The Puffer Forum

A couple weeks ago I decided to put some wood in my GSP tank, which to my dismay turned the water brown and floated to the top, even though it was the perfect size and shape. It had been in one of my gecko cages and I cleaned it off beforehand. Is there any way to treat wood to make it sink and not turn the water brown, or does it depend on the type of wood? Any suggestions?

The brown water is due to the wood leeching tannins. These will naturally lower your pH and make your fish a little more at home. Some hobbyists actually like the brown and natural look of the water.

Some people bake or boil wood to treat it. Baking the wood will get rid of any pesticides or living things in the wood but you could end up with a fire. I've baked my wood at 200-300 degrees for 45 minutes. Other people choose higher temp. and shorter/longer times. Boiling is a VERY good solution to getting rid of the tannins but be warned, it can get a little smelly. The odor smells like some kind of exotic tea. You need a big pot though and you'll have to boil for quite a long time to get ALL of it out. It took me a couple hours to get this one piece really clean. The most recommended way is to let your piece of wood sit in a bucket of water for several weeks or a month until it sinks and the water looks... disgusting. It really depends on how long you want to wait with this method. The longer you leave it in there, the less brown your water will be. You can also add some salt to the bucket of water to help kill off any bugs in the wood.

Is there any wood you can buy from an LFS or something that's already treated?

DracoRJC wrote:Is there any wood you can buy from an LFS or something that's already treated?

The majority of LFS's have a section for wood and rocks and stuff, just give them a ring to make sure they are one of the majority before you go. The only problem is that they might not stock the perfect shape that you have in mind for your tank.

Will their wood still turn my water brown?

None of my LFS clean the wood before selling. I'd leave it in a bucket of water for a couple days at the very least.

Even when I get my droftwood from the LFS I let is soak for a few weeks, doing daily waterc hanges, to let the tannins leach out. Even then I get a little discoloration in the tank.

One thing I'd think about is that brackish/SW tends to rot driftwood. I think I heard about bogwood being good for brackish water.

Wood will rot in FW or BW (or MW for that matter) either way; you can make sure you purchase seasoned wood to increase longevity and reduce leeching of tannins into the water but it's just something to keep in mind that in the long-term it will need replacing.

I guess these methods of treating wood would of course prevent them from floating right?

Not baking, but boiling or curing in buckets should, yes.

Do keep in mind that driftwood lowers pH, unless you make sure all the tannins are gone.

I would think soaking the wood in water for a couple of days would stop it from floating. I have a lovely big piece in my redeye tank and I've had to anchor it down to keep it from floating up, but sure looks good!