Driftwood Questions

[JerseyGirl1385]

Hi guys!
I just got a piece of driftwood from my LFS last night and I was wondering the quickest and safest way to introduce it to my tank.
I heard it can lower Ph and cause brackish conditions if just placed in my tank.

37g- Aqua Clear 50
4 Blue Angels ( quarter sized )
3 platy's
2 blood fin tetra's
4 panda Cory Cats ( tiny, tiny!!!!)
1 pleco ( 2 inches )

I want to know also what plants I can have in my tank. I have a marineland tank/hood combo with the LED lights.
I don't want a fully planted tank, just some plants ( that can thrive in a pot please).
And also... I heard java moss is good to have ON the driftwood... How do you get it to stay?

 

[tamtam]

Generally I just boil mine on the stove for several hours. This helps speed up the process of water-logging it and releasing tannins. Also it's sure to kill off any bacteria on the surface of the wood that it may have come in contact with.

It will lower the PH but often it's not a lot. I honestly wouldn't worry it shouldn't effect the fish you have at all. I've never heard that it can cause brackish conditions though... Unless perhaps it's DW from saltwater.

Java moss gets tied to driftwood. Some people use a rubber band others just use string. This will hold it in place until the roots form around it enough to attach it. This can be done with some other plants too.

The plants are hard to say. If anything will grow/survive with the LED it would be low light plants like java fern/moss, anubias and crypts and I've heard good things about water sprite in low light. It's not a given though, you would probably want to start with just 1 or 2 and see how they do. Be prepared to either take them out if they start to die or upgrade your lighting if you really want them.

 

[blert]

+1 to what tamtam said.

Superglue GEL is much easier than string when attaching Java Fern or Anubias to wood, rocks or other decor.

 

[BBradbury]

YOur Driftwood Question

Hi guys!
I just got a piece of driftwood from my LFS last night and I was wondering the quickest and safest way to introduce it to my tank.
I heard it can lower Ph and cause brackish conditions if just placed in my tank.

37g- Aqua Clear 50
4 Blue Angels ( quarter sized )
3 platy's
2 blood fin tetra's
4 panda Cory Cats ( tiny, tiny!!!!)
1 pleco ( 2 inches )

I want to know also what plants I can have in my tank. I have a marineland tank/hood combo with the LED lights.
I don't want a fully planted tank, just some plants ( that can thrive in a pot please).
And also... I heard java moss is good to have ON the driftwood... How do you get it to stay?

Hello Jersey...

Worst case is, the tannic acid in the piece will turn the tank water an amber color. No problem, the tannins are harmless. Just follow a weekly, large water change routine and the water will clear.

The wood will lower the pH a little, but not enough to make a difference in the water chemistry. Again, large weekly water changes will keep the water safe for your fish and plants.

I've never heard of driftwood from the LFS having any salt content, so the "brackish" thing is extremely unlikely.

Some good beginner plants are Anubias, Java Fern, Anacharis, Pennywort and Amazon sword. All will do well in moderate light.

Just a few thoughts.

B

 

[creic38]

+1 to Bradbury. I wouldn't go the superglue route. It's beat to just tie whatever plant/moss you want to attach with black cotton thread (same you would use to sew). Black blends in the best.

 

[Borderlesscott]

I wouldn't do superglue, just use a bit of thread or fishing line. Your current tank stock will probably appreciate the slightly lower ph with the bogwood.

 

[mohican]

I don't like the super glue idea either. I used drilled 2 small holes and zip tied mine to plastic plant saucers. The weight of the gravel keeps the wood in place. Cheap and easy, no messy glue.

 

[clearancepuppy]

I have a piece of driftwood that was really hard to keep down. Boiled it then soaked it a week and still had problems with it. Finally anchored it to a rock with fishing line. I've got a piece of java moss in a knothole (not tied down) and a piece of water sprite tucked into the line.

 

[Fishmutt]

Depending on the wood you get, you may not even have to tie the moss down. With my Mopani wood I just wedged the moss into a corner in the wood to hold it in place.

 

[blert]

Regular Superglue is a pain. Superglue GEL is the easiest method by far.

 

[JerseyGirl1385]

Thanks for the input guys!
I'm boiling my driftwood as I'm typing.
One hour down and 4 full pots of dark water.
Just boil until the water isn't brown and murky anymore?

Also, does anyone know what types of plants can be potted into a mini clay pot? I want to line the sides ( maybe 4 on each side with various height plants )

And how do I go about putting them into the pots. What kind of soil- if any... How do I "feed" the plants.
Sorry for so many questions. I don't want to do a complete planted tank, nor do I want random plants growing all over- i would they rather be contained in the mini pots.

 

[tamtam]

Thanks for the input guys!
I'm boiling my driftwood as I'm typing.
One hour down and 4 full pots of dark water.
Just boil until the water isn't brown and murky anymore?

Also, does anyone know what types of plants can be potted into a mini clay pot? I want to line the sides ( maybe 4 on each side with various height plants )

And how do I go about putting them into the pots. What kind of soil- if any... How do I "feed" the plants.
Sorry for so many questions. I don't want to do a complete planted tank, nor do I want random plants growing all over- i would they rather be contained in the mini pots.

By the time the water isn't murky anymore it should be about ready to sink hopefully. IF it doesn't again you can tie it to something short term.

As for the plants in pots I'm not 100% sure. Hopefully bradbury sees this as I know his plants are potted. You can check out his photos in his profile to see. As for ferts it depends on the plants. This like java moss that are not planted take their nutrients from the water column so you will want liquid ferts. Things that are planted usually use root tabs that you put in the substrate. If you only have low lighting though you may not need to do much for ferts. The more lighting you have the higher the need for things like ferts and CO2 becomes. With low light you could probably get off with minimal ferts

 

[blert]

You can put just about any plant into a pot if you like. Over time it will end up getting root bound though so every so often you will need to pull the pots and tend to the roots.

Root tabs and liquid ferts, as previously mentioned, depending on the plant. If you are sticking with low light and slow growth then your fish, foods and weekly water changes should supply everything your plants need.

 

[Rivercats]

We have one of the Marineland tank/light combos and tried to do just anubia in the beginning with it. Lets say the anubia did die but it did nothing, I think it got one new leaf in like 4 months. Ended up getting a 2 bulb T5 Coralife fixture and man what a difference. Now I can grow alot of different plants with no problem.

 

[blert]

We have one of the Marineland tank/light combos and tried to do just anubia in the beginning with it. Lets say the anubia did die but it did nothing, I think it got one new leaf in like 4 months. Ended up getting a 2 bulb T5 Coralife fixture and man what a difference. Now I can grow alot of different plants with no problem.

Yeah, they don't support plant life very well. But, if you don't want to buy a new fixture, supplement with a couple of hours of sunlight every day (open a blind/curtain) and things like Anubias, Java Fern, Crypts, Anacharis, Water Sprite, Wisteria and maybe a Bleheri Sword should do ok. Just don't give the tank too much sunlight or you may end up with an algae issue.

 

[BBradbury]

Aquatic Plants in Pots

Hello again Jersey...

I pot most of my tank plants. The pots are easy to move or even stack to take full advantage of the lighting.

I use small, plastic 3 inch pots and get the ones with holes in the bottom. This will allow for some root growth. Most of the hardware stores carry them. On the bottom put about an inch of standard aquarium gravel, the pea sized stuff. Cover that with Miracle Gro organic potting mixture, about an inch or two. Make a little impression in the mixture and put in the plant. Some more pea sized gravel covers the top.

Now, the tricky part. I like to ease the plants down into the water during a water change, when the level in the tank is low. Just ease the pot down into the tank water and allow the pot to slowly fill with water. The more time you take for the water to go into the pot, the better. If you're not careful, you'll have potting soil floating in the water, messy!

The potting mixture will nourish the plant for several months and the organic stuff has nothing in it to cause water chemistry problems. My plants grow very well in the pots.

B