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Ahhhh! I just arrived at my dorm and I'm all moved in. I'm setting up my tank but I have some questions. I've never done a realistic looking (ish) tank setup before. I have some wood that I got from a river that I am planning on putting in my tank, along with some rocks. I've never put wood like this in a tank before, and I'm really nervous. Will it rot or decompose or something? Is there a wrong kind of wood to put in a tank? What should I do?

All wood will eventually rot and decompose in water. You just have to make sure it's clean by getting rid of any bacteria and debris on it.

Soaking it in hot water for a while should sterilise it, as well as help it to sink.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.

Where did you get the wood from?

-Josh

Make sure the wood is totally dry before putting it in the tank. Just ripping a branch off a tree is no good.

Giving a light scrub with a nylon bristled brush to knock off excess garbage and as nnataliee stated, a good soak in hot water will help to get the nasties out and get it waterlogged so it'll sink.

i think it depends on what kind of wood it is, as well. some (like cedar) may affect the water chemistry. if, however, it's 'driftwood,' that's usually a pretty safe bet, provided you can get it to sink! (some pieces can take weeks to saturate)

if you want worry-free wood, you can buy several different types at most pet stores. they're already aquarium safe and will (usually) sink relatively quickly.

hope that helps a little!

How long you need to soak the wood depends upon three factors.

[1] How long it takes to become waterlogged

[2] How long it takes for the leaching of tannins and humic acids to fall to an appropriate level for your aquarium.

[3] How thick the wood is.

If the piece of wood is small enough to go in a saucepan, boil it for a while first. Make sure that ALL living matter inside it is duly killed off. Keep boiling for a good hour or so to make sure that the heat penetrates the entire thickness of the wood. To assist you in handling it during the boiling process, a good pair of tongs is a good idea.

After that, comes the soaking in regular tap water. I've been soaking a piece of Mopani Wood for a month. Basically, because I want as few tannins as possible leaching into the water. However, if you're setting up an aquarium for blackwater fishes such as Cardinal Tetras, and you want to replicate the conditions of the Rio Negro, then for those fishes, tannin leaching is actually desirable.

However, even an 'aquarium safe' piece of wood needs soaking initially to get rid of unwanted muck. When I put my Mopani Wood in to soak, the first water change was, and I kid you not, DUNG COLOURED. Even though it had been sold inside a plastic bag, this piece of Mopani Wood had a LOT of unwanted garbage hanging onto it. You'll need three or four water changes daily from your soaking bucket to rid your wood of extraneous matter, then, the moment of decision arrives. Do you WANT a blackwater aquarium or not? If the answer is 'yes', the wood goes in straight away. If the answer is 'no', you could be looking at a month or more soaking it to stop the water turning brown.

Of course, the time scales become shortened or lengthened according to the thickness of the wood. If your piece of wood is largely hollow, has lots of holes in it, or is only modestly thick at the point of maximum girth, then four weeks could be sufficient to make it safe for a clearwater aquarium, and it'll be OK for a blackwater aquarium after sufficient water changes and soakings to remove the debris. If the piece of wood is a solid hunk with a considerable thickness at the point of maximum girth, then the times are lengthened accordingly.

I always look out for intricate pieces of wood with lots of hollows, twisty gnarled branched bits, and no undue thickness at any point along its length. Such pieces are treatable more quickly, though they still require patience before they're safe for the aquarium. Apart from anything else, intricate pieces of wood make great 'play areas' for bottom dwelling fishes in particular, and a piece that resembles a root tangle makes a great cave complex for fishes such as Cardinal Tetras as well as bottom dwellers.


Panda Catfish fan and keeper/breeder since Christmas 2002