# slimy driftwood



## dianainOH (Mar 21, 2009)

Just set up an el natural for the first time two days ago. So far so good. I do have a minor glitch with a piece of driftwood I put in the tank. It was purchased from a local pet store and was supposed to be 'heat treated'. Baked, I suppose. I was too lazy to boil it and wasn't terribly concerned about tannins anyway, (my pH is 8.3 out of the tap) so I strapped some Java ferns onto it, weighted it with a rock and plopped it in. It is now starting to sprout a heavy coat of white slime. To me it looks like bacteria growing on the wood. It doesn't seem to affect the plants and I don't have fish yet. Will it eventually stop sliming once the wood has finished leaching out? Will it hurt the tank? Should I get rid of it? I'm not worried about aesthetics at this point, I'm just trying to get a healthy tank going.


----------



## Sophie (Feb 12, 2006)

Check out this thread about that issue:
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...ssions/48251-white-mold-fungus-driftwood.html


----------



## dianainOH (Mar 21, 2009)

Thanks for pointing me in the right direction, Sophie. Great answers on that thread. I should have searched before I posted.


----------



## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

I'm not a fan of driftwood. It can create major problems.

You've got the right priorities. Focus on the plants and fish. If they do well, they you can later fool around with driftwood.


----------



## melauriga (Mar 20, 2009)

I think its pretty common for driftwood to do that. I've read that it will go away on its own eventually and that snails, otos and plecos will eat it. Also you can remove it with a toothbrush.


----------



## dianainOH (Mar 21, 2009)

Although I like the looks of the wood, I think I will take Ms. Walstad's advice and pull it out. Once the tank stabilizes I might try it again. I would hate to have a meltdown due to a hunk of wood. Good to know that the slime isn't harmful. If it reappears on my next try I won't freak out. Thanks to all for your input.


----------



## dianainOH (Mar 21, 2009)

Just took the wood out. It smelled disgusting. It stunk up the whole house. I'm sure it wasn't good for the tank. My nitrates and nitrites are high, but it is a new setup (1wk) so I can't pin that on the driftwood. No ammonia, though. Fortunately, the only thing in there besides plants is trumpet snails, and we all know that nothing can kill them. They seem to be fine. I did change out 30% of the water. I will change out more tomorrow if the parameters are still yucky.


----------



## prBrianpr (Nov 18, 2007)

if the driftwood stinks a lot it cant be used.


----------



## totziens (Jun 28, 2008)

I'm not sure of the origin of your driftwood. I usually use Malaysian/Malayan driftwood and I have never encountered any problem before. They're originated in submerged form. So nothing will leak from the driftwood as it has been submerged for a long time.

Maybe you should try keeping it submerged it a pail for a longer duration and see how it goes.


----------

