I tried a 15% water change today using 8 PH source water strait from the tap treated with prime and it went OK. I might try 20% next time but I don't dare try more then 25% in a 48 hour period.
Backyard tree trunk VS store bought
- Thread starter CWO4GUNNER
- Start date
IMPORTANT UPDATE::duh:
Anytime I am off wrong about something ill always be the first to point it out if I know about it. In this case I had what I hope is a slight set back with the stump that greeted me this morning downing thick white hair "Hi there my name is hairy tree trunk are these my fish". Thankfully the fish are fine but I wished I wearing a gas mask on when I pulled it out of the aquarium as the truck was definitely communicating with me. Apparently I had missed the part about removing all the bark and had been hoping it would not be an issue.
It was a slippery hairy mess that I was not about to start scrubbing manually so I pulled out my old Honda 2800 PSI power washer and started striping away not only the bark but the 1st layer of wood. Anyone that tries to tell you that some of the debris from the pressure washer fall out will get all over you is absolutely correct, but its still worth cutting a 2 hour manual job down to a 5 minute job.
Having gone through all the power wash trouble decided to kill whatever was left and pulled out my wife tamale cooker and boil it on the barbecue side burner, as I was warned that I had better not be caught using her pots to cook my wood in her kitchen again, I hope being outside meets that criteria.
Anytime I am off wrong about something ill always be the first to point it out if I know about it. In this case I had what I hope is a slight set back with the stump that greeted me this morning downing thick white hair "Hi there my name is hairy tree trunk are these my fish". Thankfully the fish are fine but I wished I wearing a gas mask on when I pulled it out of the aquarium as the truck was definitely communicating with me. Apparently I had missed the part about removing all the bark and had been hoping it would not be an issue.
It was a slippery hairy mess that I was not about to start scrubbing manually so I pulled out my old Honda 2800 PSI power washer and started striping away not only the bark but the 1st layer of wood. Anyone that tries to tell you that some of the debris from the pressure washer fall out will get all over you is absolutely correct, but its still worth cutting a 2 hour manual job down to a 5 minute job.
Having gone through all the power wash trouble decided to kill whatever was left and pulled out my wife tamale cooker and boil it on the barbecue side burner, as I was warned that I had better not be caught using her pots to cook my wood in her kitchen again, I hope being outside meets that criteria.
(off topic) Iv had that pressure washer for about 9 years if you can believe it and have only used it about 30 times but it great for everything from removing stucco off a house to power washing, to striping furniture to bare wood and that Honda engine has never given me problems even with old gas.
(on topic) Man that tannin goo really clogged up my filters so I cleaned them out as well. I even had to clean out all the canister tubes because they were lined with pudding and did a 30% water chnage. Last time I ever overlook boiling the tannin out of a piece off wood and bark removal. Boiled that thing for 4 hours mostly on the root bulb side and then dug out as much nappy root hair as I could and placed it back in the tank and this time it sank with no rocks needed. The Fluval 404 does not like it when the lines are gummed up, a bit temperamental if things aren't normal.
Well sad to say that this morning its starting to get fuzzy again. Can you believe it after all that boiling and 2 years in the hot sun. Unless any of you can tell me I'm missing something here, I guess its time to get out of the DIY driftwood business and pay the $12-$20 for the large commercial African driftwood at my LFS. One thing I know after all my trouble, every piece of African Mopani driftwood I have bought has never turned fuzzy, besides the African stuff looks better this THING lol.
fuzzy may be fungus which is normal for wood introduced to a water environment. most of the time this fungus will not cause any issues.
Tannins are actually part of the defense mechanism of a tree.
it will impart a taste to the tree that makes it unpalletable for bugs(some seem to like it)
usually these tannins are acidic which explains why the drop in pH. the kH of the water usually remains stable so fish are not affected by the tannins.
if you wash the fuzzy/slimy fungus off it will reform when you re introduce the wood to the tank.
if you don't like it..place the wood in a large bucket add air stone and let it run for a few weeks.
check the wood and nature should have run it's course and the fungus will stop.
Tannins are actually part of the defense mechanism of a tree.
it will impart a taste to the tree that makes it unpalletable for bugs(some seem to like it)
usually these tannins are acidic which explains why the drop in pH. the kH of the water usually remains stable so fish are not affected by the tannins.
if you wash the fuzzy/slimy fungus off it will reform when you re introduce the wood to the tank.
if you don't like it..place the wood in a large bucket add air stone and let it run for a few weeks.
check the wood and nature should have run it's course and the fungus will stop.
Thanks. I was going to toss it but instead put it by the fire pit as I was going to try scorching it but maybe Ill just fill up the old 10 gallon dog tin with water and let the fuzz and UV have its way with the wood for a while and see what happens. Im come this far, a little passive fermenting cant hurt, just hope it doesn't take more then a month or so.
Do you know of anyone or have you ever let wood go through the fuzzy stage in your aquarium, I worry cause my Koi were eating that stuff.
Do you know of anyone or have you ever let wood go through the fuzzy stage in your aquarium, I worry cause my Koi were eating that stuff.
cwo.. my Malaysian driftwood all went fuzzy or had a nearly transparent slime coating for weeks in my tanks. (kind of a greyish white slime coat)
they are all fine now.
I left it in the tanks with Discus. lol
