Driftwood getting soft on outside

[Autumnsky]

A chunk of driftwood I have, received from a planted tank I purchased, is flaking off bits of wood debris. I scrubbed on it with my fingernail and to approximately 1/8 inch down is soft and comes right off. I haven't yet, but was considering using a new stiff bristly brush to scrub the soft stuff off, one is large 12" and the other 8" with a little Java Fern growing in a crevice.

I haven't had driftwood before, is this just what happens, is it because it is older, the lady I bought it from had the tank up since 2004 but not sure how old the driftwood is, (can't ask her, she moved)? Will this just be something that happens?

The small one of the pieces, I put into my original tank and it shed tons of pieces of rotting wood on my clean white sand Not happy about that, gave the big piece to my friend who took the tank, since I found a bigger tank, that would better fit my needs. She's putting the tank up soon, so I would like to know what I can do.

I like the driftwood look and the cool Java Fern growing through it, yes< I am willing to remove the Fern to clean it. Or start with a new one, I can use this one in my tank with black sand after I "clean" it (if that's what I should do)

Would shrimp eat/clean any of it. BTW I don't have any wood eating plecos either and don't want any. lol

Any information which might help me/experiences/thoughts, please.

 

[Passatryde]

I've had some malaysian driftwood now for a couple months and it's starting to do the same thing.... Anyone?

 

[Autumnsky]

Apparently not....

I know there are hard wood and soft wood driftwood, so probably we have reeeeallly soft wood. haha

 

[Bmtiz92]

I have the same problem as well.

 

[Autumnsky]

Have you done anything about it? ... scrubbing? ... what worked and what didn't?

I am going to scrub mine with a new bristle brush this week. Also the one my friend has.

Hard wood - where do you get it??? I will be checking into this.

- am going to do my new tank this week, as will my friend so any help/experience please!!!!!!

 

[Autumnsky]

Anybody... experience with real driftwood, collected from lake/river, ocean?

 

[jetajockey]

The driftwood I use is actually collected from creek and stream systems so it has been submerged for who knows how long, so any soft pieces and tannins are long gone.

I guess your best bet would be to take wire brush to it and see if there's anything solid underneath. Some of my driftwood pieces get a little soft while in the tank, but they don't fall apart at all.

 

[Autumnsky]

collected driftwood

There is a river nearby so I will probably go and grab a chunk. Did you do anything to it, boil or scrub it with salt??? I don't know how you could boil a big piece.

 

[jetajockey]

The stuff I use has all been sun baked for at least 1 summer so anything living in it is long dead. Other than that I just scrub it down really well and rinse it before adding.

Boiling would work fine also if you have a big enough pot, or just put it in a tub and pour boiling water over it. Or if it's a fairly small piece you could boil half and then flip it.

 

[Autumnsky]

Half the fun is picking it out, so I am excited about that!

 

[Coursair]

My friend has some old DW and a large piece fell apart on her. It does eventually break down in water. Hard woods take longer. I have Manzanita in my tanks as well as DW. Mopani is a popular hardwood from Africa.

 

[Super_Blueberry]

When I pick up driftwood from the beach the first thing I check is if there are any spongy or squishy areas. If there are any, no matter how sweet the piece is I throw it back in the lake.

 

[Autumnsky]

Good pointers and tips, thank you. I have picked up driftwood, but never before for an aquarium. I will be going to California in a few months so I may check there, friends go hiking in a canyon near a stream, so after the spring thaw, I bet there is a lot. Manzanita there.

Here in Colorado, where I go, mostly I would find pine or spruce and aspen.

 

[PC1]

It's natural for some types of soft wood to slowly rot away. That is why many people prefer to use hard woods in their aquarium so they don't have that effect.

 

[Autumnsky]

Sounds good to me.