Driftwood is still curing. The acetic acid smell has lessened quite a bit, around 60% since my last update. I'm hoping that by this same time next month it'll finally be ready to put back in my tank.
Driftwood Update:
Up to today the silicone is still giving off the vinegar-like smell, which shows it is still curing. It's been curing more than a few weeks now but I definitely need to wait until there is no chance of acetic acid in my tank.
Over the weekend I submerged the driftwood in water + baking soda for 12 hours in order to neutralize the acid. After this I took it out and dried it off, the acetic acid smell was slight but came back stronger after awhile which shows it's still curing.
Driftwood is still curing. The acetic acid smell has lessened quite a bit, around 60% since my last update. I'm hoping that by this same time next month it'll finally be ready to put back in my tank.
Thinking about pulling mine. It's too bad it is a beautiful piece but with 10 now in a 75 gallon water changes are bad enough. Rotting wood makes it worse. It's not soft- but shedding in layers. You can see it floating in swirls on the top after the turbulence of adding the new water. It's too big of a piece to take out and hose off very often. Was hoping your solution works.
"You can't trust water: Even a straight stick turns crooked in it." -W.C.Fields
Waiting for the silicone to cure is my holdup, the Pond Shield was cured & aquarium safe 24 hours after application. Unless you needed to use silicone then I'm sure the Pond Shield would work for you. The wood would still accumulate a slime coat just like any other surface within you aquarium though. Really looking forward to getting mine back in my tank.
Update:
Discus: fish are doing great, they were ~5"+ when I got them two months ago and they have grown/filled out noticeably since then.
Water Changes: I posted about trouble I had with my WC with tap water in the 'Water Works' forum section in early October. After that I changed to 60% daily WC using 24hr-aged water for about a month. I then experimented doing WC with tap water again for about a week and everything was fine, so I'm back to doing daily WC 60%-70% the last couple of weeks using tap water and fish are happy.
Driftwood: The acetic acid smell of the silicone curing is getting very faint and so the wood should be ready to put back in my tank very soon. I'm checking this every 2-3 days. Almost ready.
Sump: Last night I thoroughly cleaned my sump/hoses for the first time since I got this new batch of Discus two months ago, to wipe down the surfaces to remove any film buildup in there, which was suprisingly very slight. The major change I made was to remove the bioballs from one of the chambers, which I think is overkill, and I also put the bioballs from the other chamber into bags. My sump as three chambers, the third being the refugium. This will make it easier for future cleanings as it is time consuming to take out loose bioballs when I want to wipe surfaces down.
I'll post again, hopefully when I put the driftwood back in, and I'll include pics.
Last edited by adrian31@outlook.com; 11-22-2017 at 09:54 AM.
Sounds like things are shaking out well finally Kenny. Don’t want to jinx you though!
I ended up pulling my driftwood at least until I upgrade to the bigger tank. Ten fish in a 75 gallon with rotting wood was playing with fire. Water has been much better. Just have fish in a glass box. Interested in seeing how your driftwood works out. That curing process took a long time!
Thanks for the updates!
My two Cobalts spawned last night, here's a pic of one guarding the eggs which are directly in front of her:
Cobalt with Eggs 16-Jan-2018.jpg
I put my smaller driftwood back in the tank. The larger, nicer piece is ready but I've decided not to put it back in as yet due to the extra work that would cause.
Last edited by adrian31@outlook.com; 01-16-2018 at 11:06 PM.
Wow, is all I can say! That is a really cool setup.
Hey, thanks. Discus are nice, I do enjoy them but I'm really wanting to do more with this tank than I feel I can while I have them in there. I'd prefer a smaller, simpler setup for Discus to minimize the time involved. I currently have some GBR's and six Angels in there with them and they're all doing well. I'll enjoy this setup for the time being.