tested at pH 7.0 both before and after I added the wood. :?
I did have a problem with one of my pieces floating, but I stuck a rock on top of it for a few weeks and it sank eventually.

 

[BASSNMAN]

You can get malaysian drift wood from Big Als or Foster and Smith. You need to soak it to remove the tannin but it sinks like a rock. After the tannin is leached out it won't lower your PH.

 

[caribou]

I have bought malaysian drift wood off of Ebay and Foster and Smith. I simmered mine for about five hours and then rinsed well. My new tank got backordered so i ended also soaking this wood for over a month, doing water changes every week. It has not colored my water, but nor has it altered my Ph as I hoped it would.

 

[jersysman]

Yeah... I'm hoping it will drop my ph a bit. Something like .2 would be good.

 

[Steven A]

Why do you want you p.h. to drop like ?

 

[jersysman]

Because it will be better for my rainbow fish I want to get. My tank is about 7.6 now. I'd like to be around 7.4 at the most.

 

[mattrox]

Jersyman, refer to this post.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=49659&postdays=0&postorder=asc&start=0

 

[jersysman]

I had read that thread before. I still am getting the driftwood in the hopes that it will lower it a little. I might as well try to give my fish as close to the parameters of water as they like.

 

[jersysman]

I ordered a piece of malaysian driftwood from Drs Foster and Smith. Their site said that I should also use a brush to get stuff off of the wood. What type of brush would be recommended?

 

[zilla870]

i used bogwood and my tank was tannin for a week and half then crystal clear no problem with any water chemistry

 

[rcjubei]

If you trust your lfs check it out and see if they have any that you like in their tanks for sale. A local fish store here in southern california that I visit way too often had a nice looking piece in their plant display tank, I asked the owner if I could buy it and she said yes, I brought it home and boiled it for a spell and no probs.