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05-25-2008, 09:56 AM
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#1 (permalink)
| | Plankton
Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Posts: 8
Karma: 1
 |  Driftwood in Marine Aq.?
First off... I'm still a newbie... So new that these will be the first pics of my tank that I post... So the general stuff: 37/39 gallon tank (my wife and I argue over this constantly... I say 39...) fish only, with 10 red-legged hermit crabs... coral substrate, with three pieces of tufa rock a fake plant (the goby loves it) and, the newest addition, an approx. 2 foot section of driftwood... Two false clowns, a yellow goby, a green chromis, and a wrasse of questionable type... Now, when I bought the driftwood, thinking "Hey! That'd be a cool addition, and I'm sure the fish will love darting around it!" I made sure to ask the cashier at the store if it was kosher for a marine environment.... She said it would be fine, and it is distributed by the same co as the tufa rock... I soaked it for a few hours before adding it three days ago, and haven't had a problem. Today I read that wood is only suitable to fresh and brackish... Am I slowly killing my fish with this addition? 
Matt | 
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05-25-2008, 10:08 AM
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#2 (permalink)
| | Bubble Tip Anemone
Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: Parma Ohio Age: 27
Posts: 665
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I dont think a piece of driftwood looks very natural in a marine tank. I wouldnt use wood in a marine aquarium unless it was very seasoned, ie, unless it has been kept underwater in aquariums for along time already. Fresh wood is going to leak acidic tannins into the water, which will turn it yellowish and lower the pH | |
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05-25-2008, 10:53 AM
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#3 (permalink)
| | Flamingo Tongue
Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Beatrice, NE
Posts: 110
 
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I've seen large setups that are designed to look like the area below a pier, not sure if they have to do anything special to make that work though?
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In the process of building --
55 gallon display, 10 gallon sump, letterbox fuge, 260 W odyssea pc lighting, to be continued... | |
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05-25-2008, 10:55 AM
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#4 (permalink)
| | 3reef Sponsor
Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Va/Ct
Posts: 4,284
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Never put real driftwood it is a source of carbon matter that is still in state of decaying and will feed the hell out of Nitrites and Nitrates. _________ Some of the world's greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible (Doug Larson) | |
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05-25-2008, 01:53 PM
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#5 (permalink)
| | Plankton
Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Posts: 8
Karma: 1
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I read about the tannin problem in the same article that told my wood was bad, and I haven't seen any yellow colored discharge, and the water levels have all been fine... It's also not driftwood I found on a beach, its a decoration bought from an aquarist shop, from the same company that makes/produces the tofa/volcanic rock that I also have... The fish seem to like it, and the crabs have been exploring it also... I was hoping some one had experimented with wood before... | |
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05-25-2008, 02:08 PM
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#6 (permalink)
| | Giant Squid
Join Date: Oct 2006 Location: TN Age: 31
Posts: 3,886
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Tangster  Never put real driftwood it is a source of carbon matter that is still in state of decaying and will feed the hell out of Nitrites and Nitrates. | +1 on that
Ever notice how pier legs are covered in algae? _________ Got Questions? Need Answers?
"Believe those who are seeking the truth; doubt those who find it." Andre Gide  | |
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05-25-2008, 02:23 PM
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#7 (permalink)
| | 3reef Sponsor
Join Date: Aug 2006 Location: Va/Ct
Posts: 4,284
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Quote:
Originally Posted by geekdafied +1 on that
Ever notice how pier legs are covered in algae? | I like yourself have (:
Also I have seen this tried several times and they all ended up the same say. | |
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05-25-2008, 09:45 PM
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#8 (permalink)
| | Flamingo Tongue
Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Staten Island, NY Age: 30
Posts: 101
Karma: 21
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Your picture hosting service gave me like 4 pop-ups when I looked at that picture!
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72g Early-Stages Reef...
20g planted freshwater Guppy Tank | |
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05-25-2008, 10:44 PM
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#9 (permalink)
| | Teardrop Maxima Clam
Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Beverly Hills, MI Age: 17
Posts: 825
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+2 to tangster but if i understand correctly this is fake wood that he has in his tank, if it is fake then you should be fine if it is not... pull it | |
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05-28-2008, 07:40 PM
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#10 (permalink)
| | Plankton
Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: East Bridgewater, MA
Posts: 8
Karma: 1
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Godbert +2 to tangster but if i understand correctly this is fake wood that he has in his tank, if it is fake then you should be fine if it is not... pull it | It's real as far as I can tell...
An update: I removed the wood from the aquarium on Memorial Day, after finding similar pieces at PetCo, with attached instructions telling the buyer to soak the wood in water separate from the tank for a number of days/weeks, to allow the tannins to leech out... The paperwork said the tannins would turn the water yellow until they were gone... I placed the wood in a ten gallon bucket and have changed the water twice since then (in the bucket, not the tank)... I also noticed a remarkable difference in the clarity of the water within 24 hours, remarkable because we had never really noticed a change with the wood in, but apparently some tannins had leeched out into the tank... The fish are fine, and I am still thinking of giving the wood another go, after it has been properly aged...
Any thoughts? | |
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