Does Driftwood alter water chemistry?

[CammieTime]

I have two somewhat big pretty pieces of driftwood that I usually put in my BB 75 gallon grow out tank to add some color and make the tank more appealing, since the tank is in my family room. This driftwood was submerged for five years when I last had fish tanks, so it is not new.

Question: Does this driftwood alter water chemistry? Other than offering nooks and crannies for waste to accumulate, is there any other downside to having driftwood in the tank?

[pitdogg2]

If it starts rotting from the inside or rot in general it can alter enough to kill fish. Other than that which I had happen once from driftwood I picked up from the river. I do not think there is a downside.

[Phillydubs]

Depending on the type of wood and how much you use it can alter ph as well

[brewmaster15]

Driftwood leaches Tannins into the tank. Tannins are acidic and so as Phil said, can alter pH by lowering it....This is going to depend on the kH of your water as buffers will slow that effect down, but over time, with few water changes, the effect can be pretty dramatic. In a tank of soft RO water, it can drop fast.

hth,
al

[pastry]

Yes. I've taken the risk a number of times with mixed impacts. If only looking for minimal rules to minimize risks then hard to the touch and no bark. Otherwise, I'm the last person on here to follow if looking for no risk. I've had better experiences with those 2 rules though.

Avoid sap (which if there's bark, then could be sap still). If you broke a fresh branch of hardwood you really like... the answer is "no". You won't know what tree it is if you don't know for sure either (if you have to question that then revert to the 2 pints before my 3rd period of first paragraph).

[CammieTime]

I bought both pieces of driftwood from a fish store, so it is the hard kind that is for fish tanks. All the tanins and what not leached out long, long ago. They are not rotting. They do help collect waste underneath them and inside of one piece with a hollow part, but beyond that they seemed benign. The fish liked swimming around them and they added A LOT of character to a normal boring BB tank.

[brewmaster15]

I bought both pieces of driftwood from a fish store, so it is the hard kind that is for fish tanks. All the tanins and what not leached out long, long ago. They are not rotting. They do help collect waste underneath them and inside of one piece with a hollow part, but beyond that they seemed benign. The fish liked swimming around them and they added A LOT of character to a normal boring BB tank.

Theres nothing wrong with dressing up a bare bottom tank a bit

104307;)