Info on Wood for Aquarium Use

Hi all,

I spent almost the entire Saturday (Went to around 10 fish/pet shops), and I found some really nice pieces that I'm considering for my tank.

I did some reading on the net, and it turns out there is quite a big difference between Mopani, Driftwood and Bogwood.

Some info:

Full article: http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/e_driftwood.php

There also seems to be quite a few different ways in preparing the wood for your tank:

Full article: http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=16+2250&aid=3319

Hope this helps a bit, and I'd really like you professionals to add your experience and tips to this thread as to what would you use and how you prepare it for your aquariums!!

Cheers all.

P.S. Don't know if the mods want to make this a sticky, but I found this info quite useful!!

 

Incredibly interesting @WaRn00b - I remember when I had a brackish tank many years ago, I went with an almost wood-only approach and did a lot of reading at the time as I was convinced that the wood I was getting at the LFS was rubbish. Big up for sourcing the information.

Out of interest, you say 10 fish/pets shops and you're in Cape Town, care to share the list?

 

Only sharing what I found.. but thanks!

Unfortunately we can't post lists of shops up on this forum as it's sponsored by a shop, i.e. free advertising for other shops on this forum isn't allowed.

 

I understand about the shops, no problem at all. I'm new here, learning the ropes

I'm a firm believer in sharing is caring, my blog is proof!

 

I read that using grape vine cut offs that are dried out also make for good aquirium landscapes. is it true? Because then im getting rid of this wood in my tank because 1stly, it dont look cool, 2ndly its leaking loads of tannin for months now! I cant see the fish in the back of my tank because of my tea stained water..

Please help - I want something like this or like this

 

Wow.. those do look amazing!!

I have no idea about grape vine cut offs tho.. maybe some other experts can comment..

I've been soaking and draining my driftwood since Monday afternoon, and it's still releasing quite a bit of tannin.. but I must admit, it's getting less by the day.. and I still want to boil it in a big metal drum for a day or so over the weekend as well. Just need to find a nice big drum though.

 

@ryanj252 - Those tanks look awesome, but wow, you need a lot of experience with plant growth and pruning to pull that off. I was doing some reading up on the grapevine and found this interesting post, which definitely helps: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/general-planted-tank-discussion/24701-grapevine-planted-tanks.html

@WaRn00b - The worst part is waiting hey?!

 

Oh does boiling driftwood work!? Cool...but im still gona get rid of mine..I just put it in the tank to lower the pH for my neons. Ive got bigger designs in mind...as you seen.

 

yes, grape vine does work. lots of guys on APSA use it..

boiling wood also works in speeding up the leeching process.. but becareful not to boil it at too high a temp.. the may become soft and crumble.. u are cooking it afterall

 

Hmmm.. good I saw this, coz if I were to boil it over the weekend.. I would've "nuked" it with a huge fire under a big steel drum for a good couple of hours.. :smile1:

So now I will just lightly "simmer" it for a couple of hours.. that is.. if tannins still leech from the wood by the weekend, as I'm changing the water 2 times a day and only use hot water, and I'm running airstones under them (hoping the bubbles/movement help a bit).

I also read somewhere (can't remember where as I have been stuffing my brain with so much info these last few weeks :bigsmile: :bigsmile: ) that one can "bake" the wood in an oven for a while as well.

But how long and at what temp, I'm not sure.. for now I'm going to stick to my bath curing and will see if I can boil it over the weekend. If not, another week of bath curing is in order.

Keep us updated on your grape vine progress though ryanj252.

 

Nice!!! Bye Bye drift...im on my way to stellenbosch to steal some grapevines! *vrroooom*

 

WaRn00b - Instead of "nuking" it do what I did. I got 5 pieces of mopani wood and put them in a cooler box, which I filled with boiling water, closed the lid and left outside. I got the wood last week Monday and have been changing the water once a day (twice at the weekend). The heat stays inside and at first the water was extremely dark but now it has gone very light so it seems to be working. Now I just put hot water from the tap instead of using boiling water.

 

Thatd work....ok and whats the thing with adding rocks? How do they affect the water? And how do i prepare them? This guy at Panorama told me to take them out as it raises my pH...they looked so nice..

 

Hmmm.. that sounds like a plan.. I don't have a coolerbox tho.. but I my parents have a nice big one that I'm sure will work. I'll keep it in the bath so long and see how it looks till the weekend, and then go collect the cooler box and try your method for another week if need be.

I actually made peace with the fact that starting an aquarium is a timely process, so I'm taking my time with everything!!

 

Hi

Rocks seem a little off topic here. However, you can test this for yourself. Apply some pool acid with a syringe to the rocks and if you see a chemical reaction (eg bubbles) then you can't use the rocks. If nothing happens, the rocks are pretty much inert and they will be safe to use and won't do a thing to your ph.

 

Wow nice trick. sorry for off topic-ness...will find some pool acid.

 

also be sure that there isnt any green oxidation on the rocks.. green usually symbolises copper in the rock (eg, malachite).. this is really dangerous for fish and plants.. also if anything resembles copper, rather dont try it.. because if im not mistaken, the acid test cant determine that..