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I'm trying to set up a kind of amazon river biotope in a 60 gallon aquarium. I have everything I need except for the fish and plants. I've even got the substrate. I've been mulling over whether to use driftwood or not. Actually, I've had the tank for a month and have been almost paralyzed by decisions. Once I decided to have plants and got proper lighting, now I'm stuck on wood. I found a fake tree trunk that looks fairly real online at fosters and smith. Is it bad to have a tank full of plants and have a fake piece of wood. I don't want to deal with tinted water from driftwood and I don't trust mopani. Any suggestions are welcome and a discussion here may prevent a divorce as I believe my wife is sick of fish topics.

The tinted water that you are so against is actually part of the amazon river biotope. The tannins are what keep the water at the lower ph that the fish from there thrive in. It can be managed by water changes, and will lessen over time. The amount and kelvin of the lighting you have over the tank will also make a difference.

Any fake ornaments will start to look more realistic over time as they get a small layer of algae or plants growing on them, especially if you're starting out with realistic ornaments.

Best thing IMO is to get started on it, you can always change things later.

^_^

Yeah, I knew that about the Amazon water being tinted, but just wanted it clearer in my tank. Maybe I should make a realistic Amazon biotope and not worry about the tinted water.

It really depends on how much wood is in the tank, and how many tannins are still in the wood. If you're doing regular water changes it won't be all that colored anyway, it's not like it'll be so dark you wont' be able to see the fish!

I'd go with natural real wood to start with, if you really don't like how it turns out you can always switch out to fake driftwood.

^_^

Soaking the wood for a couple weeks to a month in a tub of water (changing it occasionally) will also help remove the initial flood of tannins so when you put the wood in your tank it won't make it terribly dark.

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running carbon also helps remove the tint. Though I kinda of like the tea water look any way.


But to answer your question, I see no reason why you can't use artificial wood. After some time it may not even look fake.

Chris

you know you are tired when you go around answering 6 month old threads in the middle of the night. sorry. good night.