Michigan Cichlid Association
General Category => General Discussion => Topic started by: SKISWETPETS on November 13, 2011, 11:08:53 PM
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So a friend of mine stopped by today to show his roomate my aquariums and all that, and he was saying that a friend of his was going on and on about the natural benifits of this stuff. I have heard of the Malaysian Driftwood, but haven't really heard or read anything about Natural Benefits of it. Please comment if you know something about this. Either way your information goes, good or bad. Thanks in advance.
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It's considered one of the best woods to use because it's dense enough to sink on it's own - no weighing it down with rocks/magnets, etc.
For some species (mainly certain plecos to my understanding) wood is a required part of the diet, so it's helpful for certain fish to include it in their tank.
As wood decays in a tank, it may leach tannins that will discolor the water and add a brown/tan tint to it. This can be rectified by water changes to reduce the discoloration.
Also, as it decays it'll drive the pH lower - good for some species and not for others. For african cichlids you typically don't want this so I would suggest using it minimally, if at all. Of course water changes can also help combat this by removing a certain amount of the lower pH water and replacing it with your higher pH water source.
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Thank you Ron, this friend mine who is a "Talker" if you know what i mean, says his friend claimed that it was pretty much the best thing for any aquarium. I really didn't by that, ive only been doing this for a couple years, but knew that couldn't be true. Im not really planning on using any. I do however like the look of it in an aquarium tho. 8)