# Benefit of Driftwood



## GumboJones (Mar 6, 2006)

I was wondering if anyone could help me list the benefits of having driftwood in your tank. I know that some south american fish enjoy the color the amber color it turns the water, but are there other benfits for having driftwood in your tank?


As a side note...I was once in my LFS and one of the workers there mentioned to me that theres "Nothin' better then wood in your tank"

Frankly, I just wasn't sure if that was a joke or not. Can anyone comment on this?


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## fish_doc (Jan 31, 2005)

Driftwood can help lower your pH to some degree. But other benefits are with plecos. They love to rasp on driftwood.


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## Lupin (Aug 1, 2006)

Driftwoods benefit a lot of fish who love thriving in a water with soft pH. However, it is at a disadvantage when you are keeping Rift Valley cichlids. Rift Valley cichlids won't tolerate lower pH. They do best in hard alkaline water.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

some plecos eat the wood, and some fish fel comfy with plants and wood. In a community tank it definately loks nice and helps the fish feel safe and at home. research the fish and find out if wood is in the natural habitat. if it is, then by all means add a piece or 2. Not all DW leeches out tanins. malasian and mopani does and that gives the yellowish hue to the water, but it eventually clears. Boiling those 2 types helps leech out most tanins and wont discolour the water. Activated carbon also helps remove colour.
Just noticed your sig. Is it a common pleco? If so, better off returning it to your LFS, as it will die a slow painful death in that size tank. Actually most plecos grow too large for a 10g. Better off with your snails and add a few otto cats for algae. Plecos range in size from 5" to 24". The common pleco gets to be 24" in length, and will be stunted in that size tank, and he will die very premature.

Zig.


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## GumboJones (Mar 6, 2006)

Well, the placo is very small. I got it at about an inch, and not its about two inches. I only plan to keep the pleco in this tank untill I get my place in philadelphia and setup my 30 gallon. Hopefully, by the time it needs a new home after that, I'll have a good enough job to afford an even bigger tank. I'm glad you asked about the pleco, becuase I'm basicly building my 5 year plan around the little guy. And yes, hes a spotted pleco. I know they get big, but they're a lot cooler then autos and corys.


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

its nice to see someone building a plan around a pleco. not often your hear that. eventually he will need a a tank in the 100g area at 24", but it sounds like your pleco is a forethought and not an after thought. 

Dont discount corys though, they have a ton of personality as well


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## mr.dark-saint (Aug 16, 2005)

I just like the shapes of some of those stumps (so I suppose my vote is very shallow).


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## HybridS130 (Aug 27, 2006)

I think the worker in your LFS was hitting on you or at least making a dirty joke haha. Yeah just like other people have already mentioned driftwood will lower your PH, soften your water, give roughage for certain catfish, and provide a more natural enviroment for the fish that like it. The only real disadvantage to having it are the very same things that make up it's advantages, such as the PH being affected, and your water becoming discolored, that is if you don't like the water looking like pee.


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## GumboJones (Mar 6, 2006)

My reason for getting driftwood from the very beginning was purly shallow, I just thaught it looked cool, and I wanted a natural looking tank. I've had it for about 6 months now and I can't imagine setting up a tank without some in there. It makes for a perfect center piece. I'm came into ownership recently of a 30 gallon tall tank, and I think the only way to take full adantage of the hight will be to put a mountain of a piece of driftwood in there, to let my shrimps climb to the top of the tank. 

They're also graet in planted tanks. I have a moss ball growing on mine thats gotten quite large. 



Well, I'm not sure if anyone else is going to read this thread but I just thaught of another question. After a while the wood will stop releacing tannins that will discolor the water. Does anyone know if this is directly related to softening the waters ph? If it stopps doing this, or if i boil another piece first, will i loose that benefit?


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## girth vader (Apr 24, 2006)

from what I understand the DW will continue to lower PH well after the tanins have leeched out. This is what I have been told. but I'm sure someone will have a different answer


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## Gump (Aug 2, 2006)

girth vader said:


> from what I understand the DW will continue to lower PH well after the tanins have leeched out. This is what I have been told. but I'm sure someone will have a different answer



I have a lot of drift wood in my 100 gallon and its been there for about 2 years. it stoped leaching tanins after about 2 months and it doesnt affect my ph at all. idk if its because i do large water changes weekly that my ph isnt affected, but those are my 2 cents.


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## StripesAndFins (Dec 31, 2008)

Driftwood makes a good addition to any tank. It adds a natural look to the tank and as many people above me had said, plecos need it. Many, if not all, will eat it to aid digestion. 

BTW: this thread has been returned from the dead and therefore is under my control. 

Hope my minion has helped


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## Hydr0 JoE (Jan 13, 2009)

I just added some driftwood to my 20g elephant nose tank and he really likes it, normally i could only get him to come out with the light on if i was feeding the tank, now he plays all day swimming around and around the wood, he even likes to chase the neons around now


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