How long should DW last?

[angelcraze2]

I feel the DW I bought for my 120g is deteriorating quickly. I added it to the tank about 3 years ago. It makes a real mess in my substate, I haven't noticed any difference since I moved my BN pleco in, so it's not him chewing it.

Before 2016
55222

After 2018
55223
Also notice my beautiful stargrass before the angels decided it was tasty :steamingears: :stickwhack:

I broke the tall branches off siphoning the tank, but it seems the DW has broken off a lot on its own. I have pieces of DW everywhere. I'm ok with the look, but should it deteriorate that quickly?

Also, the DW in one of my breeders (same type, manzanita) is spongy instead of hard. It's covered in algae, but I'm a bit disappointed with the longevity of manzanita so far. My mopani and Malaysian DW is much older and still in tact.

[BluewaterBoof]

Hmmmm, I only have two tanks that use driftwood. One tank has had Malaysian DW in it for about 3 years and every once in a while a small piece will break off, but I'd hazard a guess that we're talking maybe less than 5% deterioration over the last three years. The other tank has spiderwood and is in water that is fairly acidic having a pH of around 5.7-5.8. That driftwood hasn't shown any signs of deterioration so far.

Neither wood has felt spongy to me. If the others here have been having similar experiences with their manzanita that will be a shame but good to know as I have been wanting to get some epic pieces but not if it turns soft like yours.

[angelcraze2]

Thanks André. The manzanita in the 120g is not soft, but it always seemed a bit darker than other pieces, I wonder if there's a difference with processing or removing the bark. It was although not all the bark was removed?

I'll check the stuff in my breeder again, perhaps it was the algae making it appear soft to the touch. I suppose the thinner pieces would deteriorate quicker, you can see how it thinned over two years. My water is soft, but not so acidic, the pH is usually around 7.4. Do you think that degrade is normal?

Also maybe being closer to the light makes a difference? My lower pieces aren't that bad.

[sfsamm]

I trashed a piece of spiderwood that went soft and started to have a different smell. It was a fairly small piece but not really thin. I'd only had it around 3 months and thought it was great as it was quite a reddish color. But I've used spiderwood many times as it's one of my favorites and I've only had one that did that. But three years on long branches like yours I'd think it's fairly quick degradation but not all that different than what I experience in general.

[angelcraze2]

Oh! And I had a powerhead pointed directly at it for a while. It seemed to encourage cyanobacteria growth when it more of a problem. Idk, honestly it could be a lot of factors that could be causing this in my tanks, I didn't think it's normal for them to decay like that. There's always piles of wood pieces at the bases of the DW. Always was.

I suspect if this decay is not normal, it is something to do with water (what's in my city water). It's a bit fishy.

My tap TDS is average 60-80, GH and KH are 2 drops and pH stays at 7.4. I called the city to ask what they use to sterilize and the man on the phone told me something I've never heard of...It wasn't chloramine. There is a language barrier though. Anyhow, it could be a number of things.

BluewaterBoof I don't want my experience to deter you from using manzanita in your scape, I really love the look and don't think my experience is the norm.

[angelcraze2]

Thanks sfsamm. I could be rough with it too, I'm not gonna lie, the placement was difficult to work my phython around, especially since I've been deep siphoning whlie treating that internal parasite problem I have. I know I broke some off over time. I also think DW should have circulation around it, my half buried DW rots faster than ones propped up on rocks. Still doesn't explain the thickness erosion difference of tall branches though...