cichlids.com: Driftwood HELP please!!!

Driftwood HELP please!!!

HEY...I HAVE A PIECE OF DRIFTWOOD THAT HASNT WATERLOGGED YET AND DECIDED TO PUT IT IN MY TANK ANYWAYS...WELL I KEPT IT IN THE TANK FOR A COUPLE OF DAYS TO SEE IF IT WOULD DO FINE WITH MY CICHLIDS AND IT DID...THEN THE OTHER DAY I STARTED TO SEE MY WATER GETTING CLOUDY AND I THOUGHT IT WAS FROM THE DRIFTWOOD...ALSO WHEN I TOOK OUT THE DRIFTWOOD, IN THE LITTLE CREVENCES THERE WERE LIKE WHITE FUZZY THINGS STARTING TO GROW....JUST WANTED TO KNOW WHAT IT WAS AND IF IT CAN HARM MY FISH??

posted by: Christian :o)	(report) Feb 15th, 2008
Views: 455	Rated: (12 votes)

Visitor Comments

Gallery Moderator	» posted 2008/01/29 - 16:39
U need to soak it in a bucket until it sinks. this also wil help leach out any tannins in the wood before U place it in the tank.. that piece should not have much in it. some other ppl here might be able to suggest how to achor it down in your tank if U want to just do so now. I used a big rock on mine to hold it down..

Scott Fisher	» posted 2008/01/29 - 16:41
either water log it or attach it to a base .. preferably a flat piece of slate ...

Kye Williams	» posted 2008/01/29 - 16:42
Driftwood is supposed to float. I guess If you dont want it to float you can try attaching it to some heavy rock

Christian :o)	» posted 2008/01/29 - 16:48
rite now i have it soaking in a bucket of water with heavy rocks on it to see if it would sink..its been there overnight..i have to go see if it worked...should i leave it there longer because it seems to be turning the water i have it in yellowish brownish and i dunt want to put it in my tank?! anymore suggestions?

J Leav	» posted 2008/01/29 - 16:51
i had to what like six months before mine sank but mine was a lot bigger but if you dont whant to wait i suggest anchoring it.

karrie edwards

» posted 2008/01/29 - 18:48

Brian Cole	» posted 2008/01/29 - 18:54
The color is the tannins leaching out. I would leave it in a bucket doing regular water changes until the tannins have all leached out.

Brian Cole

» posted 2008/01/29 - 18:54

Jim Kelly	» posted 2008/01/29 - 19:07
Boil it for a while and it will sink immediatly as high temp forces the oxygen out of the wood and helps it to get waterlogged.

Nate Blanco	» posted 2008/02/09 - 02:36
i kept my pieces soaking for months as to get the tannis out.even after a month or so with frequent water changes i had to do tank water changes for a month before it stopped "bleeding" be patient it works out in the end.

Aaron B	» posted 2008/02/14 - 18:13
Jim is correct - boil it. This will also kill parisites and fungus that is on the wood.

Christian :o)	» posted 2008/02/14 - 18:29
K..I WILL CONTINUE TO BOIL IT...IS THERE ANY WAY TO KEEP IT IN THE TANK WITHOUT HAVING TO KEEP BOILING IT EVERY SO OFTEN OR WILL THE FUNGUS CONTINUE TO GROW ON THE WOOD AND I HAVE TO KEEP CLEANING IT?? I JUST WANT TO BE ABLE TO KEEP IT IN MY TANK WITHOUT HAVING TO WORRY ABOUT IT.

Roger Hopper	» posted 2008/02/14 - 19:05
Chritian, boiling should kill anything in or on it. It will not come back..

Tony Idone	» posted 2008/02/14 - 19:09
Chistian i had a similar piece and it grew the fungus that you are talking about. i became impatient and through it out. Mine was GRAPEWOOD. I believe that my piece was not real driftwood. Mopani wood is used for birds and reptiles and i believe shouldn't be used in a fish tank. Yours looks like Mopani wood.

Christian :o)	» posted 2008/02/14 - 19:41
WELL NOW IM NOT SURE WHETHER ITS DRIFTWOOD OR NOT..THNX FOR THE INFO THO..I WOULD HATE TO HAVE TO THROW AWAY THIS PIECE..WELL I GUESS IM GOING TO CLEAN N BOIL IT AGAIN REAL GOOD AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS AGAIN WEN I PUT IT IN MY TANK...

Tony Idone	» posted 2008/02/14 - 20:26
My wood got the fungus within 4 days.

Christian :o)	» posted 2008/02/14 - 21:44
YEA SO DID MINE....SO SHUD I THROW THIS WOOD AWAY OR SEE WHAT HAPPENS?

Tony Idone	» posted 2008/02/14 - 22:05
its a nice piece of wood. did you pay alot for it. i only paid like 10 bucks

Aaron B	» posted 2008/02/14 - 22:12
Boil it. Don't throw it away.

karrie edwards	» posted 2008/02/14 - 22:16
def. boil it, dont throw that nice piece away, people would kill for that wood.

Christian :o)	» posted 2008/02/15 - 00:26
ok cool...well once i get rid of the fungus, and i put it back in my tank, how do i prevent the fungus from growin back onto the wood???? do i have to constanly clean and boil it everytime it grows fungus??

Shawn Williams	» posted 2008/02/15 - 02:46
You should boil it off and on for at least a day. This should kill any parasites or unwanted fungus, algae, or mold. It also helps release the tannins. Frequent water changes may be necessary for a while until it finishes leaching, but you shouldn't have to remove it and re-boil it. As far as Mopany goes, Mopani driftwood is perfectly suitable for aquarium use, but as with all driftwood it needs to be prepared properly.

danny boy

» posted 2008/02/15 - 03:05

THE chuck	» posted 2008/02/15 - 17:42
filtering on charcoal will help to absord tannins, so the yellow coloration will fade with time

Shawn Williams	» posted 2008/02/15 - 18:35
Chuck is correct. Charcoal filtering does help absorb excess tannins.

Christian :o)	» posted 2008/02/15 - 19:08
K...not really soo much concerned with the tannins because i got most of it out..its just that fungus i was worried about...i just dont want it to come back...i will probably continue to just clean it and i will put it back in my tank once my fluval 305 comes just to make sure everything in the tank stays clean

Travis Ethridge	» posted 2008/02/17 - 03:20
you need not worry, the "fungus" will go away with time. As for the tannins, follow chucks and others advise. Also, do 20% water changes weekly, you will see the yellowish water fade w/ time, possibly 6 months or so.

Alex Jackson	» posted 2008/02/19 - 04:17
Yep, not to beat a dead horse but. Boil, soak a few days submerged with rocks as you have been doing. Boil again, submerge again for days. Kills anything, then helps to submerge and anything that comes back can be killed again. I did the same with mine and didnt have any yellow water problems after 2 weeks of it. Goodluck.

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