Driftwood Advice

[Barcvision]

Bought a bunch of ghostwood and grape wood but having second thoughts on mixed reviews online. Sounds like grape wood especially tots and has white fungus for a period.
I really want to use Either of these types but not at the expense of the tank. It is sandblasted and marketed as aquarium safe from blooms and branches. I would pre soak for a month and boil out the tannins etc.

What type of wood do you guys use with great success?

 

[davocean]

I would only do driftwood in a FW tank

 

[lingwendil]

I assume this is for some type of estuarine setup?

Grapewood is a poor choice for submerged use, as you mentioned due to fungus and rot. Azalea wood or Manzanita are better choices, especially manzanita, as it is usually long lasting and has less tannin to seep versus other woods. Blooms and Branches carries manzanita, and yes, it is safe for aquarium use. Many, many users from various online forums (The Planted Tank, for example) can attest to first hand experience with them.

I would only do driftwood in a FW tank

Normally I would agree, but if you are trying to emulate certain coastal biotopes it is a necessary (and beautifully natural looking, IMHO) part of the environment that by all accounts should be included.

Frequent water changes will be necessary either way due to tannin content of most any wood included that isn't real honest driftwood.

OP, have a look at Tannin Aquatics Estuary line. Good blog (if a bit long spoken) too. Mangrove branches and bits are available from them if you are interested in something closer to "correct" for marine use-

https://tanninaquatics.com/collections/estuary-by-tannin-aquatics

 

[davocean]

I would be more inclined to use mangroves to benefit from some nutrient export as well as have living things that won't leach tannins or have any type of fungus or issues, but I do agree manzanita is a good choice, and they can be boiled and soaked to remove a great deal of tannins, or better yet find used/established manzanita that has released most tannins over time.