white furry mold on Bogwood

[whiddett]

Hi. I've recently set up a new 260 litre tank and have put a piece of Bogwood in it. This piece of wood had been outside in my shed for about a year and seemed to have grown mold on it. I brushed it off as best I could and soaked the wood in a bucket of water for several days before putting it in the aquarium but the mold has grown back. I was wondering if anyone knew if this could be harmful to the fish or water quality and if so what I should do about it?
Thanks

 

[neilanh]

It could very well be harmful to your fish.

Have you considered boiling the wood? This would ensure nothing living would survive on it that could be harmful.

 

[warped1]

I'm not an expert on this so we will have to see who else chimes in, but my best guess is that the fungus is going to stick around until it exhausts the nutrients that it is feeding on in the bogwood. After it exhausts its food it will die off. You can scrape it off for cosmetic reasons but it probably will return. I do not think the mold is harmful to the fish as this is a natural occurrance in nature. May I suggest posting a picture of the fungus in question - someone may know for sure what it is.
How about that I remember something from my biology class when we covered molds and fungus - I'm not as brain dead as I thought

 

[whiddett]

I decided to try boiling the wood. It was too big for my biggest pan so I boiled each end seperately. I only left it in for a couple of minutes but I think anything living would die instantly at boiling temperature wouldn't it? The few fish that are in the tank seem strangely interested in the wood since I put it back in S

 

[black hills tj]

I decided to try boiling the wood. It was too big for my biggest pan so I boiled each end seperately. I only left it in for a couple of minutes but I think anything living would die instantly at boiling temperature wouldn't it? The few fish that are in the tank seem strangely interested in the wood since I put it back in S

I boil my driftwood for 15 minute intervals to help remove the tannins. I have done this up to 5 times at once before putting it in my tank. I don't know why you would only boil it for 2 minutes. You are supposed to boil questionable water for 5 minutes before using it IIRC.

 

[whiddett]

I figured that anything alive would die instantly at 100degC. Boiling water for 5 minutes sounds overly cautious to me. Or am I wrong?

 

[Greg]

Can't hurt to be too cautious.
I've used a bleach solution on some plants and rinsed the bujeezus out of them for a long time to make sure they were clean. Boiling wood is definitely a good idea.
Rinse, lather, repeat?

 

[whiddett]

Boiling for a couple of minutes has done the trick. No Mold has returned.