Driftwood's affect on a 15g tank

[MoSinister]

I was at the lfs the other day and asked about driftwood. The salesman said he wouldn't put driftwood in a 15g. I was hesitant to question him much about it since he's the expert and I'm just starting out. But I do have questions.

I already know driftwood will lower the ph of tank water. I know it can leach tannins into the water. But can it change a small tank's parameters that fast? My tap water runs on the alkaline side (around 8.5 ph), so I would have thought a piece would help as well as being decorative.

It seems like every tank I see on the Web has driftwood (even the small ones). Are they doing something wrong, or am I being lead too cautiously?

My plans are to take the tank from a classic starter tank (plastic plants and "petco" gravel) to a more natural, lightly planted tank (laterite/flourite and sand substrate, and low-light plants).

Advice would be appreciated.

 

[eah]

Well, unless you are very lucky, the salesman at your LFS probably wasn't really much of an expert. LFS salespeople who really know what they are talking about seem to be few and far between.

As for the driftwood, I personally don't like the look of "tea-colored" water. So, I try to soak any driftwood that I buy for a few weeks before adding to my tank. You shouldn't have any problems with driftwood in a 15 gallon tank, or even a 5 gallon tank for that matter.

 

[bs6749]

You shouldn't have any problems with driftwood in a 15 gallon tank, or even a 5 gallon tank for that matter.

Agreed. The only reason that I would not want to add driftwood to a 15 gallon tank is that it would take up valuable space that could be used to keep more fish, but I would still add it just because it looks nice in my opinion. It would also make the tank more "complete" and natural looking in my opinion. I say add 2-3 medium sized pieces and some nice live plants.

What kind of fish do you have in there or what were you planning on stocking it with?

 

[Fishyfanatic]

You will be fine. I gave it in my 10 gal tank. Not all driftwood leaches the tannins. Malaysian leaches quite a bit of tannins for a while. I soaked a piece for about 3 weeks before adding it to the tank. The water is not the slightest bit tea colored. You can also run activated carbon in the filter to take care of tannins.

IME driftwood really doesn't lower the pH much, if at all. I have a huge chunk of Malaysian in the 55 and a huge piece in our 150 and the pH is still the same. Could be because we have liquid rock hard water with a pH off the charts. If you already have a level of 8.5, it isn't going to change it much, if at a all.

 

[MoSinister]

Ah, you know what? I think the guy voiced concerns about it reducing the amount of water. I had not remembered that until bs6749 mentioned it. The salesman is quick to share info, and a ton of it.

I currently have a peppered cory, 2 zebra danios and a guppy. I want to add one more cory (would prefer two, but there's not enough horizontal space as the tank is a "tall") and 4 more zebra danios.

I've had the tank for about 2 weeks and have waited on getting the additional fish because I'm changing the location of the tank in the room, and plan on changing the substrate for a more natural look, to be able to plant, and for the sake of the cory's barbels (currently I have very course petco gravel). On top of all this, it's still cycling because of a forced 100% water change when I picked it up off craigslist.

 

[swanandmokashi]

I have a driftwood in my 2 gallon tank -- so you are defintely safe there for size point of view

 

[Sicklid]

There are "bleached" out woods that release less tannins, also. I have some african wood that is very dark and always leaches tannins. But activated carbon does a great job of removing it. I also have used true driftwood found on the beach, and it was very well worn and bleached by the sun and sand so released almost no tannins. As far as driftwood taking up too much room in your aquarium, then you might as well say the same about gravel, rocks, decorations of any kind, or even the fish for that matter!

 

[bs6749]

I currently have a peppered cory, 2 zebra danios and a guppy. I want to add one more cory (would prefer two, but there's not enough horizontal space as the tank is a "tall") and 4 more zebra danios.

I've had the tank for about 2 weeks and have waited on getting the additional fish because I'm changing the location of the tank in the room, and plan on changing the substrate for a more natural look, to be able to plant, and for the sake of the cory's barbels (currently I have very course petco gravel). On top of all this, it's still cycling because of a forced 100% water change when I picked it up off craigslist.

I would wait and not add ANY more fish and here is why.

1. You said that you have had your tank for 2 weeks, so it may not be cycled yet. Introducing more fish (what you want to add would double the amount that you currently have in there) will only cause the fish stress and throw off your tank parameters. You will have more NH3, which will be converted into NO2, which is harmful to fish. The NO2, in a cycled tank, will be converted into NO3, which is less harmful to fish but it can cause stress and begin to kill fish at over 20ppm.

2. You mentioned changing your substate, which at this time I feel is a bad move. It may contain a significant amount of the beneficial bacteria that you will need for your tank to become cycled. Taking this out of play means that it will take that much longer for your tank to finish cycling. I would not do it yet.

I would suggest that you be patient ( I know it is a hard thing to do when you want fish) and wait until your tank has been completely cycled to do anything to it. If you ask most anyone on here they will tell you the same from experience. Just trying to help out.

I was also unclear as to why you needed to do a 100% water change to move the tank. Couldn't you have saved some of the water in clean 5 gallon buckets? This was a bad move because your tank has to basically start over its cycle once you remove all of the water.

 

[7Enigma]

bs6749 and MoSinister,

Please read over the article I wrote on fishless cycling to better understand the bacteria we are talking about. Things like taking the water from the old fish tank are mentioned, and myths are cleared up. To directly reply to the above post:

-unless you had previous filter material from the tank (and/or kept the previous substrate wet) your tank is most definately cycling. If you don't have a liquid reagent test kit get one, today. If you do, if either ammonia or nitrIte are above 0.5ppm I'd recommend a 50% PWC. WATER CHANGES DO NOT SLOW DOWN THE CYCLE. Only if the tank dries out. And you have fish, so the cycle is not your primary concern.

-Definately do not add any more fish until your cycle is complete (no ammonia or nitrIte detected, not even a little!)

-Agreed your substrate should not be changed at this time. Give it at least a month or 2, possibly longer to get your tank coated with bacteria.

The article can be found here:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/viewtopic.php?t=89185

HTH