newbie314

I have a piece of driftwood I bought, and I really like it, but it seems to rot to easily, causing quite a bit of algae in the tank.

Any thing I can treat it with, like a protective spray, coating?
Obviously something that will not warm the fish/shrimp/plant/etc.
Hopefully it wouldn't be too thick either.

I would dry out the wood before coating.
Thanks

hoppycalif

If there were a way to spray on a coating and prevent wood from rotting there would be a huge market for it, not for aquariums but for wood construction. Think wood lawn furniture, for example, or wood decks. Those need refinishing every year or so to avoid rotting. So, I think you would do far better to forget about the wood rotting, or get another piece that doesn't rot so fast. I doubt that the rotting is causing the algae.

newbie314

You're probably right about the algae.
I think it part of cause of the ammonia in my NPT.

What wood would be good?
How about oak (live in the same area as you)?

hoppycalif

From what I have been reading, almost any type of tree will work well as "drift wood". Since you are in this area, the American River has lots of down wood along the banks. I just got back from walking along the shore where I found a very nice branch of well aged wood, one end of which will fit very well in my 45 gallon tank. Just go to the parkway and walk the trail along the shoreline, looking for down branches with interesting thick ends on them. I'm sure they aren't oak, generally, but the heart wood of the one I got is a fairly dark brown, so who knows what it is??? I cut my piece down to size and now have it soaking in a cooler of water. It sunk right away.

Jessie

When I was soaking my Manzanita, I let it soak for a week in 25-gallon tub with about 3-cups of bleach and the rest water. After that, I let it soak for two weeks in dechlorinated water, and another week in just water. So far, no fuzz, no fungus. I also put the smaller pieces into a few hot-cycles in my dishwasher.

hoppycalif

My piece that sunk did so only because of the mud on it. Once I got it thoroughly cleaned it floated again. So, I may end up attaching a piece of granite tile to the bottom to make it sink. I did the bleach routine too, but only for a few hours. Since I won't be using this for a few weeks I am keeping it in a cooler full of water.

rs79

Many coats od urethane spar varnish will seal it. As will epoxty paint.

I only use ceder root if I'm sourcing local wood. It seems to rot far far less than anything else.

newbie314

Thought crossed my mind.
If I varnish wood or use fake wood, is this really any different than just a rock in the tank when it comes to creatures hiding around it (like shrimp). The only real difference I could see is with weight.

With real wood more hiding spaces exist, the wood feeds alot of microbes, etc (assuming decomposition), may not be as rough as rock on the surface, and new places to hide come about as the wood rots.

Kind of a circular arguement I know.

I might try inserting the drift wood again once the tank fully cycles. Just to make sure the ammonia load can be handled.

Thanks