Funky Driftwood

[puhlfly]

Last week I added a piece of driftwood to my tank. It was added to help with a Ph problem and is, but...
A) The wood has not sank in over one week. It looks good and provides cover on top. It wold be nice to know if it will sink though.
B) I bought the wood at petco. It was labeled for birds, but the clerk assured me it would be fine in an aquarium. Now there is mold on the top of it. I have removed the piece for now, and would like to Know if I can return it to the tank.

 

[QTOFFER]

I would try boiling it in water. That will kill the mold and help saturate the wood. You may have to soak the wood for a few days - weigh it down with a rock. If it still doesn't sink,you can drill a hole in a piece of slate with a masonry or tile drill bit, and attach the slate to the wood with stainless steel screws.

Don't worry too much about the mold - it's from airborne spores that landed on the wood in the store - harmless to you and the fish, and it can't survive under water for long.

BTW, welcome to AA!

 

[puhlfly]

Excellent. Would it do any harm to leave the top of the wood exposed?

 

[BASSNMAN]

Leaving part of the wood exposed should not be a problem except for the possibility of more mold. I saw a large tank with a big stump that stuck out of the water and had a plant growing in the hollow top. Looked cool.

 

[puhlfly]

Now that I can leave the wood at the top, can I put a piece of coral in a freshwater tank? Also, any tricks out there to treat the top against mold?

 

[An t-iasg]

can I put a piece of coral in a freshwater tank?

No, the coral won't live in freshwater. The water parameters, lighting, and tank conditions it needs in SW are totally different in FW. I wouldn't put anything meant for SW in a FW aquarium, even something like a rinsed-out seashell. When my husband was a kid, he put some seashells in his FW tank, and it killed all the fish. I don't think you can rinse all the salt out completely, and it will alter your FW parameters. Also, driftwood is usually associated with lower pH, slightly acidic water. Some SW shells/skeletons are meant for a higher pH and could slowly dissolve in a FW aquarium like this -- very slowly, but enough to mess up your FW paramters. I really wouldn't risk it.

I have seen some artifical corals for aquarium decoration; these would be safe for a FW tank. Here's an example: http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=8174&N=2004+113151

 

[Frank_the_Tank]

I had two pieces of driftwood, which I boiled until most of the tannins were out, and then soaked for a week prior to adding them to my tank. One of them sank, and the other hadn't sank yet so I attached it to a flat piece of fake aquarium rock and that and the weight of the gravel have held it down.

 

[Menagerie]

I have a large piece of root driftwood in my tank. It is held down with a chunk of basalt. The stupid think hasn't sunk in over a year. Too big to boil, but that's okay, the fish like both the wood and basalt.

Now that I can leave the wood at the top, can I put a piece of coral in a freshwater tank?

Dead coral? This will release calcium bicarbonate to raise the pH, counter acting what you want the wood to do.

 

[puhlfly]

OK, I'm getting the idea that coral is not a good idea. Thanks for the tips. I'll boil the wood and check out an t-iasg's link. There is hope for my fish yet!!! Any suggestions for how long to boil? I want to sterilize, but not remove whatever is helping my Ph problem.

 

[Frank_the_Tank]

when you boil the wood, the tannins will be released, turning the water a yellow-brown color. The wood will do the same when added to an aquarium, turning the water a yellow-brown color, I believe it's called "black water". Some people like the color, and some fish also prefer it. It's up to you. I boiled the wood and changed the water every so often when the water got really dark, until there were not many tannins released.

 

[puhlfly]

Thanks Frank. Time to boil the wood. My tapwater has a high ph and ai alkaline. Should I use spring H2O?

 

[An t-iasg]

I don't think it's necessary to boil the wood in spring water. My tap water has a high pH too, and I'm soaking the wood in a bucket of tap water that I added Amquel dechlorinator to. I tested the pH of the water that the wood was soaking in for a few days, and the pH was 6.4 (tap pH is 8 or 8.2). The water is still turning yellow, so the tannins are still lowering the pH of the water. I'm going to soak mine for another week and then see how yellow the water is. So although this is my first piece of driftwood too, I don't think you have to use spring water to boil or soak it.

 

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

No, if you're boiling a piece of wood, any water will do (tap water) This will bleed out the tannis that's causing the yellowing in the water (although Tetras love the yellow tannis) but will also take away the woods acidifying quality (tannis is Tannis acid), I've found Carbon to remove the colour is a bit nicer, but not always practical.