The Puffer Forum

Hi
I got some new driftwood on Saturday, boiled it. Over the last few days it developed a white slimy film, which I expected because the guy who sold it to me told me it may happen.
I also added co2 via a DIY method.
The slime spread to the airstone diffuser for the co2.
Did it hurt my puffers too??

I've tested several times since Saturday and my water is otherwise perfect.
The puffers were swimming aimlessly, bumping into things and wouldn't eat.

I removed the wood and did a 70% water change before I left for work.
I hope they aren't dead when I get home.

Anyone have any ideas if not the wood??
No one I've talked to has ever had a prob with the slimy affecting their fish. ;/

ABSOLUTELY, remove the wood & scrub off ALL slime. Test the water for source of puffer issues.

I had a similar thing happen with a peice of wood I got. Boiled it 3 separate times. And each time the film came back. I abandoned using it in any of my tanks. I hope your puffs are alright.

Oh & if you paid for that wood, get your $$$ back!

what kind of wood is it?
(I know it's driftwood, but what kind of tree is it from?)

Pre-soaking driftwood for me is not at all a quick process. It can take weeks to months. "New" driftwood can affect the water negatively. New driftwood plus new CO2 injection has likely dropped the pH significantly. What is the tank pH and carbonate/bicarbonate hardness? And what are the same readings from the tap water?

Thank you all for your responses.
I'll be taking the wood back. I should not have assumed it would be safe. I shouldn't rely on sales people for ANYTHING I know this.

Both ph and the high range tests barely register anything.
I use ro/di water so didn't test tap water.
Ammonia, nitrites and nitrates all read 0.

2 of my 3 FW's are doing great now, eating fine and being normal. The 3rd was just completely mia from my tank when I got home. Can't find him anywhere ;(

Recommendations on finding a safe piece of driftwood for my tank?

Thanks again everyone!

What kind of system is this? FW/BW? Why are you using RO water??? Why is there no nitrate or pH? What test kits are you using?

what kind of wood did you get?

Ph barely registers anything? Please elaborate, that sounds deadly for the fish

You do not want to use RO water in a freshwater tank: http://www.thereeftank.com/forums/f123/ ... 12081.html

Quote from that forum: "Whiskey had told me not to use RO/DI in a freshwater tank

This is his explanation copied from another thread

I have always used tap water for this, normally with a drop or two of declorinator from my FW tank,.. and everyone I know has always used tap water as well.

RO/DI water is stripped of EVERYTHING, including it has no Alk, meaning it's subject to wide PH swings very quickly. It also has the issue of something called "Hungry water syndrome" it is in a very un-natural state, and it want's to pull minerals from it's surroundings. If you use it as the water in your car it can actually erode the block. This is also why they don't use copper fittings, or line past the DI part even in industrial applications,.. it's all PVC (The matenence man in our shop told me that little gem )

Tap water has always worked well for me! I'm sure there's a better sulution (like adding Alk and minerals back to RO/DI) but it sounds like a huge pain and I don't wana bother."

The PH issue sounds like it could be related to this.

There are situations where RO or RO/DI water may be needed in FW tanks. But in these situations, after the water is purified of whatever the issues may be, the too-mineral-poor water must, repeat MUST, have some minerals added back in to allow for normal life for the fish to be housed. Only experienced hobbyists often deal in very low TDS (total dissolved solids) water for wild-caught low-pH fish and are aware of what supplements are needed for those particular fish. RO or RODI water use ALWAYS requires very careful handling and trace-mineral supplement for the large majority of fish. To use RODI as the sole water source for most hobby tanks is very poor tank handling and can easily result in the injury or even fatality for man\y fish. RODI is suited for top-up only to replace water lost to evaporation ONLY in specialied water demanding fish, not those kept by most hobbyists.

Frequent tests and high-quality test equipment is absolutely required in those tanks housing such highly specialized fish. I have dealt with a number of such, but there use only field-grade or laboratory test equipment. Hobby test kits are insufficient for such use.

HTH