Driftwood

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rockyofhockey

rockyofhockey

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Jan 16, 2014
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I found this piece of driftwood right be my local river and was wondering if it would he ok for my planted tank

ImageUploadedByAquarium Advice1425152879.853197.jpg
As u can see it's a pretty sick piece IMO. I gave it a heavy heavy scrub and gonna let it soak for 4 days


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
Pressing into it is just a way to determine if it's soft or hard, soft will rot quickly, not that it won't rot if it's hard but it might take longer.
Does it float or sink when in water?


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gilpi said:
Pressing into it is just a way to determine if it's soft or hard, soft will rot quickly, not that it won't rot if it's hard but it might take longer.
Does it float or sink when in water?


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It floats but I am sinking it in a cooler right now with a bunch or rocks. So it becomes heavy. If it rots will it hurt my fish?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
Could I use fishing weights and tie them to the driftwood so it's sinks


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
rockyofhockey said:
It floats but I am sinking it in a cooler right now with a bunch or rocks. So it becomes heavy. If it rots will it hurt my fish?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
Click to expand...

Rotting itself may not be harmful, but the leaching of substances, can be. There is another active thread on the same subject.


rockyofhockey said:
I wondering if the weights were safe because I'm not sure what there made of... There gray and heavy maybe metal?

Rockyofhockey _/.\_
Click to expand...


Unless it is stainless steel, I would not use it.
You could take a piece of slate, drill a hole through it and drive a stainless steel screw through it and the base of the wood. The slate would be covered by the substrate and not visible.


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Fresh2o said:
Rotting itself may not be harmful, but the leaching of substances, can be. There is another active thread on the same subject.





Unless it is stainless steel, I would not use it.
You could take a piece of slate, drill a hole through it and drive a stainless steel screw through it and the base of the wood. The slate would be covered by the substrate and not visible.


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I don't believe I have any stainless steel equipment besides my hooks lol. Could I start to sink by itself?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
It may start sinking on it's own.
The 3 common woods on the aquarium trade (Mopani, Malaysian, and manzanita) typically sink after soaking and/or boiling. With other woods it is hard to say. Depends on the type of wood and it's density.
I put some DW collected at a beach town in a small pond. 8-9 months later it was still buoyant. 1.5 years later it was at the bottom of the pond. However, it had softened up and when dried, had a chalky residue. I did not use it in the aquarium.



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Fresh2o said:
It may start sinking on it's own.
The 3 common woods on the aquarium trade (Mopani, Malaysian, and manzanita) typically sink after soaking and/or boiling. With other woods it is hard to say. Depends on the type of wood and it's density.
I put some DW collected at a beach town in a small pond. 8-9 months later it was still buoyant. 1.5 years later it was at the bottom of the pond. However, it had softened up and when dried, had a chalky residue. I did not use it in the aquarium.



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That might be my problem.... Where can u find each of those woods? If there sold in pet shops are they expensive?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
Leave it submerged in the cooler for a couple of weeks or more, change the water every few days, if you don't like what you see, I wouldn't use it. Some driftwood will give you a brown tint in the water even after much rinsing and curing but patience is key.


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gilpi said:
Leave it submerged in the cooler for a couple of weeks or more, change the water every few days, if you don't like what you see, I wouldn't use it. Some driftwood will give you a brown tint in the water even after much rinsing and curing but patience is key.


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Mine doesn't give often any tannis. The water is crystal


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
rockyofhockey said:
That might be my problem.... Where can u find each of those woods? If there sold in pet shops are they expensive?


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
Click to expand...


Depending on how big of a piece you want, driftwood can be the most expensive part of the aquarium. Check with your LFS to see if they sell any.


Caleb

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ImACoolguy said:
Depending on how big of a piece you want, driftwood can be the most expensive part of the aquarium. Check with your LFS to see if they sell any.


Caleb

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That boggles my mind that a piece of wood (just think about it) can be a most expensive part. Smh... Do you think petsmart could have any? The closes LFS is like 30 minutes away and I always get my fish from there but plants and everything else I use petsmart


Rockyofhockey _/.\_
 
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