Driftwood vs aquarium

[amphipod]

I got a totally new idea, what if someone had a marine aquarium with added driftwood. They do it in freshwater and I think it's a pretty cool idea for marine, what do y'all think?

[HarryPotter]

I got a totally new idea, what if someone had a marine aquarium with added driftwood. They do it in freshwater and I think it's a pretty cool idea for marine, what do y'all think?

Sounds cool- corals on wood could be really cool.

 

I dunno if the wood would leach stuff though...

[Admonition]

I had a large piece in my 150 gallon freshwater tank and it leached tannins for 2 years lol. My water looked like a fresh cup of london tea for two years before I pulled it.

[PicoSavvy]

Man I always wanted to do a driftwood saltwater tank. Something like one big central piece of driftwood with a small schooling fish. But driftwood tends to leach stuff into the water. There is probably a way of curing it for saltwater tank.

[Azedenkae]

I actually love the tea color of the water. Seemed to match american cichlids very well, back when I had them.

 

Not sure how I'd feel with corals on them though. XD

 

Try it and see. But as the wood would eventually decompose, I am not entirely sure what you'll expect to happen with the corals on them...

[HarryPotter]

I actually love the tea color of the water. Seemed to match american cichlids very well, back when I had them.

 

Not sure how I'd feel with corals on them though. XD

 

Try it and see. But as the wood would eventually decompose, I am not entirely sure what you'll expect to happen with the corals on them...

Maybe the wood that's been in the bottom of the ocean for a few hundred years... Like fancy stringed instruments are made out of. They're SO hard from the pressure,

[PicoSavvy]

Maybe you could buy some brown acrylic tubes and build your own acrylic driftwood, but this can be expensive and kinda hard to replicate the look of driftwood with acrylic tube. Still the best would be real driftwood

[Hammerstone]

My drift wood for my fresh water tank took three years to quit leeching tannins. I didn't mind it because that's kind of a major part of the Amazon and I heard it helps with Angels and it really is needed if you want a healthy Plecostamus as they eat it. I don't know enough about salt water to say yay or not. I think I remember hearing that it softens your water as well. Also driftwood tends to float. That took a few years for it to get water

Logged and stay down without rocks

On it. It will definitely change the Color of your water.

[amphipod]

I do understand the decomposition is inevitable, but believe it or not there is actually a whole plethora of marine animals devoted to driftwood destruction for example shipworms. But I am a little curious now about how polyps get along with tannins?

[PicoSavvy]

I have heard that saltwater can act as a preservent. There are other thing to worry about with driftwood like the fact that it drop ph and the stuff it leaches mainly tannins

[amphipod]

one probably could overcome the ph obstacle with alkalinity buffering.

I still am not sure how tannins react with corals. I do know through my experience that driftwood in the saltwater seems to have good supplies of organisms happily living on them, but I haven't found polyps on driftwood yet.

[PicoSavvy]

I seen coral grow from ww2 tanks, airplanes, submarine and artillery shells , so it could be possible to grow coral on driftwood, but I would still research it more. Wood can leach other stuff that we may not know how coral react to it.

[amphipod]

This is going to be tested, on my own aquariums, I am going to go to Sandusky bay, get some driftwood, soak it for a while in some hyper saline aquarium waste water, then soak it in freshwater then apply it to the tank, how's that sound

[PicoSavvy]

Do it. If everything test ok or acceptable for reef I may set up a 120 gallon saltwater driftwood tank with some really small schooling fish. Maybe you can buy a Triton test kit (http://uniquecorals.com/dry-goods/triton/triton-labs-reef-aquarium-water-test-single-test-vials-with-return-shipping.html) and have them test the water with their high tech equipment and compare the results with regular ocean saltwater

[seabass]

People boil the driftwood to help release the tannins.

 

I've also seen ATM (on Tanked) make logs out of PVC pipe. They cut it, melt it with a torch, then bend it into the shape they want. I believe they finish it off with epoxy putty and paint.

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/index.php?s=500d5aec0e51cc29e243f305a6f32396&app=googlecse#gsc.tab=0&gsc.q=driftwood

[Newtybar]

Freshwater - I boiled driftwood to get rid of the tannins and it helped.

 

I like the look too as I came from planted tanks - however, I always thought there was some reason no one did it.

 

Tonga branches are the best way to emulate the look for salt...if you come to the conclusion that driftwood isn't possible.

[Admonition]

Yeah I couldn't boil my piece because it was 3 feet long and 2 feet tall lol

[amphipod]

We are in luck, I found some old drift wood from the sea in some boxes of shells a friend gave me to sort through. I'm going to be soaking this and once it's nice and waterlogged I'll test it. I'll keep y'all posted how the anemones feel with the driftwood. And maybe you guys can apply some in your tanks with a healthy degree of caution.

Do it. If everything test ok or acceptable for reef I may set up a 120 gallon saltwater driftwood tank with some really small schooling fish. Maybe you can buy a Triton test kit (http://uniquecorals.com/dry-goods/triton/triton-labs-reef-aquarium-water-test-single-test-vials-with-return-shipping.html) and have them test the water with their high tech equipment and compare the results with regular ocean saltwater

of course it will be far deviated from regular sea water, the question is is the change survivable.

[charnelhouse]

You're welcome

 

http://shop.jimgrayspetrifiedwoodco.com/Rough-Iron-Wood_c130.htm

[reefernanoman]

I seen coral grow from ww2 tanks, airplanes, submarine and artillery shells , so it could be possible to grow coral on driftwood, but I would still research it more. Wood can leach other stuff that we may not know how coral react to it.

Yeah, but's that's out in the Ocean, which can never be compared to our little tiny volumes of water.

[Markburns43]

I thought about this, actually might do it but it would definitely be a macro algae tank and fish that would be bad ass

[PicoSavvy]

Yeah, but's that's out in the Ocean, which can never be compared to our little tiny volumes of water.

I was saying that if corals can live directly on a surface that is rusting and leaching, who know what since in ww2 they didn't have the best health code on material, then maybe corals growing on wood is not that crazy of an idea. Now back to my original statement do it, do it

[neuwave]

Well thought I'd throw in a comment. I've already had driftwood in a reef tank a few years ago. I don't have many pics because my apartment was broken into this past spring and most of my pics of that tank were on my stolen laptop. But maybe my past experienece can help just a little.

My method of choosing driftwood.

I choose driftwood that was sun baked and aged in saltwater for quite some time. Nothing thicker than an 1-2 inches in diameter. Since it was my first time adding drift wood, I wanted to lesson the chance of tannins. I didn't boil the wood because I was very picky on my selecting the wood from the start. When I chose pieces I broke branches in half to see its core. I was checking to see how far the saltwater had penetrated the driftwood. I avoided any pieces with a brown core and only pieces with a bone white inside. But as a precaution the tank as vacant of coral or fish for a month and half with the driftwood in the water. No discoloration of the water occurred.

Tank was around 15 gallons. Setup for a little over 3 years. PH remained 7.8 which was the same as my reef tank in the other room at that point in time. Ph was corrected later with the addition of a CO2 scrubber.

Live stock at the time: pair of percula clownfish, spotted anemone shrimp, acan, dragons breathe macro algae, flower nem, fat head dendros, St Thomas mushroom, ricordea, scarlet hermits, snails and a purple plume gorg.

 

All I have left are some pics of the livestock I had in the tank. Pictures below. In the pics with the fathead dendros you can see the driftwood in the background.

 

 

 

 

[amphipod]

Thank you for your input neuwave, that tanks livestock seems pretty healthy.

 

I have a nice chunk soaking up some hyper saline water, I will let it soak one half first ( if you ever try to sink an Oreo cookie in a glass of milk you will know why I did this)

[neuwave]

Thanks everything was healthy and it was a fairly easy going tank. I've been in the hobby a long time and always a bit adventurous with new tank styles. I'm currently redoing my reefs scape. Going for a nature aquarium aquascape but in reef form. Well thats the plan, fingers crossed.