Is it okay to put driftwood in my aquarium?

[Zushi]

I have a piece of driftwood that I would like to put in my aquarium, but I'm not sure if it would be harmful to the fish. Whenever I try soaking it, the water always turns a brownish yellow. Any advice would be appreciated.

[Lady Hobbs]

Fish love driftwood. Keep soaking it in hot water and changing out the water until it stays clear. It's natural for tannins to leach out of the wood and turn the tank water dark for a bit but it's not an ugly effect and will clear up in time.

I also soaked my wood in salt to remove any bugs. If you can boil it, that is very benefical unless it's too large. Let it simmer for maybe 8 hours.

[jeffs99dime]

also, you have to get the piece waterlogged or anchor it somehow. for example, some eternite or slate attached to bottom of the wood.

[Lady Hobbs]

I should mention that driftwood lowers the pH so driftwood should not be in a cichlid tank if you are having problems keeping the pH up where it should be for cichlids.

[Zushi]

Can driftwood contain chemicals harmful to tropical fish?

[Lady Hobbs]

They are no chemicals in natural wood.

You do want to use old, aged wood, tho. You can't just haul in a branch from your yard or it will still contain sap.

[MrKickalot]

Fish love driftwood. Keep soaking it in hot water and changing out the water until it stays clear. It's natural for tannins to leach out of the wood and turn the tank water dark for a bit but it's not an ugly effect and will clear up in time.

I also soaked my wood in salt to remove any bugs. If you can boil it, that is very benefical unless it's too large. Let it simmer for maybe 8 hours.

This is a must... my log was too big to even soak in the bathtub so I put it in my empty tank and held it down with rocks.... my filters kept the water clean but the media was flat out disgusting when I changed it... I also had 2 crickets and a grub worm living in mine that finally came out... if I could have soaked it for a few weeks I would have not had as many problems!

If you are having a problem holding down the log here's what I did... I used rocks tied to the log to see how much it took to keep it down... (ended up being 17 lbs). I attached a piece of .25 plexiglass to the bottom and covered the plexi with gravel and then rocks... came out beautiful and I have not problem with the log moving!!!

Hope everything works out good!!

Jason

[Lady Hobbs]

I found a piece of bog that was 46 inches long perfect for my big tank.
Soaked, scrubbed and de-bugged the thing for weeks but it took me so long to get my aquarium that by then it had dried out. Now, it will not sink. Soaked it two weeks in my tub and it still floats so may have to start over on that project.

[Ivana]

It took my driftwood almost 3 months to stay down on it's own. :( Until it did, I let some flost, and anchored others with rocks and such. It's now growing Java Moss, and it's preeeety :)