Driftwood... yea or nay?

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PBirdsong

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
May 13, 2005
Messages
692
Location
Denver, Colorado
So what is everyone's thought on driftwood? My girlfriend and I ran into a guy today who said that he didn't recommend driftwood because "all it does is breakup in your tank and put wood particles in it". First time we have ever heard anyone say it. Personally I'm a fan of driftwood. Mostly because of how great it looks.

What does everyone else think?
 
drift wood is good for fish to hide in. it makes the tank look more natural and i heard its good for the PH or something like that in the water... I like it. you should always rinse off the driftwood before placing it in your tank. if not you will have small wood particles in your tank i have drift wood in 3 tanks. I never have a problem with it.
 
If you like driftwood, there's no reason not to get some. Just make sure to scrub it with a new, clean veggie brush to get any dirt off, and soak in a bucket to release the tannins, unless you want the "tea" blackwater effect. I don't think you have to worry about the wood breaking up in the tank. The wood may eventually decompose, but I would think that it would last for the life of your tank.
 
yay as long as you can get a piece that can sink, I had to return a great piece I got because I tried EVERYTHING and it would just not go down.
 
BTW, TopFin makes some pretty natural looking fake driftwood pieces, I ended up going with one of those and I've been happy with it. In my new planted tank though its got to be 100% natural all the way so I need to start looking for pieces.
 
My LFS sells driftwood that is mounted on a piece of slate so that it stays on the bottom. The slate goes underneath the substrate so that it looks very natural.
 
Yes for Driftwood. Just make sure you boil it first and scrub it to remove any lose wood. I haven't had any particles break off of mine, and i love the way it looks and my fish love it too.
 
If you are looking for driftwood that sinks, get African or Malysian driftwood. I've bought two pieces from DrsFosterSmith.com and they both sunk like a rock. In fact, I'm going to order another piece for another tank that I am going to set up. Mopani wood is good too, however, that is hard to find in US.
 
Driftwood looks incredible ia an aquarium. But it really depends on the fish that you are keeping. It is ideal for your fish list. Driftwood will soften your water and lower the ph. Which is great for South American and other New World Fish species. Unfortuantley for me, it is not so good. I maintain African Cichlids, and they need a very high ph and hard water. I did try a fake peice of driftwood once though, but the paint began to wash off after about 6 months. I think that it washed because of the hard alkaline water.
 
If you're truly concerned about the wood rotting and releasing particles or affecting pH, then you could seal it with a clear spray (it's sometime's sold this way). It would have to be dry before you sprayed it so the spray would be effective. And because the wood is dry, it can be harder to get to sink (nearly impossible in large, thick pieces), and you would have to use weights or glues to get it to stay down.

But there is little reason to worry about it like everyone else said. As long as it is a hard wood, it won't rot too much. Drift wood is very natural and will rarely case problems (if it is actual drift wood), and is actually a great place for bacteria or for growing moss and some other plants.
 
I have Malaysian driftwood purchased from both Ebay and Foster and Smith. Both were scrubbed and boiled before putting into my tank. I had very little discoloration from tannins but I do notice some wood flakings when I vaccume the tank each week. I see all of my fish pecking around on the wood, just not my pleco or other bottom dwellers. Even my angels like to glean a few tid bits now and then so I think driftwood makes fish more comfortable and it looks great. JMO
 
caribou said:
I have Malaysian driftwood purchased from both Ebay and Foster and Smith. Both were scrubbed and boiled before putting into my tank. I had very little discoloration from tannins but I do notice some wood flakings when I vaccume the tank each week. I see all of my fish pecking around on the wood, just not my pleco or other bottom dwellers. Even my angels like to glean a few tid bits now and then so I think driftwood makes fish more comfortable and it looks great. JMO

Ebay, I never thought of that! Thanks for the idea! I need some driftwood for my new 12g nano.
 
Wasn't really concerned. I just though the guy who said that may have been a moron and wanted to confirm my suspicions here. Looks like everyone agrees.

My girlfriend and I were spending that part of the afternoon driving to different stores just to check them out. See who we like, and who we don't like. You guys/gals wouldn't believe this place. It was a dump. He had plenty of nice looking tanks there, but VERY little in merchandise. And there was zero pricing information on the fish themselves. We give it a BIG two thumbs down. And incase any of you live in Colorado Springs: the store is called Atlantis Aquariums. It's on Galley just west of Academy Blvd. :D
Creepy guy too. He was spying on us when we left the store.
Found another place that we DO like. A place called Waters Edge is doing a grand opening in a few weeks. Very knowledgable owner and nice stuff. Plus he's doing a drawing for a free 70 gallon. Wish us luck. :D
 
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