Driftwoood for my 55 gal

[Orbitorly]

I got some driftwood, I rinsed it and rubed it down with Nova Aqua it soaked for a good 24 hours, There are no fish in the 55 now since my mom took them to her tank so if the driftwood releases any toxins it wont kill anything. Also I am gana run my new Vortec Freedom filter to clean my tank.

BTW: I am talking the tank apart as we speak..

 

[125gJoe]

Make sure there are no soft spots on the driftwood. Soft areas are not good, due to the possibility of rotting....

 

[djlen]

If you got that driftwood on the beach it could have a lot of salt in it. If you got it from a river there could be all kinds of nasties in it. I would boil it(if you have a large enough pot) for minimum, 2 hours. This will boil off much of the tannins in it and kill any bad bacteria on it.
Len

 

[court109]

If I were to buy some driftwood at my lfs, would all these precautions be nessessary? Or would a good rinse be sufficient? Are there benefits to having driftwood in my tank or is it purely for good looks?

ca

 

[OrionGirl]

Driftwood will release tannins, which results in a tea colored water--very desirable for many SA, soft water areas. It's similar to the blackwater extract many people use for angels and neons.

Many plecos are wood eaters--they rasp on the wood, and consume the cellulose.

Depending on the size and shape, it can also provide shelter, and reduce the stress level of many fish.

 

[Orbitorly]

Originally posted by 80gJoe
Make sure there are no soft spots on the driftwood. Soft areas are not good, due to the possibility of rotting....

No there are no soft spots on it, its a nice piece of driftwood

If you got that driftwood on the beach it could have a lot of salt in it. If you got it from a river there could be all kinds of nasties in it. I would boil it(if you have a large enough pot) for minimum, 2 hours. This will boil off much of the tannins in it and kill any bad bacteria on it.

I did that already, I put it in the tub let it soak for over a day in hot water and I scrubed it down with a brush and Am Quel.

If I were to buy some driftwood at my lfs, would all these precautions be nessessary? Or would a good rinse be sufficient? Are there benefits to having driftwood in my tank or is it purely for good looks?

I dont think if you got it from you LFS you would need threw go threw such a detailed cleaning processe. Otherwise, if the driftwood came from the ocean I'd advise you put it in the tub for about 2 days and take a brush and clean it, change the water in the bath 2 times

Depending on the size and shape, it can also provide shelter, and reduce the stress level of many fish.

Would the driftwood effect on what fish I can get, nutting special just normal tropical fish neons ect,..

And I almost forgot the driftwood has like whie fuzz on it, is this normal ?

I will try to get some pics in got to get battieries for my digi cam and I will post pics, If I remember how to. It's not that special just a big piece of driftwood and some fake planets hopefully it will look good with some live planets someday