# driftwood



## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Okay I have two pieces of drift wood in my tank. On one of them there is a white fuzzy hair like growth almost transparent like? I have cleaned it twice now and it does matter if the light is on or not. I ran the tank for 2 days without the light it still came back. could someone tell what this stuff is? I think I could maybe take a pic but dunno if it will show up or not. Its driving me nuts :frustrated: LoL


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## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

I forgot what its called but its normal when you 1st introduce it to your tank. It wont harm your fish, i found my Pleco actually liking it. You can either clean it off next time you do a water change (in tank water) or just leave it. In a week it should be gone.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

stevenjohn21 said:


> I forgot what its called but its normal when you 1st introduce it to your tank. It wont harm your fish, i found my Pleco actually liking it. You can either clean it off next time you do a water change (in tank water) or just leave it. In a week it should be gone.


Okay thanks was wondering b/c one has it and the other doesn't LoL


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

Yep, parts of my driftwood has this same growth for awhile when it was first put in the tank. And I had boiled the holy crap out of that wood in a lobster pot before I added it to the tank to kill any nasties that may have been on it. It will subside, eventually. I think mine took about two weeks before it cleared up.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

aunt kymmie said:


> Yep, parts of my driftwood has this same growth for awhile when it was first put in the tank. And I had boiled the holy crap out of that wood in a lobster pot before I added it to the tank to kill any nasties that may have been on it. It will subside, eventually. I think mine took about two weeks before it cleared up.


LoL okay its just frustrating I keep cleaning and it keeps coming back LoL will leave it allow for awhile and see if it goes away thanks


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## stevenjohn21 (Dec 4, 2010)

It does look a mess, and it will look worse before it leaves. I got impatient with mine and scrubbed it off (thats why it only lasted a week


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

stevenjohn21 said:


> It does look a mess, and it will look worse before it leaves. I got impatient with mine and scrubbed it off (thats why it only lasted a week


will try that in a week and see if it will go away then but I know that wood has been in the tank for a week and half and it is still there and that's after scrapping it twice:-?


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

try boiling it again see what happens. But be sure not to put it boiling hot in the tank.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Christople said:


> try boiling it again see what happens. But be sure not to put it boiling hot in the tank.


might try that next time gotta do a water change today and replant some of my cabomba ( didn't really plant them right oops) and I plan on scrapping it off one more time and if that doesn't do I might try boiling it again or burning the stupid thing and get another one LoL


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

I would keep a very close eye on the fish. I know of fish deaths due to wood fungus.

The white fungus that appears on new Mopani wood (the two-tone wood) can harm fish. I had this occur in a 90g tank; a few days after adding a piece of this wood it developed the white growth (which is a fungus from the wood itself), the water got a bit cloudy, and I noticed the corys respirating much faster. I pulled the wood out, did a major water change (3/4 of the tank) and things returned to normal. I scrubbed the wood under very hot water with a brush and put it in a tank with no fish for several weeks. I had one small bit of this fungus, scraped that off, then no more. It is now in another tank and has been for a few months with no issues.

Co-incidentally, I happened to be in a local fish store and overheard another aquarist asking if this could have killed his corys, so I joined the conversation. He also had Mopani wood, saw the white fungus, left it, and several corys were dead within a couple days.

I've only heard of this occurring with Mopani wood.

Byron.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

My wood is Malaysian driftwood, so maybe this white fuzzy stuff is related to just Malaysian?? Boredomb, what type is your wood??


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

aunt kymmie said:


> My wood is Malaysian driftwood, so maybe this white fuzzy stuff is related to just Malaysian?? Boredomb, what type is your wood??


Mopani wood am think I know one is for sure not sure abut the wood that has the "white stuff" but it looks it is


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## fishmamma (Mar 31, 2011)

This is a piece of Manzanita, it occured also when I first put it into the tank.. was gone in a few days and has never retured... 










although my other experience was a piece I bought from the pet store that was labled for a reptile tank... I ask one of the employees if it would work in a fish tank.. and he said it would... my experience with this guy has always been good, so I trusted him and still do. The only issue with the the wood was that the fuzzy stuff would not go away and it was really thick and slimy.. I left it for about 3 weeks when I then just took it out... the mollies seem to love the stuff and would munch on it constantly..


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

The fuzz that's on mine (and yes it is still there) is still more transparent then the one in that pic looks totally different


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

I have another piece am thinking tmorrow am going to boil it for a little bit and then try that one see if it does any better.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

good luck


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Boredomb said:


> I have another piece am thinking tmorrow am going to boil it for a little bit and then try that one see if it does any better.


Well I woke this morning and looked at the driftwood n the tank looked like it was getting a little better but I decide to go ahead and boil the crap out of it Soo now it is the oven in a turkey roaster which the only thing I have big enough to to use LoL hopefully this will work!


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

*it wont go away!!!*

Okay Soo I took the driftwood out and scrubbed it and boiler for away thinking that would get the fungus off "the white stuff " it looked great for a day. I woke up this morning and turned the light on just to discover its back!!:shock: How do u get rid of the stuff??


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Boredomb said:


> Okay Soo I took the driftwood out and scrubbed it and boiler for away thinking that would get the fungus off "the white stuff " it looked great for a day. I woke up this morning and turned the light on just to discover its back!!:shock: How do u get rid of the stuff??


It takes time; it comes from inside the wood.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Byron said:


> It takes time; it comes from inside the wood.


Ok thanks Byron you had said earlier on in this thread that mopani wood fungus is harmful to fish and to keep an eye on it. How is it harmful to the fish? Is it from eating it or just being around it period? Is this something I just need to take out all together and try a different piece of wood?


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

Boredomb said:


> Ok thanks Byron you had said earlier on in this thread that mopani wood fungus is harmful to fish and to keep an eye on it. How is it harmful to the fish? Is it from eating it or just being around it period? Is this something I just need to take out all together and try a different piece of wood?


The fungus that appeared on my piece of Mopani wood was poisonous to fish. They did not eat it; the water turned slightly cloudy and it affected their respiration. I've no idea how. But after scrubbing it thoroughly, and leaving it for about 2+ months in a tank of water (no fish), I saw no further fungus so I decided to put it back. It seems OK now, after maybe 4 months, with fish in the tank.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

Byron said:


> The fungus that appeared on my piece of Mopani wood was poisonous to fish. They did not eat it; the water turned slightly cloudy and it affected their respiration. I've no idea how. But after scrubbing it thoroughly, and leaving it for about 2+ months in a tank of water (no fish), I saw no further fungus so I decided to put it back. It seems OK now, after maybe 4 months, with fish in the tank.


Okay thanks again don't want to endanger my fish Soo I will take it and scrub it again am maybe put it in some water and let it soak for along time in something that doesn't have fish I like the way it looks but not enough to kill my fish I appreciate the help Byron!


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## brettcoryell (Mar 25, 2011)

I recently bought some Mopani wood for my tank -- first one since I was a kid -- and boiled it hard for 2 hours with about 5 water changes. The water would turn dark brown within 60 seconds due to tannins pouring out of the wood. Not knowing how long this would go on, I tried baking it for 2 hours at 300 F. I let it cool a bit, dumped it in a bucket of tap water overnight and found the water had barely changed color.

It's been in the tank for almost a week now with no water discoloration and no white growth at all. Even if it's just luck on eliminating the white growth, there's something to it for stopping the tannin leaching. Wouldn't hurt to try.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

I am getting drift wood tomorrow so lets hope for the best. Is mopani woos a light tan with a lot of scraggly branches? And jsut an update Byron I am getting ADA and doing a DIY Co2. Are bubble counters necessary or can i just put a air stone at the end of the air linetubing Thanks for the help.


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## Boredomb (Feb 21, 2011)

brettcoryell said:


> I recently bought some Mopani wood for my tank -- first one since I was a kid -- and boiled it hard for 2 hours with about 5 water changes. The water would turn dark brown within 60 seconds due to tannins pouring out of the wood. Not knowing how long this would go on, I tried baking it for 2 hours at 300 F. I let it cool a bit, dumped it in a bucket of tap water overnight and found the water had barely changed color.
> 
> It's been in the tank for almost a week now with no water discoloration and no white growth at all. Even if it's just luck on eliminating the white growth, there's something to it for stopping the tannin leaching. Wouldn't hurt to try.


Hmmmm might give the baking a try. I don't have any color in my tank from tannin I soak the wood for a week before I put it in my tank and then ran my carbon pad for a day and that got rid of the tannin color just got a problem with the white stuff. But thanks for the tip might try it out.


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## Christople (Sep 7, 2010)

good luck.


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## Jacks974 (Apr 5, 2011)

I know it has been a while since this thread was posted but I wanted to say thanks for the info. I bought some mopani driftwood the other day and put it in my tank without even thinking (very unlike me, I normally research everything). I read this thread and was thinking that I was an idiot but at least I didn't have the white fuzz. Sure enough I woke up the next day and there it was. Unfortunately I had to go home to visit the parents for the weekend so the wood is just sitting in my room. But Man was I glad that I read this thread. Thanks again


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