wood in the tank

tepelus

tepelus

AC Members
Dec 31, 2006
121
0
0
Fremont, Oh
i have this large piece of grapevine wood that is used primarily for reptiles, was wondering if this is ok to put in a fish tank or will it never sink and make the water brown all the time? been soaking it for two weeks now and doesn't ever seem to get enough water in it to sink and it browns the water fast. is it even safe for fish? right now the tank is empty, just substrate and water.
 
No...do not use grapevine..it will rot :(
If you like that look, look to get some Manzanita instead. <sandblasted>
 
thanks for the info...now i don't have to waste more time trying to sink wood that'll only cause problems for the tank....but i have another question.....malaysan driftwood, i heard from a fish store guy that its not good to put it in the tank cuz it'll discolor the water (which i know it will to an extent but not how much) but that'll also grow fungus on it. is it safe, and i have another piece that i'm not sure what it is, bought it a long time ago and i saw a piece in the pet store that was similar to it called cajun driftwood. know anything about that?
 
I use malaysian driftwood in just about every FW tank I've ever had (I usually have some form of lorricade), and I've never experienced fungus on them, except when there isn't proper water flow around it. It's best to position the wood around the outlet of the filter, or point a power head at it.

The wood discolors your water heavily at first, then less and less over time. Some people prefer to pre-soak the wood first, but I like the tannins in the water, especially when you're introducing new or shy fish... it helps acclimate them better.

Eventually when your wood stops leeching tannins, you can always add almond leaves for the same effect.


HTH
 
the cajun driftwood I have seen has all been cypress and should be safe for the tank.
you pretty much treat it like malaysain driftwood..soak or boil the help it sink.
 
the wood i have is too big for boiling but i did have it in another tank a long while ago, and it was in there for a couple weeks before i got tired of it floating up, but now i know it takes a while so i would just have it tied to a rock until it soaks. it may still leach some tannins, but not nearly so much since its been in water before.
 
did you know petco seels pre-soaked wood? at least mine does.
 
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