Is it safe to soak buoyant driftwood in your tank? My concern is how fast it will sink once it becomes waterlogged.
Soaking driftwood in a tank
- Thread starter Languistic
- Start date
It is safe depending ot what leaches out of the driftwood. If you got it from a LFS you are probobly OK, if you picked it up elsewhere, there's no way to tell. As far as sinking, it could take days, weeks or months to sink. I skip the whole sinking process by attaching a large piece of plexiglass to the bottom of my driftwood with stainless steel screws and bury that plexi under the substrate to hold the wood down.
^^^Grape vine and grape wood is perfectly fine for aquarium. Cleaning and soaking is absolutly key in adding driftwood to a tank.^^
The drift wood will sink slowly as the bogging process isnt instantanious. But to be safe and not sorry, soak in a container or attach to a heavy object.
Wood to avoid is eucalyptus, and any vine of a plant known to be toxic such as Sumac, Oliander etc. I have heard conflicting opinions though on "real" or natural drift wood. Some say that in the wild, fish dont have a choice as to what wood falls into their water and they survive. I say, receiving water is moving any toxins away much better than in an aquarium. I have seen Eucalyptus in aquariums and the tank inhabitants were fine. To each his/her own, but I excersize caution and dont use Eucalyptus.
Just my 2¢
The drift wood will sink slowly as the bogging process isnt instantanious. But to be safe and not sorry, soak in a container or attach to a heavy object.
Wood to avoid is eucalyptus, and any vine of a plant known to be toxic such as Sumac, Oliander etc. I have heard conflicting opinions though on "real" or natural drift wood. Some say that in the wild, fish dont have a choice as to what wood falls into their water and they survive. I say, receiving water is moving any toxins away much better than in an aquarium. I have seen Eucalyptus in aquariums and the tank inhabitants were fine. To each his/her own, but I excersize caution and dont use Eucalyptus.
Just my 2¢
Good to know. I tried to sink driftwood with patience it probably would have worked. Much easier to go buy some at the pet store. Looks good as soon as it goes in.