driftwood

Hey, I still haven't set up my new 75 yet...but I did go to a local lake and pick up some driftwood. It think it is mostly cypress, but did find a cool pine root cluster thingy...
Is there anything I should know about using it in a plant tank?? (once I actually set it up...)
How do I prepare it... just wash it? Scrub it? Bake it?
Is either type of wood ok?
How much is too much?
What if it floats?
Do some fish/plants go with wood better?
I figure it is better to ask questions now, and do it right the first time!

Mary
North Fla.

I boil mine. If it floats you can tie it down to a rock and put it in the tank. Use the amount that is pleasing to you. I'm not sure about the pine. I've not heard of anyone using it. There are fish that like to have it in thier tanks. But I don't know of any fish that you can't put driftwood with. I have it in just about all of my tanks, I even have it floating at the top with plants on it, in one tank.

pine has way to much sap to use. If it's to big to boil put it in a tub and pour boiling water on it every 10 mi for an hour, Scrub it with a brush (no chemicals) then repeat the boiling water for another hour.

pine is a no, no! can be piosenous to some fish! and its not good to just go pick up any wood you find on the ground. unlees you know for sure what it is. its better if you find wood thats already been in water for a while. this way its already cured and water logged. like from a river or a lake. always cut off a piece and see if its sticky to the touch. this will be an ever green, like pine. if it has a clean look and not sticky. its a hard wood , like oak. dont want you you kill you fish, so dont take a chance with the pine. good luck.

I use cypress and citrus wood in my tanks.

If it floats it will sink eventually, either you can weigh it down or be patient.

Soft water fish with a PH of less than 7 is better in planted tanks with wood, angels, discus, tetras..... the list is very long!

If you go with fish that are 6.5-5.5 on the PH you can pack the tank full of wood and they would be happy as can be!

Just remember wood leaches tannins, most fish like tannins but they will turn your water a yellowish brown color.

The wood does not have to be from water, Most of my wood is from my neighbors dead orange tree

Just make sure the wood is very dead with no sap or green left in it at all. Best to find a tree that fell victim to that rash of citrus canker we had a while back

OK, no pine... got it!
Well I just tested my other tank's water, to be a guestimate of what the water will be like in the new one when I get it set up...
Hardness is about 150
Alkalinity is 100
and pH is about 7.8

What does this mean for what plants/fish I will be able to keep in my new tank...

Thanks for the info as well! I need to put some driftwood in my tanks now that I have plecos. Looked at some at Aquatic Critter but they were wayyyyyyy too expensive.

Did read an aquascaping article which discussed wood hardscaping. They recommended soaking any specimens in water buckets for several days to weeks prior to using in a tank.

I'm planning to look at some of the cool driftwood that another petstore sells for birds and reptiles - much cheaper! But now I'll make sure that it's a hardwood before I buy it. Except walnuts - won't those poison fish as they do horses?

Depending on the amount of wood you may have a lower PH than your other tanks. I have 2 tanks with driftwood (fallen oak from yard and store bought) then PH runs about 6. My other tanks run about 7.

So I should have my tank up and running for a while before I decide what type of fish to get?? How long?

4-6 weeks the tank needs to go throw the nitrogen cycle... ammonia will spike up, then go down and be converted to nitrite, then nitrite will spike up, then that will go down and get converted to nitrate. you can speed up the cycle but use-ing some seed media out of a already cycled tank and using seachem stability.

But if I don't have any fish... how can there be ammonia to be converted etc, etc....??

A small pinch of fish food a day will feed the cycle without putting any fish though the stress.

2SciCrazed wrote:

I'm planning to look at some of the cool driftwood that another petstore sells for birds and reptiles - much cheaper! But now I'll make sure that it's a hardwood before I buy it. Except walnuts - won't those poison fish as they do horses?

Check out a product called Java Wood looks awesome ...kinda hard to sink, but yopu can buy it for a bird cage so it already has a bolt to attach it to slate or rocks.Brent@aecageco.com
Brent Ayers is the gentleman i have been in touch with ...they told me to hold off buying it to see if it waas fish compatable then they tested it got back to me exactly 6 weeks later(by that time the pet store was sold out) saying that it was safe and showed time stamped footage of wood in aquarium with fish. I am just waiting for the one store in my area to get it back in and I will be purchasing some peices. Price is alot cheaper than normal petstore driftwood but more expensive then I can find myself

At what point should I add the plants?

right away

All of my newer tanks I am doing in gravel lacarite(sp) and ferts. I usually attach plabts to rocks and wood place in tank where it needs to go. Then I start filling up the tank a little. At this point I place my rooted plants (swords,moneywort,ect). Then I carefully fill the tank up using water about the same temp as the tank is going to be..for discus 85deg for the rest 74deg..try to get the water close not to shock the plants.