Is Freshwater Driftwood reef safe?

[jepoy]

So I am unhappy with my aquascape, I want to add something to spice up the look a bit. At Macna I saw some bonsai decorations for fresh water tanks. Made me think, I’ve seen some really nice fresh water tanks decorated with driftwood.. why hasn’t anyone tried this with saltwater? Does anyone know? Are driftwoods not reef safe? If so, what makes them not suitable for saltwater tanks?


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[Bruce Spiegelman]

I would guess not. Driftwood in a freshwater aquarium constantly leeches tannin's which lower PH. Also I'm guessing it slowly decays releasing phosphates, but that's just a guess. I have heard of some man-made driftwood though.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Driftwood will release tannins into the tank, turn the water brown, lower the pH, of which is often desirable in a freshwater tank. So in that sense they aren't "reef safe" because we tend to want higher levels of pH in a tank. Julian Sprung did have a nice display but it was a mangrove in the tank, and not "driftwood", totally alive, and in that sense you could absolutely go that route if you had a "mangrove root system" in your tank.

I will say my first saltwater tank involved a piece of driftwood (I still have somewhere in my basement!) with coral on it... it was plastic though.

 

[Vhuang168]

The driftwood you see at the shops is not really driftwood. Meaning it wasn’t picked off a beach somewhere.

Many times it is dried pieces harvested far inland. Manzanita wood is popular because it grows in twisted shapes.


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[Bruce Spiegelman]

https://www.amazon.com/Deep-Blue-Pr...ocphy=9032019&hvtargid=pla-359906618767&psc=1

 

[rygh]

The problem with plastic driftwood - they get covered by Coraline.

True driftwood, from the beach, might be ok, as all the tannins have been leached out.
Small pieces, boiled like crazy, might also be ok.
But in general, not advised.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

Instead of driftwood perhaps go old school to spice up that reefscape:

 

[kinetic]

@jepoy consider going very minimal with your rockwork to start, especially if you like SPS. Let those grow out into the aquascape naturally. Once some of my pieces get larger, I will begin removing my rockwork (my tank is pretty small though, so this would be needed anyway).

You can also hitup jetersix, he does custom aquascaping and has a very creative and skillful way of putting something together. Just give him what you like, and he can probably create something beautiful for you if that's what you want.

 

[scuzy]

Or you can be like paulB throw a hammer in there, some glass bottles and few 6 pack holders and make it look natural like on the state beach


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[rygh]

I have seen some cool "Broken wine bottles" in tanks.
There was some video on how to do that. It is not as simple as taking an old wine bottle and hitting it with a hammer.

 

[jepoy]

Thanks for all the advice and tips! I’ll be staying away from adding any kind of wood in my tank. I’ll probably take the @sfsuphysics route and look for fake/plastic wood.


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[scuzy]

Or coat it with epoxy.


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[jepoy]

@jepoy consider going very minimal with your rockwork to start, especially if you like SPS. Let those grow out into the aquascape naturally. Once some of my pieces get larger, I will begin removing my rockwork (my tank is pretty small though, so this would be needed anyway).

You can also hitup jetersix, he does custom aquascaping and has a very creative and skillful way of putting something together. Just give him what you like, and he can probably create something beautiful for you if that's what you want.

Thanks for the the tip, I absolutely love your tank and am always a little envious when I see it! For a graphic designer, I can’t seem to “design” my own aquascape. I do like the minimalist look of your tank, I only wish I can pull it off in mine. I’m going for a mixed reef so I don’t think I’ll have enough sps to grow out and fill out the empty spaces. But like you said, I’m sure the aquascape will continue to evolve as things grow.


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[Flagg37]

The driftwood you see at the shops is not really driftwood. Meaning it wasn’t picked off a beach somewhere.

Many times it is dried pieces harvested far inland. Manzanita wood is popular because it grows in twisted shapes.


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Manzanita is pretty oily so you’ll have to treat it somehow.

 

[jepoy]

Instead of driftwood perhaps go old school to spice up that reefscape:

View attachment 10387

Is that reef safe tho.. I’m sure that treasure chest is full of metals that will just mess up my chemistry. Kidding aside, I’m actually strongly considering adding that groot rockwork that they had at MACNA.


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[jepoy]

Or coat it with epoxy.


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Manzanita is pretty oily so you’ll have to treat it somehow.

Met this guy at MACNA, he’s also the one with the groot rock. I may just have him make me a manzanita looking rock like the one below.

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[Flagg37]

That looks pretty cool but like mentioned before, it won’t be long before it’s covered in coralline.

 

[Bruce Spiegelman]

That looks pretty cool but like mentioned before, it won’t be long before it’s covered in coralline.

Which would look kind of cool too, especially if there was a diver and chest nestled in the branches.

 

[Flagg37]

Maybe get a jack o lantern or meteor shower going on it.

 

[jepoy]

Maybe get a jack o lantern or meteor shower going on it.

This.


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