Drift wood

[pennfisherman]

Just out of curiosity has anyone every used driftwood in there reef tank?
I recenty got into planted tanks also and was thinking that would prob be pretty cool to have a peice of drift woood along side your LR and corals.

I would think you could grow corals on it too.

Anyone?

Dont plan on doing it since my tanks small but who knows

Thanks
-Matt

 

[davocean]

My first thought having done planted tanks myself is the leaching of tannins that are usually found in driftwood.
I don't think they would be harmful, but they usually make the water look orange or yellow, which doesn't look so bad in green tanks, but in reefs I want crystal clear water.
I suppose a well soaked one maybe, but then I'd also be concerned of the possibility of copper.

 

[pennfisherman]

good points. i just though it would be a pretty cool look, if you could get barnicals or somthing to go on the woood its self. i was just curious though.

thanks for your responce!
anyone else?

 

[cloak]

The tannins driftwood releases can sometimes soften the water and bring the ph down. A small piece in a large tank probably wouldn't hurt, but this type of "reaction" is not something you would want in a saltwater aquarium. It's much better suited for a large discus tank for example. They like that warm soft water with a low ph and a tea like color to it.

 

[lordofthereef]

Carbon would help with any color leaching. What about tannins leaching?

 

[philipph]

purigen absorbs tannins if this is your problem for using drift wood but should be careful when regenerating with bleach.personally i wouldn't use drift wood anywhere else other than planted tanks or fish tanks with acid loving fishes,i was always a fan of biotope tanks..

 

[davocean]

Carbon would help with any color leaching. What about tannins leaching?

I ran a ton of carbon on my planted.
I remember years ago a guy gave me his planted tank when he moved, and he made such a big deal about his well soaked drfitwood.
Being that I was so into reefs I really didn't put much thought into what he was saying, but when I added a piece of driftwood into my own planted tank a couple years ago, carbon loaded, made no difference, that water was SO orange, then I understood why he made such a deal about it.

 

[cloak]

Another thing to keep in mind is that not only does it leach tannins but after awhile it just starts to break down. I have a large piece in one of my 55 gallon tanks right now and it's amazing how much of that wood gets stirred up when I clean the gravel. (once a month)

 

[davocean]

Wonder if you have a wood chewing pleco in there?

 

[cloak]

No plecostomus. I tried a gold nugget years ago but it seemed to be more interested in the sinking pellets/black worms/flakes then the driftwood itself. Not that it wasn't munching on the driftwood, it's just that the size of the plecostomus (3") versus the mess I was seeing every month just didn't seem to add up. It's been over a year since I've had that fish though and I'm still seeing the same amount of wood being kicked up.

 

[noahm]

The key is to get a well seasoned piece that has already been in the ocean for quite a while. After a big storm, go out and look for pieces. You will occasionally run across one that is dense like a rock. This is the one you want. You will basically get no leaching and it is already saturated to the core with seawater and microfauna.